1,000 Jewish Recipes (100 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
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pounds sea bass fillets, about 1 inch thick
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or Italian parsley
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Slightly crush saffron with your fingers and soak it in the oil in a small cup about 20 minutes. Transfer saffron oil to a large sauté pan or skillet and cook briefly over low heat. Add onion and bell pepper and sauté over medium-low heat about 5 minutes or until onion begins to turn golden. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, 8 to 10 minutes or until thick.
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Add sea bass in one layer to sauce and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, spooning sauce over fish from time to time, about 10 minutes or until thickest part of fish becomes opaque inside; check with a sharp knife. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Stir 2 tablespoons basil gently into sauce. Serve hot or cold, sprinkled with remaining basil.
For this savory first course, the fish bakes in a Hungarian green pepper sauce. For Rosh Hashanah it's more likely to be served as a cold appetizer but it's also good hot. You can prepare it a day ahead and keep it in the refrigerator. In fact, the fish continues to gain flavor as it chills. If you like, substitute haddock, cod, or sea bass or other delicate, white-fleshed fish for the halibut.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin
1 pound green bell peppers (or mixed green, red, and yellow) cut into strips
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-inch wide and 2 inches long
2 teaspoons paprika
1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced, or one 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Pinch of hot paprika or cayenne pepper (optional)
2 pounds halibut fillets, about 1 inch thick
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Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add onion and sauté over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until onion begins to turn golden. Add peppers and sauté, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Add paprika and sauté 1 minute, stirring.
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Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes or until peppers are tender and mixture is thick. Adjust seasoning, adding hot paprika, if using. (If not serving immediately, store pepper sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator.)
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When ready to prepare fish, preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly oil a shallow baking dish large enough to hold fish in a single layer. Reheat pepper sauce, if necessary. Spread half of sauce in dish. Arrange halibut fillets on top, in one layer. Season them lightly with salt and pepper. Spread remaining sauce over fish.
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Bake uncovered about 15 minutes or until thickest part of fish becomes opaque inside; check with a sharp knife. Serve hot or chilled.
French Jews prepare dishes like this as holiday first courses. The sauce of mayonnaise, shallot, and herbs is easy to make but you should use fresh tarragon rather than dried. If you prefer, choose a low-fat mayonnaise for the sauce.
1 carrot, sliced about
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-inch thick
1 onion, halved and sliced about
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-inch thick
4 sprigs fresh tarragon, stems and leaves separated
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
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teaspoon black peppercorns
5 cups water
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cup dry white wine
4 small trout (about 8 ounces each)
Salt and white pepper, to taste
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cup mayonnaise
1 small shallot, finely minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Fresh parsley and tarragon sprigs (for garnish)
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Combine carrot, onion, tarragon stems, bay leaf, salt, peppercorns and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat 20 minutes. Strain into a bowl and add wine.
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Preheat oven to 400°F. Using sturdy scissors, snip fins of fish. Rinse fish inside and out, removing any scales, and pat dry. Leave on heads and tails. Season fish inside and out with salt and pepper.
3.
Set fish in one layer in a large, heavy, flameproof baking dish. Pour enough of wine mixture over fish to cover. Bring to a simmer. Cover with foil. Transfer to oven and bake about 12 minutes or until a thin skewer inserted into thickest part of fish comes out hot to touch. Uncover fish and let cool in liquid until lukewarm.
4.
For the sauce, chop enough tarragon leaves to make 1 tablespoon. Use either fish poaching liquid or water to thin the mayonnaise. If using poaching liquid, strain a few tablespoons of it. Gradually whisk 1 tablespoon strained poaching liquid or water into mayonnaise. If necessary, whisk in a little more liquid until sauce reaches desired thickness. Stir in shallot, tarragon, and parsley. Add salt and white pepper if needed.
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With 2 slotted spatulas, transfer fish carefully to a plate lined with paper towels. Remove skin of each fish by scraping gently with paring knife; leave skin on head and tail. Cover and refrigerate fish until ready to serve. Refrigerate sauce in a separate covered dish. Serve fish garnished with parsley and tarragon sprigs. Serve sauce separately.
At my house we love chicken soup with lots of vegetables in it. For this one I add a piece of banana squash, some yellow crookneck squash, and a few sugar snap peas; they contribute a sweet flavor and lovely bright color. You can blanch the sugar snap peas ahead but it's best to heat them in the soup at the last moment so they stay bright green and retain their texture. Generally I opt for
Extra-Light Matzo Balls
for copious holiday meals but you can add any type of matzo balls you like.
2 pounds chicken thighs, drumsticks, or wings
8 to 10 cups water
1 medium onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 large clove garlic, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
One 1-pound piece banana squash, peeled and diced
2 medium yellow crookneck squash, diced
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pound sugar snap peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or parsley
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Put chicken in a soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Skim foam. Add onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and salt. Cover and cook over low heat 1 hour. Add banana squash and simmer 30 minutes or until chicken is tender and soup is well flavored. Remove chicken. Add yellow crookneck squash to soup and simmer 5 minutes or until barely tender. Refrigerate soup. Thoroughly skim fat from soup.
2.
Prepare matzo balls.
3.
Before serving, reheat matzo balls in their cooking liquid. Bring soup to a simmer. If you like, remove some of chicken meat from bones, return meat to soup and heat through. With a slotted spoon, add matzo balls to soup. Add sugar snap peas and simmer 3 to 5 minutes or until just tender. Adjust seasoning. Serve sprinkled with chopped dill or parsley.
The classic way to serve kreplach (Ashkenazic tortellini) is in clear chicken soup. I like to embellish it just a little with a few slices of carrot and zucchini and some fresh parsley as well as dill to echo the seasoning of the chicken kreplach filling.
If you don't feel like making kreplach, you can prepare this soup with frozen kreplach. You can find these in kosher grocery stores and some supermarkets.
2 pounds chicken thighs, drumsticks, or wings
8 to 10 cups water
1 medium onion, whole
2 ribs celery, whole
2 large carrots, 1 whole and 1 sliced
4 fresh sprigs dill (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 small zucchini, halved and sliced thin
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 1 to 2 teaspoons dried
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Put chicken in a soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Skim foam. Add onion, celery, whole carrot, dill sprigs if using, and salt. Cover and cook over low heat 1
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hours or until chicken is very tender and soup is well flavored. Remove onion, celery, whole carrot, and dill sprigs. Remove chicken; reserve for other uses. Refrigerate soup. Thoroughly skim fat from soup.
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Prepare kreplach.
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Before serving, bring soup to a simmer. Add sliced carrot and simmer 10 minutes. Add kreplach and zucchini and simmer 5 minutes or until kreplach are hot and zucchini is just tender. Stir in half the parsley and half the dill. Season soup with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with remaining parsley and dill.
MEAT TZIMMES AND OTHER MAIN COURSES