1,000 Jewish Recipes (110 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
Eggplants and many varieties of peppers are at the peak of their seasons on Sukkot and are popular for the holiday. If you're grilling the rest of your meal outdoors, prepare the vegetables for this festive salad on the barbecue; or grill the vegetables one day and keep them for the next. Otherwise, use a ridged stove-top grill pan or broil them. I like to toss the grilled vegetables with flavorful greens like spinach, romaine lettuce, or a mixture of both.
2 Japanese, Chinese, or small Italian eggplants, unpeeled and cut crosswise into
1
â
4
-inch slices
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little for brushing
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 red bell pepper, halved and cored
1 yellow or green bell pepper, halved and cored
8 cups spinach leaves
1
1
â
2
to 2 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh thyme or
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â
2
teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil (optional)
6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, halved
1.
Brush eggplant lightly with oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill or broil 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until tender. Remove and let cool.
2.
Set peppers on grill or broiler with their skin side facing the heat. Grill or broil about 5 minutes or until pepper skins begins to blister. Put peppers in a bowl, cover, and let stand 10 minutes; pull off skins.
3.
Cut peppers into strips about
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â
3
-inch wide. Dice eggplants. Combine with spinach in a large bowl.
4.
Whisk 3 tablespoons oil with lemon juice, thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Add to salad mixture and toss gently. Add basil, then adjust seasoning. Top with sun-dried tomatoes.
As in many other holidays, a cold fish appetizer is popular for Sukkot as it is convenient to prepare ahead and have ready to bring right to the Sukkah table. For this festive, easy salad, the fish tops a colorful mixture of romaine lettuce and red cabbage dressed with a light Asian vinaigrette. For another variation, try barbecued cod in place of the smoked fish.
4 ounces smoked whitefish, salmon, or cod
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
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â
2
teaspoon soy sauce
Several drops hot sauce, or to taste
3 cups romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1.
If using whitefish or cod, flake fish, discarding any bones. If using salmon, cut it into thin strips.
2.
Whisk sesame oil with vegetable oil, vinegar, soy sauce, and hot sauce in a small bowl. Mix lettuce and cabbage in a serving bowl, add dressing and toss. Adjust seasoning, adding more soy sauce or hot sauce if you like. Serve greens topped with fish.
Although hot stuffed vegetables are the custom for Sukkot, I also like to serve cold ones. These richly flavored tomatoes subtly seasoned with basil and curry make a delectable main course. Or you can serve half a tomato as a first course.
This is a simplified version of a dish I learned from Master Chef Fernand Chambrette in Paris. It appeared in the book we wrote together, La Cuisine du Poisson. He used two kinds of fish and poached them in court bouillon, a quick broth made of aromatic vegetables and herbs cooked in wine and water, but I use sole and cook it in canned vegetable broth to save time. If you have already cooked fish or canned red salmon, you can substitute it for the sole.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup long-grain rice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cups boiling water
12 ounces sole fillets
2 cups vegetable broth or broth mixed with water, or 1 cup dry white wine and 1 cup broth
1 rib celery, peeled and finely diced
1 to 2 tablespoons shredded fresh basil plus 12 small basil leaves for garnish
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2
green or red bell pepper, halved, cored, and diced
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4
to
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3
cup mayonnaise
6 large tomatoes
1.
Heat oil in a heavy sauté pan. Add onion and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, about 7 minutes or until soft but not brown. Add curry powder and rice and sauté, stirring, about 2 minutes or until rice is coated with onion mixture. Add salt, pepper, and the boiling water and stir once. Cover and cook over low heat without stirring about 18 minutes or until rice is tender. Let stand, covered, off heat, about 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork, transfer to a bowl and let cool.
2.
Run your fingers over sole fillets to check for bones; pull out any bones using tweezers or a sharp paring knife. Sprinkle sole on both sides with salt and pepper. Fold each fillet in half. In a small sauté pan or medium saucepan wide enough to hold sole in one layer, bring vegetable broth to a simmer. Add sole. Cover and cook over low heat about 3 minutes or until fillets become opaque. Uncover and let stand in broth 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and let cool. (You can freeze the broth and save it for soups.)
3.
Put sole in a bowl and flake it. Add rice, celery, basil, and peppers. Mix gently. Add just enough mayonnaise to moisten the filling. Adjust seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
4.
To serve: Halve tomatoes horizontally. Remove interior with a teaspoon, leaving a layer of pulp attached to skin to form a shell. Fill tomato halves with salad, mounding filling. Refrigerate up to 1 hour. Garnish each with a small basil leaf and serve.
This colorful vegetable and fruit medley is a good way to use kiwis that refuse to ripen. Their tart flavor and firm texture are perfect with the cabbage and the sweet vegetablesâred bell pepper and jicama. Of course, you can make it with ripe kiwis too.
The relish is a good, fat-free accompaniment for grilled chicken or for
Garlic-Scented Turkey Patties
. It lends a lively note to the plate when served with
Lebanese Lentil and Rice Casserole
.
2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 cups shredded red cabbage
1 red bell pepper, halved, cored, and diced
2 cups diced peeled jicama
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2
cups coarsely chopped romaine lettuce or romaine mixed with iceberg lettuce
2 kiwi, peeled, quartered, and sliced
1 tablespoon sliced fresh chives
Whisk vinegar with sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add cabbage and mix well, until it is evenly moistened. Add red pepper, jicama, and lettuce and toss well. Add kiwi and chives to salad and toss. Adjust seasoning, adding more vinegar or sugar if you like.
 or
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These crisp mushroom toasts resemble Italian crostini. To make them, you spread oven-toasted bread with a savory French mushroom topping called duxelles. They make appealing hors d'oeuvres or snacks to serve to visitors who come during the week of Sukkot. They're also good as appetizers. For dairy meals, you can sprinkle them with cheese.
8 ounces mushrooms, rinsed and patted dry
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a little more for brushing and drizzling
1 small shallot, minced
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â
2
teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or
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â
2
teaspoon dried
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
8 slices challah or French or Italian bread,
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4
-inch thick, or 16 thin slices baguette
3 tablespoons bread crumbs or freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1.
Chop mushrooms in a food processor with pulsing motion so they are chopped into fine pieces but are not pureed. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over low heat, add shallot, and sauté about 30 seconds until soft but not brown. Add mushrooms and oregano and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook over high heat, stirring, 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture is dry. Adjust seasoning.
2.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly brush both sides of bread slices with olive oil and put them on a baking sheet. Bake 5 minutes. Turn slices over and bake 3 more minutes.
3.
Spread mushroom mixture on bread slices. Sprinkle with bread crumbs or cheese. If using bread crumbs, drizzle lightly with olive oil. Return to oven and bake 7 minutes or until hot. Serve hot.