1,000 Jewish Recipes (125 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
2 teaspoons strained fresh lemon juice
Grated rind of 1 lemon (optional)
3 to 6 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
1.
Heat butter in a heavy stew pan or Dutch oven. Add apples and sauté over medium heat, turning pieces over often, 2 minutes or until they are coated with butter. Add lemon juice and grated lemon rind, if using. Cover tightly and cook over low heat, stirring often, 25 to 30 minutes or until apples are very tender. As the apples cook, check the pan from time to time; if it looks dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons water.
2.
Stir in 3 tablespoons sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture is thick and most of the liquid in the pan evaporates. Add more sugar if desired; heat briefly to dissolve it. Serve warm or cold.
 or
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1
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2
cups, about 8 servings
This is a beautiful new type of applesauce. The raspberries give the applesauce wonderful flavor and color. Serve this sauce with potato or sweet potato latkes or sweeten it a bit more and serve it with fruit, sweet cheese blintzes, or with cake for dessert.
2 cups
Chunky French Applesauce
10- to 12-ounce package frozen unsweetened or lightly sweetened raspberries, thawed
1
â
2
cup powdered sugar, or more to taste, sifted
1.
Prepare applesauce. Puree applesauce in a food processor or blender until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.
2.
Put raspberries in processor or blender and puree them. Add
1
â
2
cup powdered sugar and process until very smooth. Strain into a bowl, pressing on pulp in strainer; use rubber spatula to scrape mixture from underside of strainer.
3.
Mix raspberry puree with applesauce. Taste sauce, and whisk in more powdered sugar if you like. Whisk to blend well. If sauce is too thick, whisk in a little water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Refrigerate in a covered container for 30 minutes or until ready to serve. Stir before serving. Serve cold.
Today cooks are making many new versions of applesauce. For serving with potato latkes, I particularly like applesauce with dried apricots. The apricots contribute a delicious, slightly tangy taste and a pleasing texture to the sauce.
1
â
2
pound dried apricots
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2
1
â
2
pounds Golden Delicious, Pippin, or Granny Smith apples, peeled, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons strained fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
3 to 6 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
1.
Soak apricots in hot water to cover for about 10 minutes or until tender. Remove from water and cut into small dice.
2.
Heat oil in a heavy stew pan or Dutch oven. Add apples and sauté over medium heat, turning pieces over often, 2 minutes. Add lemon juice. Cover tightly and cook over low heat, stirring often, 15 minutes.
3.
Add apricots and water. Cover and cook 10 to 15 more minutes or until apples are very tender, adding 1 or 2 tablespoons more water if needed.
4.
Stir in 3 tablespoons sugar. Cook sauce over low heat, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Add more sugar if desired; heat briefly to dissolve it. Serve warm or cold.
This colorful sauce is made of fresh cranberries cooked in wine and apple juice syrup, combined with applesauce. It's good not only with potato latkes but also with roast turkey, chicken, duck, and goose.
1
1
â
2
cups dry red wine
1
â
2
cup apple juice
2
â
3
cup sugar, or more to taste
1 cinnamon stick
12 ounces (3 cups) fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed
2 cups applesauce
Combine wine, apple juice, sugar, and cinnamon stick in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring. Add cranberries, cover, and simmer over low heat 6 to 7 minutes or until tender. Discard cinnamon stick. Stir in applesauce. Add more sugar if needed. Heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves.
SALADS AND APPETIZERS
Serving a salad before the latkes is a great idea. A salad I enjoyed at a Hanukkah party in Los Angeles inspired me to create this one. It was a colorful mixed salad and everyone was delighted to have such a fresh, light dish before "attacking" the latkes.
10 cups mixed salad greens, such as green leaf lettuce, escarole, and romaine, or mixed baby lettuces
2 cups finely shredded red cabbage
1 large red pepper, halved, cored, and cut into thin strips
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â
4
red onion, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1
â
4
cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
2 cups sliced white mushrooms
1.
Combine salad greens, red cabbage, red pepper, and red onion in a large bowl. Mix well.
2.
Whisk vinegar with salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in olive oil, then add oregano. Put sliced mushrooms in a medium bowl, add 1
1
â
2
tablespoons of the dressing, and toss to combine.
3.
Add remaining dressing to salad mixture and toss to moisten salad evenly. Add mushrooms and toss. Adjust seasoning.
Before serving latkes, put this colorful, easy-to-make cole slaw on the table as a light appetizer. Be sure to use fresh walnuts. If you're in a hurry, you can use packaged shredded red cabbage and carrots.
8 cups shredded red cabbage
1 medium carrot, shredded
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1
â
4
cup vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 oranges
1 red or pink grapefruit
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â
2
cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted
1.
Mix cabbage, carrot, and celery in a large bowl. Add vinegar, orange juice, oil, salt, and pepper and mix until vegetables are evenly moistened. Adjust seasoning. Refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 1 day.
2.
Just before serving, peel the oranges and grapefruit and divide them into segments. Cut half the grapefruit segments in 2 or 3 pieces and add them to the salad. Add half the orange segments and toss. Adjust seasoning. Serve topped with remaining orange and grapefruit segments and with toasted walnuts.
This tasty salad is seasoned very delicately, to highlight the natural flavor of the beets. The salad has a hint of vinegar but should be more sweet than sour. My sister-in-law Nirit Levy finds that it's a good way to get children to eat a vegetable. She prepares it for holiday meals, as part of an array of vegetable salads.