Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (165 page)
This refreshing salad is fat-free and very simple. It's traditional in Ashkenazic cooking and appears on the tables of Jews from Poland, Hungary, Austria, and Germany as an accompaniment for cold meats. The dressing is simply a mixture of vinegar, water, and a little sugar in amounts that vary from one cook to another. Some also add sliced onions. Not everyone adds dill but I love the freshness it contributes. The old-fashioned way of preparing it is to salt the cucumber, let it stand for about an hour, and squeeze out the juices. In this quick version I simply add a little salt to the dressing.
1 long (hothouse) cucumber, peeled (optional) and thinly sliced
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4
red or white onion, cut into very thin slices
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
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4
cup white wine vinegar
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4
cup water
2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons snipped fresh dill
Combine all ingredients except dill in a bowl. Mix well. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes so salad is well chilled. Add dill just before serving. Serve cold, in deep dishes.
Horseradish is a beloved condiment in Polish Jewish cooking, most notably as an accompaniment for gefilte fish. But it's used in other ways as well, like in this salad, where it gives zip to the medley of grated carrots and apples enriched with sour cream. Make it with any kind of sour cream you like.
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or other mild vinegar
1 teaspoon bottled white horseradish or finely grated fresh horseradish
2 to 3 teaspoons sugar
Salt, to taste
2 medium apples
3 large carrots, coarsely shredded (about 3
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2
cups)
2 to 3 tablespoons sour cream, regular, low-fat, or nonfat
Mix vinegar with horseradish, 2 teaspoons sugar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Peel apples and coarsely grate them. Add to dressing. Add carrots and mix. Stir in sour cream. Adjust seasoning; add more sugar if needed. Serve cold.
Salads of grated carrots with orange juice are popular in Israel. Mothers often add sugar to entice their children to eat carrots. Here is an adult version, flavored with a touch of hot pepper and garlic. Be sure to use garlic that is very fresh.
1 pound carrots (about 6 medium), coarsely grated
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4
cup strained fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon strained fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium clove garlic, pressed or finely minced
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2
teaspoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste
Salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
Put carrots in a bowl. Add orange juice, lemon juice, oil, garlic, hot pepper sauce, and salt and mix well. Adjust seasoning; add cayenne, if using. Serve on a flat plate.
Shred the cabbage with a knife or in a food processor, or, quickest of all, buy an 8-ounce package of cole slaw mix. Use any kind of mustard and vinegar that you like.
4 cups shredded green cabbage
1 large carrot, coarsely shredded
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2
cup sour cream, regular, low-fat, or nonfat
1 to 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard
1 teaspoon vinegar or strained fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons water
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Combine cabbage and carrot in a large bowl. Mix sour cream with mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, sugar, and water in a small bowl until blended. Toss with cabbage mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
I love the red cabbage salad served in Israeli restaurants and delis with its tangy dressing. My favorite way to prepare it at home is to toss it with finely diced crisp apples and to embellish it with toasted pecans. Serve this salad with grilled chicken or with cold sliced turkey.
2 to 3 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 cups shredded red cabbage, or an 8-ounce package
1 rib celery, sliced thin
1 large apple (tart or sweet)
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4
cup pecan pieces
Whisk 2 tablespoons vinegar with oil, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add red cabbage and celery and mix well, until cabbage is evenly moistened. Peel apple and cut into
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2
-inch dice. Add to salad and toss. Adjust seasoning; add remaining tablespoon vinegar if you like. Serve salad topped with pecans.
Kurdish Jews serve this salad as an accompaniment for grilled meats. Use any large radish that you like. I generally choose the mild, white Asian daikon radish that is widely available at the market. Use black radishes or sharper ones if you prefer. You can either mix the vegetables or dress each one separately and serve them side by side.
For an eye-catching salad, when preparing the radish and carrots I hold them almost parallel to the grater to get attractive long shreds.
2 cups coarsely grated peeled daikon radish
2 cups coarsely grated carrot
1 green onion, white and green parts, chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
With a fork, lightly mix grated vegetables with green onion, oil, and lemon juice in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Cole slaw is such an important accompaniment to sandwiches with cold cuts and other meats. It's now easy to find turkey pastrami and low-fat versions of smoked meats, and if you're serving these, you probably don't want the cole slaw to be high in fat.
This salad is crunchy and has the appealing sweetness of jicama. Flavored with horseradish, it's more like a relish than a salad and is terrific with all kinds of cold meats. For meatless meals, if you want it to have the creamy quality of cole slaw, add
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4
cup nonfat sour cream and
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4
cup nonfat yogurt. I like to add toasted sunflower seeds or
pepitas
(pumpkin seeds) to this salad, but if you want it completely fat-free, you can omit them.
3 cups shredded napa cabbage
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 large carrot, coarsely shredded
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cup finely diced cucumber
1 cup peeled, finely diced jicama
1 tablespoon white horseradish, or to taste
1 tablespoon cider vinegar, or to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons water
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
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2
cup bean sprouts (optional)
3 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds or pepitas
Combine napa cabbage, red cabbage, carrot, cucumber, and jicama in a large bowl. Mix horseradish with vinegar, sugar, and water in a small bowl until blended. Toss with cabbage mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with bean sprouts, if using, and toasted seeds.
COOKED VEGETABLE SALADS