Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (115 page)
To make the stuffing for these eggplants, I sauté the inside of the vegetable with extra garlic and add the mixture to Yemenite Turkey Stuffing.
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2
pounds small or medium eggplants, stemmed and halved lengthwise
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
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2
teaspoon ground turmeric
Fresh cilantro sprigs
1.
Prepare stuffing and set aside.
2.
If eggplant is fresh, there is no need to peel it. With a spoon, scoop out eggplant centers, leaving boat-shaped shells. Sprinkle eggplant shells with salt. Put them in a colander upside down and let drain for 30 minutes. Chop eggplant centers.
3.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet, add chopped eggplant, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté over medium-low heat, stirring often, about 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in half the garlic. Adjust seasoning. Let mixture cool. Mix sautéed eggplant with turkey stuffing.
4.
Rinse eggplant shells, pat them dry, and put them in a baking dish. Fill them with stuffing. Mix tomato paste with
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cup water and spoon mixture over eggplant. Add enough water to dish to cover eggplant by one third. Add remaining garlic, cumin, and turmeric to dish. Spoon 1 tablespoon oil over eggplant. Cover and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake 15 more minutes. Uncover and bake, basting occasionally, 30 minutes or until eggplant is very tender. Serve hot, garnished with cilantro.
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cups, enough for 6 to 8 servings
When I am using turkey as a basis for my stuffing for vegetables, I like to use Yemenite flavors to give the lean meat plenty of zip. Use this stuffing in
Spicy Stuffed Eggplant with Turkey
, or for cabbage leaves or zucchini.
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2
cup long-grain rice
3 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed, chopped, or 1 teaspoon
Zehug
1 teaspoon ground cumin
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2
teaspoon ground turmeric
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2
pound ground turkey
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
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4
teaspoon salt
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4
teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1.
Cook rice uncovered in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 10 minutes; it should be partially cooked. Rinse with cold water and drain well. Transfer to a bowl.
2.
Heat oil in a skillet, add onion, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, 7 minutes or until golden. Add the garlic, jalapeño pepper, cumin, and turmeric and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer mixture to bowl of rice and let cool completely. Add turkey, tomato paste, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Knead with clean hands to blend ingredients thoroughly. Refrigerate in a covered container until ready to use.
To prepare this dish, you don't really stuff whole onions. Instead, you cook onions and remove outside layers, which become thin shells for stuffing. White onions are best because they are a bit more delicate, but you can also use yellow onions. I like to flavor the sauce with dried cranberries, which also appear in the stuffing. They're delicious not only for Sukkot, but also for Thanksgiving. Stuffing the onions takes some time but they can be cooked ahead and reheated.
Chicken Stuffing with Pecans and Cranberries
3 large white onions (about 2 pounds)
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2
cups chicken stock or broth or water
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
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4
cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
Pinch of sugar (optional)
1.
Prepare stuffing. Then, set an onion on cutting board, root side down. Put the tip of knife at top core of onion and cut once to root core, making a slit in onion. Repeat with remaining onions. Put onions in a saucepan of boiling salted water and simmer for about 20 minutes or until it is easy to separate them in layers. Drain and leave until cool enough to handle. Cut off top and bottom of onions. Carefully remove as many layers as possible from onions.
2.
Put about 1 teaspoon stuffing at one end of an onion piece and roll it up tightly, following the shape of the onion piece. Cut any large onion pieces in two, to make two stuffed onion pieces.
3.
Put stuffed onions in a sauté pan, arranging them in a tight layer with seam side down. Add 1 cup stock, or enough to just cover them. Sprinkle with salt and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat about 1 hour or until onions are very tender, adding a little stock from time to time if pan gets dry; check them often, as the onions burn easily. Add cranberries and lemon juice and cook 5 more minutes. Season sauce with salt, pepper, and sugar, if using.
This savory stuffing is made of ground chicken and bulgur wheat and is accented with grated lemon, toasted pecans, and dried cranberries. I like it for stuffing onions or zucchini.
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2
cup medium or fine-grain bulgur wheat
1 cup boiling water
3 tablespoons dried cranberries
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4
pound ground chicken
3 tablespoons diced pecans, lightly toasted
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2
teaspoon grated lemon rind
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4
teaspoon ground allspice
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2
teaspoon salt
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2
teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1.
In a bowl combine bulgur wheat and the boiling water. Let stand until mixture is cool. If any water is left, drain bulgur thoroughly. Put bulgur in a dry bowl.
2.
If cranberries are very dry, soak them in a little hot water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Add to bulgur wheat.
3.
Add chicken, pecans, lemon rind, allspice, salt, pepper, and oil. Knead to mix well. Refrigerate in a covered container until ready to use.
SIDE DISHES
My mother-in-law, Rachel Levy, prepares a wonderful dish of cauliflower with the popular Yemenite spice combination of cumin and turmeric, which give the cauliflower a lovely hue and flavor. She usually fries the cauliflower, then simmers it in tomato sauce. I have adapted the recipe to be more healthful by omitting the step of frying the cauliflower. I've made the dish easy to prepare too, by cooking the cauliflower directly in the sauce.
My new version of the dish is always a hit. It's great with basmati rice, as a vegetarian entree, or as an accompaniment for chicken or fish.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, quartered and sliced
1 large head cauliflower, divided into medium florets
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
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teaspoon ground turmeric
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
One 14
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2
-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
One 8-ounce can tomato sauce
One 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1.
Heat oil in a large, heavy stew pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté, stirring often, about 5 minutes or until softened but not brown. Add cauliflower florets with stems touching bottom of pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin, and turmeric. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes, checking once or twice to be sure onions don't burn.
2.
Add garlic, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Stir very gently but keep cauliflower florets with their stems facing down. Cover and cook over medium heat 10 minutes. Add chickpeas without stirring. Cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender; check by piercing thick part of stems with a knife. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot.
Pistou is a Provençal version of pesto that often doesn't have cheese. For this simple recipe the pistou flavors simply cooked zucchini, a popular Sukkot vegetable. Serve the zucchini with chicken, fish, or vegetarian meals, or toss it with spaghetti.
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2
pounds small zucchini
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil