Jeweled Rice: A Purim-inspired, February Southern Shabbat Dinner
By Sarah Simmons
Sarah Simmons, CEO of City Grit Hospitality and owner, smallSUGAR Restaurant, Columbia, SC. Image Courtesy of smallSUGAR.
We closed the dining rooms of smallSUGAR and il Focolare in early March 2020, embracing the curbside and take-out model well before the pandemic-related mandates required it. As soon as we figured out how to produce our “regular menus” for take-out, I started working on ideas for specialty meals we could offer to help us recoup the revenue we were losing without indoor dining.
One of the first specialty meals we offered for take-away at smallSUGAR was a Passover meal. I was hesitant at first, since I’m not Jewish and I struggle with running the risk of appropriating a culture that isn’t mine, although it’s a culture I deeply admire.
When our first order came in and the guest left the following note, I’d knew we’d made the right decision.
“Thank you so much for this. This is my first Seder where I am not able to be in community or with my family and having the meal taken care of means the world right now.”
One guest cried when she picked up her meal, telling me it was the first time since moving to Columbia that she’d felt as if any restaurant cares about her traditions and her community. The gratitude of so many trumped my fears of appropriation and reminded me, at a time when I was seriously questioning my career choices, why I loved cooking in the first place.
As the pandemic continued and take-away became our business model, I began writing menus for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Hanukkah. We had such a great response from the Jewish community for our holiday meals, and we’ve added a weekly Challah subscription and a take-away Shabbat supper available on the last Friday of each month.
As I began thinking about the menu for the February supper, I realized the last Friday of February coincided with Purim. I first learned of Purim during my first year of living in New York. I remember passing a group of young adults dressed up wearing masks and crowns while walking home from work one day and wondering if they happened to be celebrating Fat Tuesday a little early.
Beth Shalom Musical Purim Speil circa 2006. Former Columbian Daryl Giddings as King Ahasheverus and Lyssa Harvey as Queen Esther.
Beth Shalom Musical Purim Speil circa 2006. Former Columbian Daryl Giddings as King Ahasheverus and Lyssa Harvey as Queen Esther.
You don’t live in New York City without getting to know the Jewish holidays. Friends, most often leaning on their “city families,” graciously open their homes for holiday celebrations to their closest friends - Jewish or not. As a lackadaisical Presbyterian longing to be a member of the Jewish community, I happily embraced their generosity and readily accepted any and all invitations.
Over time, I learned the story of Purim, a celebration of feasting to commemorate Queen Esther saving the Jewish people from Haman, the king’s counselor who was planning to kill all Jewish people in the Persian Empire. Over dinner, Esther exposes Haman’s plan to King Ahasuerus, saving the Jewish people and leading to Haman’s death.
Queen Esther, Biblical queen of Persia, Courtesy of National Gallery of Victoria
The holiday is observed by attending religious services, sharing gifts with friends, giving charity to those in need, and a celebratory feast traditionally including Hamantaschen, triangular shaped shortbread cookies loaded with poppy seed or jam fillings named after Haman, the villain in the Purim Story.
smallSugar celebrates Purim with February's Shabbat menu featuring jeweled rice
I never understood how the bad guy ended up getting a cookie named after him so, as I began to plan the menu for February’s Shabbat supper, I wanted to honor Purim’s heroine, Queen Esther, through a collection of dishes.
Hamantaschen. Image Courtesy of xeno4ka from Pixabay.
The menu, mostly vegetarian, features our slightly southern take on a feast of Persian dishes Queen Esther would have likely enjoyed, starting with a fresh herb platter.
I first learned of the Persian tradition of offering an herb platter - featuring radishes, feta drizzled with warm spices, nuts and lavish - from Louisa Shafia in her incredible cookbook, The New Persian Kitchen, and have often found putting together something similar when we entertain guests.
In place of the Matzo Ball Soup we traditionally serve, I created a bright and flavorful soup packed with field peas, beans, chickpeas, kale, and peppers for the second course.
The main course features hearty dishes – colorful carrots with citrus tehina, beluga lentils with avocado and crispy collards, and jeweled rice. Jeweled Rice, often served with dried fruits, toasted nuts, and an abundance of fresh herbs is one of my very favorite dishes.
To please the meat lovers at the table and to offer a nod to King Ahasuerus, we’re also serving sesame crusted turkey schnitzel with the main course.
And, of course, there will be Hamantaschen for dessert!
Jeweled Rice
Jeweled Rice and smallSUGAR Shabbat Supper. Courtesy of smallSUGAR.
¼ cup, plus 2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 white onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups cooked basmati rice (cold)
½ cup minced herbs (dill, chives, parsley)
2 Tablespoons dried apricots, diced
2 Tablespoons dried cranberries, diced
¼ cup toasted sliced almonds
2 Tablespoons toasted pecans, roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon sumac
1 lemon, zested and juiced
salt and pepper to taste
dill fronds, for garnish
Instructions
Heat ¼ cup of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until slightly wilted and soft, about 10 minutes.
Lower heat and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until onions are golden and caramelized, approximately 20-30 minutes.
Once onions are jammy (very technical term), add the remaining olive oil to the pan and increase the heat to high. Add cold rice to the pan, stirring to ensure the onions are incorporated and the rice is evenly covered in oil.
Sauté for 3-5 minutes stirring constantly. Add the herbs, apricots, cranberries, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, sumac, and lemon juice, stirring until fully combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer rice to a serving bowl and garnish with lemon zest and dill fronds.
About Sarah Simmons
Named one of the 50 best chefs in New York City in 2014, by FOOD & WINE magazine, Sarah Simmons is the CEO of CITY GRIT Hospitality Group.In 2010, she was named “America’s Home Cook Superstar” by FOOD & WINE magazine as part of its search for the nation’s best home cook. In 2013, she was recognized by the Charleston Wine + Food Festival as a “New & Notable” chef, and was named one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company magazine, which called her “the chef cooking up the most exciting dining experience in New York.” In 2015 she opened Rise Gourmet Goods & Bakeshop,in her hometown of Columbia, SC, earning “Best New Restaurant” by the readers of The Free Times Newspaper.
In 2017, Simmons relocated the CGHG companies to Columbia, SC to focus on economic development, workforce training, and community growth in the city where she serves on the city’s Food Policy Council and is spearheading a Hospitality Workforce Development Training program for non-college bound youth from high poverty areas. And with her concept called Feed The City she has initiated many programs to feed Columbia's homeless and hungry. In March of 2018, Simmons opened the Cafe at Richland Library, alongside her husband, Aaron Hoskins. They also opened their present restaurant Small Sugar - an all-day cafe. Simmons frequently makes appearances at food festivals and events across the country and is a recurring guest judge on Food Network competitive cooking show, Beat Bobby Flay.