Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (162 page)
1
â
4
cup (
1
â
2
stick) butter, cut into 8 pieces, or 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
3 large eggs
2 ounces Swiss cheese, coarsely grated
1 large egg, beaten with a pinch of salt (for glaze)
1.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly butter 2 baking sheets. Sift flour onto a piece of wax paper.
2.
Heat water, salt, and butter in a small, heavy saucepan until butter melts. Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add flour immediately and stir quickly with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth. Set pan over low heat and beat mixture about 30 seconds. Remove, stir in cayenne and nutmeg, and let cool a few minutes.
3.
Transfer dough to food processor and process 5 seconds. Add 2 eggs and process about 15 seconds or until mixture is smooth. Reserve 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese for sprinkling on top. Add remaining cheese to dough and process just until blended. (To make without a food processor, beat eggs one by one into dough with a wooden spoon, then beat in cheese.)
4.
Transfer dough to a bowl. Beat third egg in a small bowl with a fork. Gradually beat enough of this egg into dough until dough becomes very shiny and is soft enough so it just falls from spoon.
5.
With a pastry bag and small plain tip, or with 2 teaspoons, shape small mounds of dough, spacing them about 1
1
â
2
inches apart on baking sheets. Brush them with egg glaze. Sprinkle them with remaining cheese. Bake about 15 minutes or until dough is puffed and browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Kubeh
are pastries made of a crunchy case and a meat or chicken filling. Usually the case is made of bulgur wheat but variations abound, made with potatoes, rice, semolina, or matzo meal. Making them is a tradition of Jews born in many Middle Eastern countries. People from Iraq are especially fond of them. Serve the
kubeh
with
Tahini Dip
.
Kubeh
are traditionally formed in a football shape but this takes practice. I use the easier method below and shape them into disks.
3 cups cold water
1 cup bulgur wheat, finest grind
2 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1
â
2
teaspoon ground turmeric
3 to 4 tablespoons water
About 1 cup vegetable oil (for frying)
1.
Pour water over bulgur wheat and let stand about 1 hour or until softened. Make filling.
2.
Drain wheat in strainer. Squeeze out excess water. Return wheat to bowl. Add bread crumbs, flour, salt, and turmeric. Mix well. Gradually add water by tablespoons, kneading mixture with your hands; add enough water so that mixture is just moist enough to form a stiff dough; it will be sticky. Adjust seasoning; it should be well seasoned.
3.
Take about 2 tablespoons dough and squeeze together in a patty shape between both hands about 15 times, pressing to make dough compact. Then roll between your palms to a smooth ball. Put balls on a plate.
4.
With moistened hands, flatten a ball of dough into a disk. Press to flatten it further in your palm. Cup your palm so there is a hollow in the middle of the dough. Put about 1
1
â
2
teaspoons filling in the hollow. Bring dough around filling. Press to join edges to completely enclose filling. Pat again to a disk. Set on prepared baking sheet. Continue with remaining dough and remaining filling. Refrigerate, uncovered, 1 hour or up to overnight.
5.
Heat oil in a large, deep, heavy skillet over medium-high heat; when oil is hot enough, it should sizzle when the end of a
kubeh
is touched to it. Fry
kubeh
in batches, without crowding, about 4 minutes per side or until deep golden brown; reduce heat if they brown too fast. Stand back while frying, as oil tends to splatter. Use 2 slotted spatulas to turn them carefully. Drain well on several layers of paper towels. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Use this spicy filling with a bulgur wheat shell to make
Chicken Kubeh
.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6 ounces ground chicken
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1
â
2
teaspoon ground turmeric
1
â
2
teaspoon paprika
1
â
2
teaspoon dried dill
2 tablespoons water
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Heat oil in medium, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté about 10 minutes or until well browned. Add chicken, cumin, turmeric, paprika, dill, water, salt, and pepper. Sauté, stirring often, about 10 minutes or until chicken changes color and is cooked through. Transfer to a bowl. Adjust seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to use.
SAUCES
1
â
3
cups, 6 to 8 servings
The traditional way to make this easy salsa is by grating some ripe tomatoes, then stirring in enough fiery hot pepper chutney called
zehug
to flavor the tomatoes to the desired degree of hotness. This salsa is a favorite accompaniment for Shabbat pastries, breads, and hard boiled eggs. It is usually made at the last minute so the tomatoes are as fresh as possible.
You can make your own
zehug
, buy it at Israeli markets, or substitute another thick hot sauce. If you prefer, puree the tomatoes in a blender or food processor instead of grating them.
1 to 2 tablespoons
Zehug
, or hot sauce, or to taste
1
â
2
pound ripe tomatoes
Salt, to taste
Prepare Zehug. Then, grate tomatoes using large holes of grater. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in zehug and salt. Serve cold.
 or
Â
Serve this sauce with
Mati's Mushroom Bourekas
or, if you like, with meat-filled knishes. To avoid making the pastry soggy, either serve the sauce separately, or spoon it on the plate, not over the
bourekas
, at serving time.
If you wish to serve this sauce with
bourekas
or knishes containing dairy products, make it with vegetable stock.
1
â
4
cup vegetable oil or margarine
1 medium onion, minced
8 ounces mushrooms, halved and sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1
â
4
cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken, beef, veal, or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Hot paprika or cayenne pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley (optional)
1.
Heat oil in a large sauté pan or skillet, add onion and sauté over medium heat 5 minutes or until onions are tender and begin to turn golden. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Sauté over medium heat about 3 minutes, then over medium-high heat about 2 minutes, or until mushrooms and onions are light brown.
2.
Transfer mushroom mixture to a medium saucepan. Heat over low heat. Add sweet paprika and flour and sauté mixture, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in 1
3
â
4
cups stock. Return to heat and bring to a boil, stirring.
3.
Blend remaining stock with tomato paste in a small bowl and stir into sauce. Add thyme. Bring to a simmer, stirring. Simmer sauce 5 minutes or until thickened to taste. Add hot paprika. Adjust seasoning. Stir in parsley, if using, just before serving. Serve hot.
Salads
Serving an array of salads of cooked and raw vegetables is a delightful Sephardic way of beginning holiday menus. In fact, salads have always been popular on Jewish menus and play an even more prominent role today. I learned to appreciate them more than ever when I lived in Israel, where salad is an integral part of most meals, both for holidays and for everyday cooking, often even for breakfast.
The most popular salad is generally called Israeli salad and is in fact prepared in many Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries, from Lebanon to Iran. It is made of small cubes of tomatoes and cucumbers mixed with chopped onion, and appears on most menus, whether the main course is meat, fish, eggs, or legumes. I love this healthful custom and I usually make this pretty salad or a variation of it every day.
Other favorite vegetables for making uncooked salads in the Jewish kitchen are carrots and red and green cabbage. These are not only made into the sweet carrot salads and cole slaw familiar to Americans, but also into lemony carrot and tangy cabbage salads.