1,000 Jewish Recipes (140 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
My husband's family attended a Sephardic synagogue in Israel and for the kiddush they might have savory phyllo pastries called
bourekas
if there was a bar mitzvah in a Bulgarian or a Turkish family. In Jerusalem the tradition is to serve small pieces of warm
Jerusalem Kugel
.
= Pareve  
= Dairy  
= MeatAPPETIZERS AND SOUPS
Traditional chopped liver is a popular opening for many Shabbat dinners but if the meal is bountiful, I often opt for a meatless starter. (For more chopped liver recipes see
Appetizers
.)
I got the idea for this dish from Aviva Mandl of Jewish Food Online. She makes her vegetarian chopped liver with fresh green beans and enriches it with cashews. For this rich version of mock liver, I like to combine toasted cashews with other nuts and to add a few cashews for garnish.
3
â
4
pound green beans, ends removed, halved
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
One 15-ounce can peas, drained
1
â
4
cup walnuts, toasted or raw
1
â
4
cup pecans, toasted or raw
1
â
3
cup toasted cashews plus 15 to 20 more for garnish
1 or 2 large hard boiled eggs, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Green leaf lettuce leaves
Cherry tomatoes or wedges of ripe tomatoes
1.
Cook green beans in a large pan of boiling salted water about 10 minutes or until very tender. (They should be more tender than usual so you can chop them easily.) Rinse beans with cold water and drain well.
2.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large, heavy skillet, add onions, and sauté over medium heat, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
3.
Chop green beans in a food processor. Then add peas, walnuts, pecans,
1
â
3
cup cashews, and sautéed onions with their oil. Process until smooth. If you would like the pâté to be more moist, add a little more oil and process until blended. Transfer to a bowl. Lightly stir in chopped hard boiled eggs. Season with salt and pepper.
4.
To serve, line a platter with lettuce leaves. Mound the mock liver in the center. Arrange tomatoes on the lettuce. Garnish the mock liver with toasted cashews.
 or
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Lentils, the ingredient in the biblical pottage for which Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob, are still popular today in the land of the Bible. One tasty, creative way to use them is in this spread. It is inspired by a recipe I received from Nechama Alpert of Haifa, a reader of my
Jerusalem Post
food column. Her family and friends feel this easy-to-make, healthful pâté tastes like real chopped liver. She uses only 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and a full cup of walnuts and makes her stock from bouillon cubes or powder. I increased the oil a bit to make the onions easier to sauté. Usually I have a jar of vegetable cooking liquid in my refrigerator and I use this broth as vegetable stock.
1 cup lentils, picked through, rinsed, and drained
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3
â
4
cup walnuts
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1.
Combine lentils and stock in a medium saucepan. Cover and cook about 30 minutes or until tender; during cooking add a little hot water if necessary so pan will not become dry, but for best flavor do not add too much so lentils don't become soupy. When lentils are tender, drain off excess liquid.
2.
Heat oil in a heavy nonstick skillet. Add onion and sauté over medium-low heat about 5 minutes or until translucent. If pan becomes too dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons water so onions don't burn.
3.
Puree lentils, onion, and walnuts in a food processor until desired consistency, either smooth or slightly chunky. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate 2 or 3 hours before serving.
During the week most of our salads are Israeli salads or green salads. This festive, colorful salad combines the best of both. Serve it in a glass bowl to show it off to its best advantage.
1
1
â
2
to 2 cups strips of romaine lettuce
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
1
â
2
red bell pepper, diced
8 small very white fresh mushrooms, quartered
1
â
2
cup finely shredded red cabbage (optional)
2 medium or large tomatoes, diced
1 green onion, white and green parts, chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Combine lettuce, cucumber, bell pepper, mushrooms, and cabbage, if using, in a bowl and mix. Add tomato and onion and mix gently. A short time before serving, add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix gently but thoroughly.
It's not easy to serve broccoli at its bright-green best on Shabbat because the vegetable tends to lose its vivid color if cooked ahead and reheated. Rinsing it with cold water immediately after cooking and serving it cold helps to keep its bright green color. This recipe for a colorful salad with a lively fresh ginger dressing is a tasty solution. Keep the cooked broccoli in a separate container and add it to the salad just before serving; otherwise the vinegar in the dressing can discolor the broccoli.
2 large carrots, cut into
1
â
4
-inch diagonal slices
8 cups medium broccoli florets
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce
1
â
4
cup rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons water
Hot sauce to taste
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil