Last Updated on January 24, 2022
Savory Hamantaschen recipes you’ve probably never thought of!
Who said hamantaschen have to be filled with poppy seeds, nuts, chocolates, dates, jam and halva? Hamantaschen don’t have to be sweet and you don’t only need to eat them as a desert or treat. Try our savory hamentaschen recipes for a Purim twist you’ve probably never thought of.
Think outside the Purim box…
‘Tasch’ is a Yiddish word for ‘pastry’, and once we understand that we can turn any dough into receptacle for the filling of your choice and for Purim this receptacle should be shaped like a triangle.
If you have the time, you can choose to make your own pastry or dough but we prefer to use ready-made, frozen pastry. Here, in Israel, frozen, no-hassle, parev flaky pastry, regular puff pastry, Turkish puff pastry – Phileas, crispy savory pastry, phyllo, low-cal, gluten free, spelt flour, pizza dough and sweet pastry dough are readily available at your local supermarket. (Do not use sweet pastry dough for savory hamantaschen)
Every culture has a dough-filled dish they are proud of; the Latin-American kitchen has given us empanadas, the French-Canadians gave us the Tourtière, from the UK – Cornish pasty and steak pies, boerekas from the Mediterranean countries, the Middle-East has given us the lahmajun and kubdari from Georgia just to name a few.
So now that we have the concept figured out, we can get back to our Purimtaschen.
Chef’s tip: One very important thing to remember when filling pastry, pies or dough of any kind, you must remove and strain away excess cooking liquid first. Your taschen will turn into a huge sticky, dirty mess that cannot be saved if you do not strain the liquid from the pre-cooked filling first.
Savory meat Hamentaschen fillings…try these!
Here are 15 ideas to fill your taschen. Season your fillings to taste with the herbs and spices of your choice.
1. Your favorite meat-based bolognaise
2. Ground lamb, onions, parsley served with runny tehina
3. Shredded pot-roasted brisket
4. Shredded chicken (great way to use leftovers), leeks and mushrooms
5. Shredded beef, small cubes of potato, turnips and fried onions for a Cornish twist
8. Empanada style – ground beef, onions, olives and raisins
9. Indian curried vegetable samosa style with potatoes, chickpeas, carrots and onions
10. Draw inspiration from Greek Spanakopita using feta or ricotta cheese and wilted spinach. Fried onions also compliment this combination.
11. Salmon (use raw), fried leeks and wilted spinach
12. Butternut and gruyere cheese or Ementhal type cheese (use Tal Ha’emek for a favorite Israeli cheese substitute)
13. Get the kids on board by slicing their favorite sausages onto the ‘tasch’ and then bake as usual. Serve with ketchup of course.
14. Soy mince and chopped mushrooms serve as the base for your vegan pies.
15. Very finely sliced fried zucchini and onions with your favorite herbs
- Discover more of our traditional recipes for the Jewish festivals
- Red and green labeling on Israeli supermarket food items
There are 3 ways to make pastry triangles for your savory (hamen)taschen.
1. Cut long rectangle, place your filling in one of the corners and begin to fold the triangle over and over until you have used up all of the dough. Work on 5 folds per triangle and then seal. This method works well with delicate Phyllo dough.
2. Cut a square of dough and place one tablespoon of filling in the center. Pick up one corner and fold it over to the opposite corner. Wet your finger with a bit of water and run it along the edge of the dough to help it stick together. You can also crimp the dough closed with a fork along the edges.
3. For the traditional hamentaschen shape – cut a circle of dough 8 cm – 10cm in diameter (I use a wide-mouthed beer mug as my guide). Place your filling in the center. Fold three sides of the dough over the filling, one at a time, each one overlapping the one next to it. The resulting triangle will have a hole in the center where the filling will peek through.
