Around the Shabbat Table by Jayne Cohen Page B

a marvelous hors d’oeuvre. They freeze beautifully.
    2 pounds fresh spinach or two 10-ounce packages frozen leaf spinach, thawed
    3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus additional butter (or oil) for greasing the pan
    1 ⁄ 2 cup chopped shallots or 1 cup chopped onion
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    4 ounces cream cheese ( 1 ⁄ 2 cup), softened
    4 ounces of crumbled feta (1 cup; break it up well using your fingers)
    1 ⁄ 2 pound farmer cheese (7.5 ounce package is fine)
    4 large eggs
    2 teaspoons dried oregano or mint
    3 ⁄ 4 cup finely chopped fresh dill
    1 ⁄ 2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
    3 tablespoons matzoh meal
    3 tablespoons shredded Cheddar or grated Parmesan cheese
    3 to 4 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted (optional)
    IF using fresh spinach, wash it thoroughly to remove all traces of sand. Cut off any tough stems and discard them. Place the spinach with just the water that clings to its leaves in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 8 minutes.
    PLACE the cooked fresh or the thawed frozen spinach in a colander and, with your hands or the back of a spoon, press out as much liquid as possible. It should be rather dry. Chop the spinach fine.
    MELT the butter in a large skillet. Add the shallots or onion and sauté until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until the spinach is tender and the butter is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt (just a bit—remember that the cheeses can be rather salty) and pepper. Set aside to cool.
    PREHEAT the oven to 350°F.
    COMBINE the cream cheese, feta, and farmer cheese in a food processor and blend well. Break the eggs into a glass measuring cup with a pouring spout. With the machine running, add the eggs, one at a time, through the feed tube, and process until smooth. Crumble in the oregano or mint. Add the spinach mixture, dill, and parsley, and pulse about 15 seconds to combine well; do not puree.
    GREASE a 13 by 9-inch baking pan and sprinkle the bottom and sides with the matzoh meal. Pour the spinach batter into the pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the Cheddar or Parmesan, scatter the pine nuts over evenly, if using, and bake for about 40 minutes, until lightly golden and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. It should feel slightly firm, but it will not set until it has cooled for at least 20 minutes. Serve warm (reheat if necessary) or at room temperature, cut into squares.

    COOK’S NOTE: Beautifully fresh Swiss chard is increasingly available in markets these days. It is much easier to clean than spinach, and I find its sweet yet distinctively earthy green leaves make an excellent substitute in this recipe.
    I also vary the cheeses; experiment with some of your favorites, using a mixture of mild (Jarlsberg, Gruyère, Muenster, cottage cheese) and sharp (Kasseri, kashkaval, Cheddar, Parmesan).
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    KASHA VARNISHKES WITH FRIED EGGPLANT, MUSHROOMS, AND ONION MARMALADE
    yield: 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
    Properly cooked so it remains dry and fluffy, kasha, when mixed with noodles, could swallow up butter or chicken fat by the cupful. I remove the temptation to slather on lots of fat by moistening this hearty grain with plenty of caramelized onions and mushrooms. I also add sautéed eggplant for the same reason: fried cubes of it, like mushrooms, bring a melting butteriness to foods.
    Though most American recipes for kasha varnishkes call for bow tie noodles, I find them too thick and starchy here, requiring, like the kasha, a lot of additional moisture. I break wide noodles in half to resemble the square noodles originally used—and best suited—for this dish.
    The eggplant, mushrooms, and onions enrich and lighten the kasha varnishkes at the same time. You don’t really need all three (and if pressed for time, you could eliminate either the mushrooms or the eggplant—or the noodles), but