Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (185 page)
When I lived in Israel, my friends and I often made pizzas on a pita bread base for a quick supper. If you don't have goat cheese or you're making these for children, substitute any grated cheese you like. If you're making only one or two servings, you can use a toaster oven.
4 pita breads
1 to 1
1
â
2
cups thick tomato sauce
3 or 4 ounces creamy goat cheese
8 small fresh mushrooms, halved and cut into thin slices
1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil
1
â
2
teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Fresh basil leaves
Preheat oven to 400°F. Split each pita bread into two rounds. Set them on baking sheets in 1 layer, crust side down. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce. Dice or crumble cheese and scatter it over sauce. Top with sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle lightly with oil and with oregano, salt, and pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes or until heated through and cheese softens. Serve topped with basil leaves.
SAUCES
This creamy sauce is good with patties and latkes made of all kinds of vegetables, but is particularly suited to
Givetch
, as it echoes the dill flavor of this Balkan vegetable entree. The sauce is much better with fresh dill but you can substitute dried dill.
1
â
2
long (hothouse) cucumber or 1 regular
2 cups plain yogurt
3 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 2 teaspoons dried
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley (optional)
1 green onion, white and green parts, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
1.
Peel cucumber. If using a regular cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise and remove seed-filled center with a spoon. Coarsely grate cucumber.
2.
Mix yogurt, dill, parsley if using, and onion in a medium bowl. Stir in grated cucumber. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Mix well. Serve cold.
Serve this easy-to-make sauce with carrots, winter squash, and sweet potatoes, plain or in kugels or casseroles such as
Tu Bishvat Sweet Potato and Fruit Casserole
. Make it with regular, low-fat, or nonfat yogurt and sour cream.
1
â
2
cup plain yogurt
1
â
2
cup sour cream
1
â
4
teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
2 to 4 tablespoons orange juice
1 to 2 teaspoons honey or sugar (optional)
Mix yogurt, sour cream, ginger, and orange rind in a bowl. Slowly stir in enough orange juice to give sauce a thick, pourable consistency. Taste, and add honey or sugar, if using. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Breakfast and Brunch Dishes
Jews from Russia and Poland make delicate-flavored light-textured latkes out of cottage cheese and serve them sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. For Hanukkah, they make a pleasant change from the usual potato latkes. They are also popular for Passover or for Shavuot. Creamed cottage cheese is traditional but you can use low-fat cottage cheese if you like.
2 to 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1
â
4
cup sugar
1 cup cottage cheese
4 large eggs, or 2 large eggs and 3 large egg whites, beaten
1
â
2
cup matzo meal
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, or vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1
â
4
to
1
â
3
cup vegetable oil
1.
Mix cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.
2.
Mix cottage cheese with beaten eggs, matzo meal, melted butter, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
3.
Heat
1
â
4
cup oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add batter by tablespoonfuls and fry over medium heat about 2 minutes per side or until lightly browned; turn them carefully using 2 slotted spatulas. Continue fry- ing remaining batter, adding more butter and oil as pan becomes dry and reducing heat if oil begins to brown. Serve hot, with bowl of cinnamon sugar for sprinkling.
These super-rich potato cakes are incredibly delicious. You can serve them for Hanukkah, Shavuot, Purim, or for other festive occasions. French cooks devised them as a way to use up extra baked potatoes and they give the pancakes their delicate texture and flavor. After the pancakes are sautéed, they are baked in a coating of cream and cheese. When I studied at La Varenne Cooking School in Paris, we coated the cakes with crème fraîche, but whipping cream works fine. For this dish, do not substitute milk or light cream.
Because they are super-rich, it's best to serve one per person and to plan plenty of other light dishes on the menu, such as
Broccoli and Carrot Salad with Water Chestnuts
and
Easy Baked Salmon Fillet
. (If guests can't eat just one, then figure on one recipe making five portions instead of ten.)
2 pounds baking potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled (about 3 large potatoes)
1
â
2
cup crème fraîche or whipping cream
Salt and white pepper, to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
About
1
â
3
cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
2
â
3
cup grated Swiss cheese
1.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Pierce potatoes with a fork. Bake on rack in preheated oven about 1 hour or until tender.
2.
Halve hot potatoes, scoop out pulp and transfer it to a bowl, discarding skins. Mash pulp with a fork. Stir in 3 tablespoons cream. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg. Mix well with fork.
3.
Shape mixture into cakes, using
1
â
4
cup mixture for each and making them about
3
â
4
-inch high and 2 inches in diameter. Put them on a plate in one layer.
4.
Roll each potato cake in flour and pat so all sides are lightly coated.
5.
Heat oil and butter in a medium, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add half the potato cakes and sauté lightly on both sides, turning very carefully with 2 pancake turners.
6.
Transfer to a shallow 9-inch round baking dish or any baking dish in which the potato cakes fit snugly in 1 layer. Sauté remaining potato cakes.
7.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Pour remaining 5 tablespoons cream over cakes and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake 8 minutes or until bubbling. If top is not brown, broil briefly until cheese browns lightly. Serve immediately.
Couscous enriched with butter, moistened with milk, and garnished with luscious dates is the ultimate comfort food. When I lived in Paris, it was one of my favorite dishes to order at Moroccan restaurants specializing in couscous dishes. Serve it for Shavuot or any time you have excellent quality dates. I like it for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
Traditionally, it's best to steam the couscous above boiling water, following the method for
Traditional Steamed Couscous
. However, this recipe is a quick and easy version.
1
1
â
2
cups water
2
1
â
2
cups milk
Pinch of salt
One 10-ounce package couscous (1
2
â
3
cups)
2
â
3
cup golden raisins
1
1
â
2
cups dates