Recipes for Lag b’Omer outdoor celebrations

By Ethel Hofman

Lag b’Omer, this year begins at sundown on Saturday, May 25, and ends at nightfall on Sunday, May 26. According to the Talmud, a plague that had spread among the students of Rabbi Akiva ceased on Lag b’Omer, the 33rd day of the Omer — the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot. On that day, weddings are permitted, music can be listened to and haircuts are allowed. It makes for a flurry of activity!

For me, it’s extra special; I was married on that day, and my wedding anniversaries were always celebrated with a backyard family picnic.

In Israel, it’s bonfires and barbecues. Since many Israelis live in high-rise apartments in cities and towns across the country, families and friends go to local parks schlepping grills and all the fixings for a festive meal.

In Tel Aviv, smoke from hundreds of grills wafts over Hayarkon Park. It’s a carefree time, even during these dark days with Israel embroiled in war on multiple fronts.

But it wasn’t always bonfires and barbecues.

When my friend Alisa was growing up in Jaffa, she remembers: “We just went to the beach, dug a hole in the sand and dropped in little potatoes. Then we covered the potatoes with hot embers, roasted them till they were brown and crisp, and ate them with brown eggs.”

I’d never tasted brown eggs until I visited Kibbutz Hagoshrim, south of the Lebanese border. The Turkish cook called the Sephardic-style brown eggs charinadu, explaining that “oil keeps the water from evaporating during the long simmering process.” The result is that it makes them delicious, smooth and creamy.

My friend Shani, who came to the US from Iran in the early 1980s, recalls celebrating at a wealthy uncle’s home — a feast with platters piled high with cardamom meatballs smothered in tahini sauce, jeweled rice and dishes made with carob.

Carob sustained Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son, Rabbi Elazar, when for 13 years they hid in a cave from their Roman oppressors, so it’s customary to eat carob dishes at Lag b’Omer.

Growing up on the Shetland Islands, carob was unavailable. Instead, we used chocolate for a recipe dubbed Chocolate Crispies.

My brothers and I would melt the chocolate in a pan with a bit of butter and honey, stir in cornflakes and maybe throw in a handful of dried currants. Then the mixture was spooned into heaps like haystacks and cooled on the window sill for a special holiday treat. No baking needed.

The recipe below includes powdered carob along with dark chocolate. Powdered carob and carob chips should be available in shops with natural or health products.

More recipes for your Lag b’Omer feast that are in the print edition are Oven Roasted Baby Potatoes, Easy Veggie Cheddar Pasties, Carob Tapioca and Mango Carob Smoothie.