1,000 Jewish Recipes (200 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1 pound horseradish
2 or 3 medium beets
1
â
4
cup cider vinegar, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
1
â
4
cup water
Peel and rinse horseradish and beets. Grate horseradish in a food processor with a shredding disk. Grate beets the same way. Averting your eyes, open food processor and transfer mixture to a bowl. Add vinegar, salt, and sugar. Mix well. If mixture is dry, add water. Add more vinegar, salt, and sugar, if needed. Spoon into jars and refrigerate.
1
â
2
cups, 8 to 10 servings
My mother often makes salad dressing with mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard. If she prepares a salad without it, her grandchildren clamor for it. I find fresh dill is a terrific addition to her dressing, especially as an accompaniment for fish. Serve this dressing with salmon gefilte fish, baked or grilled salmon, or other baked fish.
1 cup mayonnaise, regular or low-fat
2 to 3 tablespoons mustard
1
â
4
cup ketchup
1 tablespoon vinegar or strained fresh lemon juice
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Mix mayonnaise with mustard and ketchup in a bowl. Stir in vinegar, dill, and salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Terrific with grilled or broiled fish of distinctive character like tuna and salmon, this thick sauce made with olive oil is also delicious with cooked or raw vegetables as a sauce or dip. It is creamy without needing any dairy products and thus is convenient for pareve meals. In Israeli markets this popular Sephardic sauce resembling the alioli of Spain and the aioli of Provence is sold alongside the tahini and hummus.
Since the garlic is raw, be sure it is very fresh and not sprouting. If you are concerned about using uncooked eggs, buy pasteurized eggs for making this sauce. You can keep it up to 2 days in the refrigerator. If you prefer to make half a recipe, use a small food processor.
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon strained fresh lemon juice
1 cup olive oil, or
1
â
2
cup olive oil and
1
â
2
cup vegetable oil, room temperature
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
1 or 2 tablespoons warm water
Drop garlic cloves through feed tube of food processor with motor running, and process until finely chopped. Add egg yolks, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon oil, and a pinch of salt, pepper, and cayenne and process until thoroughly blended. With motor running, gradually pour oil through feed tube in a thin trickle. After adding
1
â
4
cup of the oil, you can pour in remaining oil a little faster, in a fine stream. With motor still running, gradually pour in remaining tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time. Gradually add warm water to make sauce slightly thinner. Adjust seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to use.
This luscious, delicate sauce is wonderful with baked halibut, cod, salmon, or sole. The ideal side dish, to my taste, is fresh noodles.
6 to 8 ounces small mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1
â
4
cup chopped green onion (mostly white part)
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1
â
4
cup milk
1
â
2
cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1
â
2
cup sour cream, room temperature
Pinch of hot paprika or cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1.
Quarter mushrooms. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper and sauté over medium-high heat about 5 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Remove from skillet.
2.
Melt remaining butter in skillet. Add onions and sauté over medium heat for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and cook over low heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually stir in milk and cream. Add paprika and a little salt and pepper. Simmer over medium heat, stirring, until sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Add mushrooms and sour cream and heat gently, stirring, without boiling. Add hot paprika or cayenne. Adjust seasoning. Remove from heat. Add parsley.
My cousin Mildred Greenberg makes this sauce for serving with gefilte fish, for those who prefer a delicate dressing to a sharp condiment of horseradish. It's also delicious with poached trout, baked salmon, or boiled potatoes.
1 cup mayonnaise, regular or low-fat
1 tablespoon vinegar, any kind
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Mix mayonnaise with vinegar and dill in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
1
â
4
cups, 8 to 10 servings
This easy-to-make salsa is the perfect accompaniment for
Fish Falafel
. It's also good with gefilte fish balls as an alternative to horseradish and is a terrific pick-me-up for plain baked fish.
4 fresh jalapeño peppers (see Note)
4 large cloves garlic, peeled
3 cups sprigs fresh cilantro, medium-packed
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon strained fresh lime juice
1
â
3
cup water
Salt, to taste
1
â
2
teaspoon ground cumin
Remove seeds and ribs from peppers if you want less heat. Cut peppers in a few pieces. Combine peppers and garlic in food processor and mince fine. Add cilantro and process until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Adjust seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Note:
Wear rubber gloves when handling hot peppers.
This lively fresh salsa is an ideal partner for grilled tuna or salmon. It is based on one I learned from Chef Brad Martin of Sea Grille in Palm Desert, California. The salsa is flavored with Chinese chile-garlic sauce, but I, instead, use Yemenite green or red
zehug
, which is also made of chiles and garlic. You can make your own
Zehug
or buy it at Israeli or kosher markets. Whether you use
Zehug
or chile-garlic sauce, remember to add fiery condiments with caution, to make the salsa as hot as you like.
If you have a long hothouse cucumber, you can skip the step of removing the center, as its seeds are very small.
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
2 medium cucumbers
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 to 3 teaspoons zehug or chile-garlic sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 green onions, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1.
Toast sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over medium heat 1 or 2 minutes or until light golden. Transfer immediately to a plate.
2.
Peel cucumbers and cut in half lengthwise. With a teaspoon, remove seed-filled part center. Cut cucumber in small dice.
3.
Mix cucumber with rice wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon chile garlic sauce, sesame oil, green onions, and toasted sesame seeds in a bowl. Taste, and add more chile garlic sauce if you like. Add salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve cold.