The Feast of Seeds

Our family dinners revolve around birthdays, anniversaries and holidays, and they are wonderful times to be together with our children and grandchildren.

This month we celebrate the holiday of Purim, and that is even better. It is fun when we all stamp our feet and use noisemakers called graggers to punctuate the retelling of the Purim story.

The Scroll of Esther, read in synagogues during Purim, tells how Queen Esther, with the help of her uncle Mordechai, prevented the wicked prime minister Haman from turning the king against the Jewish people.

Carnivals are held in synagogues and Jewish centers, and the children dress up in costumes to resemble the biblical characters in the story. After the festivities, family and friends gather at home to enjoy a special meal. Purim begins at sundown Monday.

The theme of my Purim menu this year is based on the legend that Queen Esther ate only fruit, vegetables, seeds and dairy products. In keeping with this concept, we begin the dinner with a salad of sprouts tossed with a honey-olive oil dressing. The variety of seeds and sprouts available in the local farmers markets, including bean, alfalfa, lentil and pea, is amazing. Include walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts for an interesting crunch.

The Bean and Vegetable Soup was inspired by a traditional Tuscan soup, ribollita. Its consistency varies depending on where you are in Italy. Recently I tasted this dish at Da Delfina, a restaurant in the village of Artimino, just outside Florence. Chef Carlo Cioni uses lots of beans and kale and serves it very thick, almost like a pasta.

Several years ago, chef Nadia Santini of Dal Pescatore, a Michelin three-star restaurant near Parma, served us Parmesan Crisps to go with our soup course. They are the perfect accompaniment for this ribollita-like dish. I have added sesame and poppy seeds, which are synonymous with the Purim holiday, to the original recipe.

Recently my cousin, Carol Dondick, invited us to a family brunch and served pastries that were layered with walnuts. I loved them and was inspired to adapt the recipe for Purim by replacing the walnuts with a poppy seed filling in two of the layers. Serve these alongside Poppy Seed Strudel and the more traditional hamantaschen cookies for dessert.

This menu is perfect for the busy family. I have found that the soup can be made days ahead; just store it in the refrigerator or freeze until ready to use. Let your children or grandchildren shape the Parmesan Crisps into rounds on a baking sheet (no one cares if the edges are a little rough). They will love pressing the cheese mixture into round shapes--or they can use the molds--and everyone will be amazed at how quickly they bake.

Make the Poppy Seed Pastries in advance and store them in the freezer. At serving time, just defrost them; they will stay crisp and everyone will think they were freshly baked. Make extra pastries to follow the Purim tradition of sharing (shalach manos) and give a basket of these delicious confections as gifts to family and friends.

Ziedler is the author of “Master Chefs Cook Kosher” (Chronicle Books, $24.95) and “The 30-Minute Kosher Cook” (William Morrow, $22).

Hearty Bean and Kale Soup

Active Work Time: 40 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 3 hours 30 minutes plus 8 hours soaking * Vegetarian

1/2 pound dried Great Northern beans

Water

Olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 small carrots, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 small bunch kale, shredded (about 4 cups)

1 boiling potato, diced

1 small bunch Swiss chard, chopped (about 2 cups)

1 large tomato, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

* Place beans in large saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Let stand at room temperature overnight. Drain beans well and return to saucepan. Add enough water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, 1 hour 30 minutes, reserving liquid. Transfer half beans to food processor or blender and puree. Reserve remaining whole beans.

* Heat 1/4 cup oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery and saute 5 minutes. Stir in kale, potato, pureed beans and enough reserved bean cooking liquid and water to make 6 cups. Heat over medium heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 30 minutes.

* Add chard, tomato, garlic, rosemary, parsley, thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until chard is tender and flavors are well blended, at least 1 hour, adding additional bean liquid if soup is too thick. (Soup should be quite thick.)

* Stir in reserved whole beans and simmer until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes. (Can be cooled and refrigerated overnight.)

* Ladle into heated soup bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Pass olive oil to top soup with, if desired.

8 to 10 servings. Each of 10 servings: 203 calories; 251 mg sodium; 8 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams protein; 2.40 grams fiber.

Parmesan-Sesame and Poppy Seed Crisps

Active Work Time: 10 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 20 minutes

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

3 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

3 teaspoons poppy seeds

Butter, for greasing

* Mix together Parmesan, sesame seeds and poppy seeds in small bowl. (If Parmesan is lumpy, press through a strainer first.)

* Place 3-inch metal ring-mold on greased nonstick baking sheet. Spoon 2 teaspoons Parmesan mixture in center. Use your fingertips to spread cheese evenly on bottom of ring-mold. Remove ring-mold and repeat until baking sheet is filled.

* Bake at 375 degrees until crisps are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Use small metal spatula to transfer to paper towels. Crisps will still be soft when removed, but will crisp up as they cool.

12 crisps. Each crisp: 36 calories; 76 mg sodium; 3 mg cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.16 gram fiber.

Layered Poppy Seed Pastries

Active Work Time: 1 hour * Total Preparation Time: 2 hours plus 1 hour chilling

1/2 cup warm milk

Dash sugar

1 (1/4-ounce) package dry yeast

4 cups flour, plus more for rolling

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened and cut into cubes

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* Mix warm milk, sugar and yeast in small bowl until yeast dissolves. Set aside.

* Blend flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in large bowl of electric mixer. Add butter and blend until mixture is crumbly.

* Beat egg, egg yolk and vanilla in small bowl. Add to flour mixture alternately with milk mixture and blend until dough comes together. Transfer dough to floured board; divide dough into 4 parts. Knead each part into flat disc, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

ASSEMBLY

2 (12 1/2-ounce) cans poppy seed filling

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 pound ground walnuts

1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water

* Spoon poppy seed filling into pastry bag. Blend sugar and nuts in small bowl. Set aside.

* Roll each disc of dough into thin sheet large enough to fit into a 13x9-inch baking dish. Trim each sheet dough to fit dish. (Reserve trimmings for Poppy Seed Strudel, if desired.) Arrange 1 sheet dough in bottom of baking dish. Pipe half filling onto pastry (or can be spread using spoon). Spread poppy seed filling evenly over sheet of dough. Cover with second sheet of dough, and sprinkle with 1 cup walnut filling. Arrange sheet of dough on top and repeat with layer of poppy seed filling. Top with remaining sheet of dough. Cover with kitchen towel and let stand 30 minutes. Brush top with egg yolk mixture.

* Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 45 minutes. While hot, cut into 24 squares. Cool in pan. (To freeze, wrap each pastry in plastic wrap then foil. Store in resealable plastic bags in freezer.)

24 pastries. Each pastry: 328 calories; 149 mg sodium; 53 mg cholesterol; 17 grams fat; 38 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 2.92 grams fiber.

Poppy Seed Strudel

Active Work Time: 10 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 35 minutes

Leftover dough from Layered Poppy Seed Pastries

Flour, for rolling

3/4 cup prepared poppy seed filling

1 egg mixed with 1 teaspoon water

* Knead reserved dough into flat disc. Roll out on floured board to 1/8-inch thick. Spread with thin layer poppy seed filling and roll up jelly-roll fashion.

* Place on baking sheet lined with foil. Brush with egg mixture and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, 25 minutes. While hot, cut into 1-inch slices. Cool and serve.

4 to 6 servings. Each of 6 servings: 289 calories; 165 mg sodium; 20 mg cholesterol; 11 grams fat; 43 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 4.91 gramd fiber.

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Platter in photo above and soup bowl in cover photo by John Okulick for Grazi-Deruta of Italy.