Sara Hohn – Food… Brooklyn & Beyond

After the Sephardic Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, they dispersed to areas throughout the Mediterranean, Balkans, Africa and the Near East bringing with them their bright, elegant, Arab-influenced cuisine. Brooklyn’s Sephardic Jewish neighborhood, located in the vicinity of Ocean Parkway and Avenue P, features many shops specializing in the divine treats of this sumptuous culinary tradition. I stopped by Mansoura’s, a family-owned pastry shop that’s been in Brooklyn for over 50 years. Before that, however, the Mansoura name was a legend in the family’s native Cairo where Isaac Mansoura owned a popular bakery and cafe from the 1930’s to the late 1950’s. After a stay in Paris, the Mansoura family relocated to Brooklyn in 1961 and opened their acclaimed bakery.

I visited Mansoura’s to try some of their Sephardic treats – some familiar, and others less so. I started with a bag of homemade ka’ak, a ring-shaped breadstick that’s common throughout the Middle East. (The word “kahk” means bracelet in Arabic). These handmade crispy snacks come in large (about 2 inches) and small (like tortellini) sizes, with the adorable small ones being more expensive because they are quite time consuming to make. There are many versions of ka’ak, both sweet and savory. The savory recipe features various combinations of anise seeds, caraway, fennel or cumin. A Moroccan version features allspice and chili powder. The Lebanese Christian version of ka’ak is a sweet Easter cookie that includes cinnamon. Mansoura’s ka’ak, like glistening pretzel-crackers sprinkled with sesame seeds, remind me of the Italian snack “tarallini,” round crunchy bread sticks seasoned with salt, pepper or anise. Tarallini are made with olive oil, rather than butter or margarine in the ka’ak. But like tarallini, ka’ak are wonderful served with wine or cocktails.

From Mansoura’s many beautiful cookies, pastries and confections I picked out a few sweets. I tried their tube-shaped almond baklava – a first for me, as I’ve only ever had walnut and pistachio versions. The texture of the phyllo and the sweet syrup were wonderful. I think pistachio nuts make for the best baklava, but it was still a wonderfully sticky and satisfying pastry.

Basbousa, a coconut semolina cake that’s a popular Egyptian dessert, is sometimes served with whipped cream or ushta, a thick cream made from buffalo milk. Mansoura’s basbousa is garnished with blanched, split almonds and is fantastic with rich, dark Turkish coffee or black tea. Basbousa is pleasantly sweet and slightly bitter, with the almond garnish adding a nice texture to this exotic and elegant cake.

I also tried Mansoura’s pistachio-flavored Turkish Delight dipped in dark chocolate. I love pistachios, and this candy allows their nuttiness (and prettiness) to come through. While the gummy gelatinous texture may take a little getting used to, the chewiness is almost like an unsweetened caramel, which adds a tooth-yanking tug to the delicious little cluster.

Mansoura Pastries
515 Kings Highway

Originally published on Until Monday: Brooklyn