L ifestyle /C ulture
A Riff on Hummus
F OOD
KERI WHITE | JE FOOD COLUMNIST
I know, I know, why mess with
perfection? Hummus is practically
its own food group in my
house. Whether it’s the store-
bought version we pull out as
a quick snack on the run or a
gussied up homemade version
a la Zahav, served warm with
various salatim for a decadent
vegetarian meal, we all simply
love it.

But I got to thinking, what
if I mixed it up? Swap out a
different type of beans for
the chickpeas. Take the flavor
profile in another direction,
say, South American? Make
the salatim to complement this
new concoction.

Well, it was a revelation. We
loved this, well, for lack of a
better term, Argentine hummus.

It featured white beans in place
of the chickpeas and chimich-
urri in place of the tahina. I
bought the chimichurri from a
local chef who was selling her
wares at the Sisterly Love Food
Fair, but it is certainly something
that can be made without
tremendous difficulty.

This experiment was so
deliciously successful, I am
contemplating other variations
“Argentine” hummus platter
Photo by Keri White
on the theme — cannellini beans
and pesto with crusty semolina
bread or pinto beans and salsa of vegetable dishes (see below) cook this for less time
with tortillas. Stay tuned!
and crusty bread.

ARGENTINE “HUMMUS”
Serves 4-6 as a meal or more as
an appetizer
We served this with a sampling
SHOP THE
HOUSE FROM
YOUR HOME.

In a large pot, cover the
soaked beans with water —
it should be filled to about 3
inches above the beans. Add
a pinch of baking soda; this
alters the pH of the water and
is said to deliver softer beans.

Bring the beans to a boil, then
cover them and lower the heat.

Simmer for about 2 hours until
the beans are soft. You can’t
really overcook the beans, so
if you are in doubt, give them
some more time to simmer.

Drain the beans, return
them to the pot, and add
chimichurri. Using
an immersion blender, puree
the “hummus” to the desired
texture and taste; add salt and
pepper as needed. Serve warm,
at room temperature or chilled.

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PHILADELPHIA, PA 19115
18 APRIL 22, 2021
1 pound white beans,
soaked and drained
Pinch baking soda
1½ cups chimichurri sauce,
either homemade or
bought Salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch broccolini, rinsed
and tough stem trimmed
1 tablespoon oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of ½ lime
Heat your oven to 400
degrees F. Line a small baking
sheet with parchment. Toss
the broccolini with the oil, salt
and pepper and spread it onto
the sheet. Bake it for about 30
minutes until the vegetables are
charred. Remove the broccolini
from the oven, place it in a bowl
and spritz it with lime.

CUMIN-CAYENNE SPICED
CARROT COINS
Serves 4
I used rainbow carrots here, but
the regular orange ones work
just fine. I also cut them into
coins for quick cooking, but
you can roast them whole or
in larger chunks, if preferred.

The cayenne pepper packs a
punch, and complements the
sweetness of the carrots nicely.

If the heat is too much for
you and your crew, simply omit
CHAR-ROASTED BROCCOLINI or reduce it and, if you are spice
Serves 2-4
lovers, give it an extra sprinkle.

We love the char on a vegetable;
it gives it a depth, heft and
crunch. But if your crew prefers
a less-blackened version, simply
JEWISH EXPONENT
1 bunch carrots, sliced into
coins 1 tablespoon oil
1½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Heat your oven to 400
degrees F. Line a cooking tray
with parchment. Toss the
carrots with the oil and season-
ings. Spread them out onto the
tray in a single layer. Roast
the carrots until the desired
doneness, about 20 minutes, or
longer if browning or charring
is desired.

BEETS AND GREENS
Serves 4
I use both parts of the beet
— the greens are wonderfully
nutritious, and I feel like I’m
getting an extra vegetable “for
free” when I buy a bunch of
beets with the greens attached.

For the beets:
4 beets
Salt and pepper to taste
Boil the beets in lightly
salted water in a medium-sized
saucepan for about 30 minutes,
depending on their size. Drain
them and set them aside. When
they’re cool enough to handle,
peel the beets and chop them
into bite-sized chunks. Toss
them with salt and pepper.

Serve warm or chilled.

For the greens:
Greens from 4 beets, rinsed
well and chopped, stems
included 1 tablespoon oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
Juice of ½ lemon
In a large skillet, heat the oil
and garlic over medium until
it is sizzling. Add the salt and
chili flakes, then the greens.

Using tongs, turn the greens
over regularly to ensure even
cooking. When done, about
6-8 minutes, spritz them with
lemon juice and serve. l
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



L ifestyle /C ulture
‘The Man of the Monkey’ Examines Diaspora
FI L M
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
DAVID ROMBERG KNOWS
many North American Jews
are unfamiliar with the stories
of the Latin America diaspora.

As a high school student
in the United States, his class-
mates didn’t understand how
he could be Jewish, speak
Spanish and trace his roots to
Argentina. “There’s a whole kind of
narrative that’s missing,” he
said. His new documentary, “The
Man of the Monkey,” sheds light
on Latin American Jewish history
through the story of Romberg’s
family, a remote island, a local
legend and a brutal regime.

Romberg, assistant
professor of film studies
media and communications
at Muhlenberg College, spent
part of his childhood living on
Ilha Grande, an island off the
coast of Brazil. His father built
their house in the 1970s as a
refuge after he escaped from
the military dictatorship in
Argentina, also known as the
Dirty War. He was not the only
person in the family forced
to flee violence: Romberg’s
grandfather escaped Russian
pogroms, and his grandmother
is a Holocaust survivor.

The film follows Romberg as
he attempts to learn the origins
of a story his father told him
when he was a small boy: The
man of the monkey is said to
live in isolation in the forest
with a monkey for a wife, and
the animal attacks anyone
who ventures near, especially
women. The tale stays with
Romberg into adulthood and
he decides to interview other
islanders about their knowl-
edge of the legend.

As Romberg contacts more
and more people, stories about
a man with a monkey for a
wife evolve into mentions of a
white man with a monkey on
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM his shoulder. These eventually
morph into anecdotes about
run-ins with an Austrian or
German man who intimidates
locals near his home with
firearms and dogs.

More questions arise as it
becomes clear that the man
of the monkey is a real person
who arrived on the island after
World War II and earned a
fearsome reputation: Is he a
former Nazi who fled to South
America to escape prosecution
for war crimes? Is he working to
displace locals from their land
under the guise of environ-
mental conservation? Was
he involved in the Brazilian
dictatorship that led to the
disappearance and imprison-
ment of political dissidents on
the very island where Romberg
and his Jewish family lived?
While Romberg searches
for answers, he begins to learn
disturbing truths about the
place he called home for so
many years, as well as stories
about the generational trauma
of Jews living in the Latin
American diaspora.

“The Man of the Monkey”
took 10 years to film and more
than 10 years to research.

Romberg contacted multiple
Jewish organizations that
collected information about
escaped Nazis and war crimi-
nals, and combed through
records and passports from
different countries. Although
the film is full of interviews
from locals that help flesh
out the identity of the myste-
rious figure, Romberg said
he constantly ran into dead
ends as he tried to pin down
his identity.

As Romberg realized that
his father built their family
home on an island where polit-
ical dissidents were tortured
and a potential war criminal
terrorized locals, he questioned
whether true refuge is even
possible. “A lot of that came from
trying to understand what the
David Romberg explores Ilha Grande in “The Man of the Monkey.”
idea of refuge was as a concept
for the Jewish diaspora, but
specifically for the Latin
American-Jewish diaspora,
which experienced various
traumas, even after the war,
once they came to South
America, which had various
dictatorships,” Romberg said.

He said many Holocaust
survivors escaped to Latin
American countries, only
to find that Nazis and their
collaborators fled prosecu-
tion and settled in the same
places. In addition to the
proximity of former tormen-
tors, new dictatorships during
the 1960s and ’70s threatened
Jewish lives and livelihoods.

Some of Romberg’s own family
members disappeared during
the Argentinian dictatorship,
and many Jews were among
the intellectuals, students and
artists who were targeted.

“For me, it was important to
trace that history,” he said.

Romberg’s understanding
of refuge also shapes his
understanding of nationality
and belonging. He lives in the
United States and many of his
family members, including
his Holocaust survivor grand-
mother, live in Israel. While
JEWISH EXPONENT
they love their home countries,
their history of constant
displacement means feelings
of safety and belonging are
elusive. “For Jews specifically, it’s an
interesting problem, because
we have been moving from
continent to continent, from
place to place, for so long that
one wants to think that there is
a place that you end up at,” he
said. “From my experience, I’m
Courtesy of David Romberg
not sure that’s true, because
even now, even though I think
of the United States as my
home, I don’t culturally neces-
sarily identify completely with
the United States.”
“The Man of the Monkey”
is available to screen virtually
from the Miami Jewish Film
Festival until April 29. l
spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
APRIL 22, 2021
19