Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (104 page)
1 pound (2
1
â
2
cups) couscous
1
â
2
cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1
â
4
to
1
â
3
cup vegetable oil
1.
Rinse couscous in a bowl and drain in a fine strainer. Transfer to a shallow bowl and rub grains to be sure they are separated. Let dry for 15 or 20 minutes.
2.
Put couscous in steamer part of couscous cooker. Tie a damp towel around base of steamer part so steam won't escape from sides. Steam couscous uncovered above a simmering stew for
1
â
2
hour.
3.
Remove couscous, put it in a large bowl and let cool. Mix the water with salt. Sprinkle couscous lightly with salted water, rubbing and tossing it between your fingers to prevent grains from sticking together.
4.
About
1
â
2
hour before serving, return couscous to steamer and set it above simmering broth from main recipe. Steam uncovered about 30 minutes or until steam comes through couscous. Transfer to a large bowl.
5.
Sprinkle oil over couscous in bowl. Slowly add
1
â
4
cup of stew broth. Mix lightly with a fork or with your fingers. Serve hot, accompanied by stew.
 or
Â
Rice appears on the Sephardic Rosh Hashanah table as a symbol of plenty. For the holiday it's prepared in an especially festive way, such as this lovely pilaf studded with toasted pistachios and raisins and delicately flavored with orange.
2 or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, minced
1 cup long-grain rice
2 cups hot chicken stock or water
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1
â
2
cup golden raisins
1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
1
â
3
to
1
â
2
cup shelled toasted pistachios
1.
Heat oil in a deep skillet or sauté pan, add onion, and cook over low heat about 5 minutes or until tender. Add rice and sauté over medium heat, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add hot stock, bay leaf, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir once. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Add raisins without stirring. Cover and cook about 8 minutes or until rice is just tender. Let stand off heat, covered, 10 minutes.
2.
Fluff rice lightly with a fork. Using fork, lightly stir in orange rind. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve pilaf in a shallow bowl, garnished with pistachios.
HONEY CAKES AND OTHER DESSERTS
Although honey cake began as an Ashkenazic sweet, now Jews of every origin enjoy it as the traditional Rosh Hashanah dessert. This honey cake is dark, rich, studded with walnuts, and, as is the custom in many Israeli homes, flavored with cocoa.
Honey cake keeps well; if wrapped in foil, this one tastes fresh for two weeks or more. Because of this, in many families it's a custom to serve honey cakes made for Rosh Hashanah after Yom Kippur and on Sukkot as well. For best flavor, bake this cake at least one or two days ahead.
1
1
â
2
cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1
1
â
2
teaspoons baking powder
1
â
2
teaspoon baking soda
1
â
2
teaspoon ground cinnamon
1
â
2
teaspoon ground ginger
2 large eggs
1
â
2
cup sugar
1
â
2
cup honey
1
â
2
cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1
â
4
cup water
1
â
2
cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease an 8 à 4-inch loaf pan, line it with parchment paper or foil and grease the liner. Sift flour with cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger into a bowl.
2.
Beat eggs lightly in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add sugar and honey and beat until mixture is very smooth and lightened in color. Gradually add oil and beat until blended. Beat in orange rind. Stir in flour mixture alternately with water, each in two batches. Last, stir in walnuts.
3.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake about 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 15 minutes. Turn out onto rack and carefully peel off liner. Wrap in foil when completely cool. (If tightly wrapped, cake keeps 2 weeks at room temperature.) Serve in thin slices.
My family loves candied ginger as a sweet with tea. It's also terrific in honey cakes and gives much more zip than ginger powder, which is a common honey cake spice.
With less oil and sugar than most honey cakes, this one is lighter in fat and calories, but it still has great taste.
To turn honey cake into a more sophisticated dessert, I like to serve each thin slice with a few spoonfuls of
Red Wine and Pear Sauce
and to garnish the plate with a few thin wedges of fresh ripe pear. The pear should be cut at the last minute so it doesn't discolor.
1
1
â
2
teaspoons instant coffee granules
6 tablespoons hot water
1
1
â
2
cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1
â
2
teaspoon baking soda
1
â
2
teaspoon ground cinnamon
Small pinch of cloves
2 large eggs
1
â
2
cup sugar
1
â
2
cup honey
1
â
3
cup vegetable oil
1
â
4
cup very finely chopped crystallized ginger
1
â
3
to
1
â
2
cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease an 8 à 4-inch loaf pan, line it with parchment paper or wax paper and grease liner.
2.
Dissolve coffee granules in the hot water in a cup. Let cool. Sift flour with baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves in a medium bowl.
3.
Beat eggs lightly in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add sugar and honey and beat until mixture is very smooth and lightened in color. Gradually add oil and beat until blended. Stir in flour mixture alternately with coffee, each in two batches. Last, stir in crystallized ginger and pecans.
4.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 15 minutes. Turn out onto rack and carefully peel off liner. Wrap in foil when completely cool. (If tightly wrapped, cake keeps 1 week at room temperature.) Serve in thin slices.
Almonds and orange zest give this cake a Middle Eastern flair, while applesauce helps keep it moist. You can bake this cake ahead and keep it tightly wrapped for 1 to 2 weeks at room temperature.
2
1
â
4
cups all-purpose flour
2
1
â
4
teaspoons baking powder
3
â
4
teaspoon baking soda
1
â
2
teaspoon ground cinnamon
1
â
2
teaspoon ground ginger
3 large eggs
3
â
4
cup sugar
1 cup honey
3
â
4
cup vegetable oil
1
1
â
2
teaspoons grated orange rind
1
â
2
cup unsweetened applesauce
3
â
4
cup blanched almonds, chopped
1.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square pan, line it with parchment paper or wax paper and grease the liner.
2.
Sift flour with baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger into a bowl.
3.
Beat eggs lightly in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add sugar and honey and beat until mixture is smooth and lightened in color. Gradually add oil and beat until blended. Add orange rind and beat briefly. On low speed, beat in flour mixture alternately with applesauce, each in a few portions. Add almonds and beat just until blended.
4.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake about 55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan about 15 minutes. Turn out onto rack and carefully peel off paper. Wrap with foil when completely cool. Serve at room temperature. Cut into squares.