1,000 Jewish Recipes (107 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
As a child and teenager I studied at the Hebrew Academy of Washington, D.C. Many of the lessons in our Torah classes required reading the writings of Rashi, the most famous Torah commentator, who lived in France in the eleventh century.
Rashi believed that the fruit of the Garden of Eden wasn't apples, but figs. He pointed out that apples didn't grow in that part of the world and that Adam and Eve covered themselves with fig leaves.
Rashi was not only a great scholar but a wine-maker too. I have to admit, I don't know if he really poached fresh figs in wine syrup, but it's certainly plausible. I learned the recipe from one of his twentieth century countrymen, Master Chef Fernand Chambrette.
If you want more delicately textured figs, remove the skins gently with a vegetable peeler, as French chefs do. I skip this step when using Mission figs from my tree.
1
1
â
4
cups sugar
4 cups dry red wine
Rind of
1
â
2
lemon
2 pounds fresh figs
1.
Heat the sugar, wine, and lemon rind in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring gently until the sugar dissolves. Bring the syrup to a boil and add the figs. Bring the syrup to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and poach the figs uncovered about 15 minutes or until they are just tender but retain their shape.
2.
Let figs cool in the syrup. With a slotted spoon remove them carefully and put them in a deep dish. Discard the lemon rind pieces.
3.
Boil the syrup without stirring until it is reduced to about 2 cups. Let syrup cool, then pour it over the figs. Refrigerate 1 hour or longer. Serve cold.
YOM KIPPUR
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn holiday, a day of fasting and repentance for sins. It takes place in late September to early October, ten days after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. No food or drink is allowed. The entire day is spent in prayer.
BEFORE THE FAST
Food customs on the eve of Yom Kippur are designed to minimize thirst (and discomfort) during the fast. Foods are delicately spiced dishes; people cook with less salt and other seasonings than in most meals. (Also, some people gradually reduce the amount of coffee they drink during the week preceding Yom Kippur to prevent caffeine headaches during the fast.)
The dinner before the fast is generous but fairly simple. Generally a chicken entree is served. Many cooks poach a chicken with vegetables and serve its flavorful soup as a first course. In Ashkenazic homes, the soup often contains matzo balls or kreplach, which resemble tortellini. Sephardic families tend to opt for rice.
As with the Jewish New Year, the bread is usually a round challah. Desserts vary with each family but tend to be simple. When I was growing up, we had a slice of sponge cake or chiffon cake. Some serve honey cake because they baked an extra one at Rosh Hashanah.
This dish is customary in the before-fast meal of Italian Jews. Usually it's made with whole fish but in this version I use fillets to make it easier to prepare and eat.
1
1
â
2
pounds sea bass steaks or fillets
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1
â
3
cup pine nuts
1
â
3
cup raisins
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley (optional)
Preheat oven to 400°F. Oil a heavy baking dish and arrange fish fillets inside. Mix oil and vinegar and spoon it over fish. Sprinkle fish lightly with salt and pepper. Scatter pine nuts and raisins over fish. Cover with foil and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until thickest part of fish becomes opaque inside; check with a sharp knife. Serve hot or cold, sprinkled with parsley, if using.
Also known as chicken in the pot, chicken in soup, or boiled chicken, this is a favorite main course for the meal before the fast. Generally it's made with carrots, onions, and celery but I like to add a greater variety of vegetables and serve them with the chicken. A stewing hen is the traditional choice but I use a large roasting or frying chicken as it's easier to find.
The broth from cooking the whole chicken makes the best chicken soup. Serve it as a first course in the pre-Yom Kippur dinner with kreplach, kneidel, noodles, or rice.
One 3
1
â
2
- to 4-pound chicken
1 large onion, whole
2 ribs celery, including leafy tops
1 parsnip or parsley root (optional)
2 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 quarts water
1 pound banana squash or other winter squash
4 boiling potatoes, quartered
4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch slices
4 medium zucchini, cut into thick slices
8 ounces mushrooms, quartered
3 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1.
Remove excess fat from chicken. Put chicken in a large stew pan or pot, allowing room for vegetables. Add onion, celery, parsnip if using, garlic, bay leaves, and a pinch of salt. Add the water to cover. Bring to a boil. Skim foam from surface. Cover and cook over low heat 1
1
â
2
hours.
2.
Cut peel from banana squash and cut meat into 1-inch cubes. Add to pot. Add potatoes and carrots. Cover and cook over low heat 20 minutes. Add zucchini and mushrooms. Cook 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are tender. Season broth with salt and pepper.
3.
Remove chicken pieces and cool slightly. Remove skin from chicken. Cut chicken into serving pieces and return them to soup. Skim fat from broth. (If time permits, chill soup so fat is easier to skim.)
4.
To serve: if chilled, reheat chicken in soup and add chopped parsley. Serve chicken in fairly shallow bowls with pieces of banana squash, carrots, potato, zucchini, and mushrooms. Moisten each serving with a few spoonfuls of soup.
It might surprise you to find this Provençal specialty on a pre-Yom Kippur menu, given that subtle seasonings are the norm to avoid provoking thirst. But it is a perfect choice, especially when you want a change from the usual boiled chicken. Cooks in southern France discovered that long, gentle cooking of garlic mellows it and gives it a delicate sweetness. The garlic imparts a lovely aroma to the chicken and to its juices.
Best of all, it's easy to make. Don't picture yourself peeling all that garlic; it cooks in its peel. You serve the individual cloves so you can squeeze the soft, delicious garlic onto your portion of chicken or, if you like, onto the accompanying vegetables. You don't even have to count to 40; you can just use two garlic heads. Be sure the garlic is fresh and firm.
In France the mellow garlic is spread on oventoasted slices of baguette or French bread. You could use toasted pita wedges, but to my taste, not sweet challah.
I like to serve the chicken with
Sweet Potato Puree, Miami Style
or
Rosh Hashanah Sweet Potato Casserole
.
Herbed Rice
is another good choice for soaking up the delicious chicken juices.
In traditional French recipes, you make a paste of flour and water and smear it between the lid and the casserole to keep it tightly closed. I use a heavy casserole dish with a tight cover and skip this step.
One 3-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
2 ribs celery, cut into thin slices
1 large sprig fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
40 medium cloves garlic, unpeeled
1
â
4
cup brandy
1.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle the chicken pieces lightly with salt and pepper. In a deep, heavy, enamel-coated cast iron casserole with a tight-fitting lid, or in a Dutch oven, mix oil with celery, thyme, bay leaf, and 1 tablespoon parsley. Add chicken pieces and stir well to coat them with the mixture.
2.
Separate the garlic cloves from the heads and remove any loose skin. Add the garlic and brandy to the casserole. Cover tightly. Bake chicken for 1 hour 15 minutes. To check whether chicken is done, insert a skewer into thickest part of thigh; juices that run from chicken should be clear. If juices are pink, continue baking chicken a few more minutes and check again. Keep it warm, covered, until ready to serve.
3.
If you like, bring the casserole to the table so everyone enjoys the aroma. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig. Sprinkle chicken with remaining parsley. Serve chicken pieces with garlic cloves and a spoonful of the juices.
Noodle kugel has long been a treasured accompaniment on our family's before-the-fast dinner menu. Many people make their noodle kugel with either fruit or vegetables, but for this one I like to combine both. Since carrots are sweet, they harmonize well with the apples, and provide flecks of pretty color. Actually, it's not such a wild combination; some people make carrot and apple tzimmes.
This kugel does not contain much sugar. Seasoned with a touch of cinnamon and ginger, the sweet-savory kugel is delicious with roast chicken or tzimmes.
1 pound wide egg noodles
3 large carrots, coarsely grated
3 large apples, sweet or tart, peeled and coarsely grated
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
1
â
2
teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1
â
2
teaspoon ground cinnamon
1
â
2
teaspoon ground ginger