Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (196 page)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, cut into
1
â
4
-inch-wide strips
1
1
â
2
cups white rice, preferably short-grained
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 ripe medium tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 1 canned tomato, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1
1
â
2
pounds sea bass, cod, or halibut fillets, diced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1
â
2
pound vegetarian sausages (optional), cut into chunks
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1.
Bring stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Crush saffron threads in a small bowl and pour hot broth over them. Let mixture stand while continuing next step.
2.
Heat oil in a large, deep, heavy skillet or sauté pan. Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, about 7 minutes or until softened. Add rice and sauté over low heat, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in garlic, tomato, salt, pepper, and 3 cups hot saffron broth. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat 10 minutes.
3.
Add diced fish, peas, vegetarian sausages if using, and any remaining saffron broth. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat about 10 more minutes or until fish is opaque inside and rice is tender. Adjust seasoning. Serve sprinkled with parsley.
 or
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Jewish cooks in the American South know that the tasty sauces used in Louisiana for cooking shellfish are fabulous for fish. This one makes use of a light brown roux and the traditional trio of aromatic vegetables used in Cajun and Creole dishesâpeppers, onion, and celery. Serve this fish in its pepper-studded sauce with plenty of rice or linguine.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil, or 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, finely diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green or yellow bell pepper, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
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2
cups vegetable stock or water
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2
teaspoon dried oregano
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2
teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1
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4
teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 pound cod, halibut, or sea bass fillets, cut into cubes
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â
3
cup chopped green onions
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3
cup chopped fresh parsley
1.
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, celery, and peppers, and cook over medium-low heat about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 or 2 minutes or until it turns light brown. Remove from heat and gradually stir in vegetable stock. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring. Cook uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes. Add oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, and
1
â
4
teaspoon cayenne.
2.
A short time before serving, bring sauce to a simmer. Add fish cubes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Return to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until larger fish pieces become opaque. Add green onions and parsley to sauce. Taste, and add more salt, pepper, and cayenne if needed. Serve hot.
Here is a kosher adaptation of the hot and spicy Cajun specialty jambalaya. I like to make it with fish, spicy vegetarian frankfurters, and just a little olive oil, so that it is healthful too but it still makes a hearty helping. Serve it for Purim or Hanukkah. As a meal in one pan, it's great for entertaining. Cajuns like jambalaya with Louisiana hot sauce, but I serve
Zehug
.
1
1
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2
to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green, red, or yellow bell pepper, chopped
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2
cup chopped celery
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, chopped (see Note)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon oregano
1 bay leaf
3 cups vegetable stock
2 pounds sea bass or other fish fillets, cut into 6 pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cups long- or medium-grain white rice
6 ounces spicy vegetarian frankfurters, cut into chunks
1
â
2
teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1
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4
cup chopped fresh parsley
1.
Heat oil in a large deep skillet. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery and sauté over medium heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add garlic, jalapeño peppers, tomato sauce, oregano, bay leaf, and stock. Bring to a simmer. Add fish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until the thickest part of the fish is opaque inside; check with a sharp knife. Remove fish pieces to a plate.
2.
Return sauce to a boil and stir in rice. Add frankfurter pieces, salt, pepper, cayenne, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Cover and cook over low heat 30 minutes, or until rice is tender. Do not stir often, to avoid crushing rice. Remove bay leaf. Return fish pieces to skillet, cover, and heat for about 5 minutes or low heat. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve.
Note:
Wear rubber gloves when handling hot peppers.
Cioppino, the pride of many fine California restaurants, is a garlic-scented seafood stew in tomato broth. Jewish cooks have developed their own delicious versions of cioppino using kosher fish.
This elegant dish had modest origins. It is thought to have begun in San Francisco in the early twentieth century as a way for fishermen to make use of their catch, especially the local rockfish. Cioppino is derived from an Italian Riviera fishermen's fish soup called "ciuppin," which is flavored mainly with tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and white wine.
When I was a judge of a cioppino contest, in which prominent California restaurant chefs competed, I found it remarkable how much the dish can vary in seasoning. The only ingredients all the cioppinos had in common were tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil. Other flavors that entered their cioppino pots were porcini mushrooms, thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, saffron, and even jalapeño peppers, cilantro, and orange juice. So once you taste this recipe, feel free to be as creative as those cioppino chefs!
Fresh-baked, crusty sourdough or Italian bread is the customary accompaniment.
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2
cup
Fish Stock
, liquid from a jar of unsweetened gefilte fish, or water
1
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2
to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced thin
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
One 8-ounce can tomato sauce
3
â
4
cup dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Hot pepper sauce to taste
1 to 1
1
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2
pounds good quality fish fillets, diced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1.
Prepare fish stock, if using. Then, in a large, heavy saucepan, heat oil, add onion, and sauté over medium-high heat, stirring often, 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, then tomatoes and their juice, tomato sauce, wine, and fish stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium-low heat 7 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce.
2.
Add fish and oregano to simmering cioppino base. Cover and simmer over low heat 2 minutes or until just tender and opaque. Serve cioppino in wide bowls. Sprinkle with parsley.
SAUTÃED FISH
French Jews make good use of garlic butter, pairing it with fish to make luscious dishes. It lends incomparable flavor to fish fillets, whether you choose rich ones like salmon or sea bass, or lean fish, such as sole or halibut.
3
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4
cup fresh fine white bread crumbs (see Note below)
1 to 1
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4
pounds sole or flounder fillets, about
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4
-inch thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
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â
2
cup milk
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soft butter
Fresh parsley sprigs
Lemon wedges
1.
Prepare fresh bread crumbs and Garlic Butter. If making garlic butter ahead, bring it to room temperature before serving. If you like, spoon it into a piping bag fitted with small star tip.
2.
Run your fingers over fillets to check for bones. Gently remove any bones using tweezers or small sharp knife.