1,000 Jewish Recipes (210 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1
â
2
teaspoon ground allspice
1
â
4
teaspoon ground cinnamon
1
â
2
teaspoon salt
1
â
2
teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1.
Prepare sauce. Then, put turkey in a bowl. Mix matzo meal with garlic, parsley, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Add to turkey and mix well. Make small meatballs, using 2 tablespoons of mixture for each, and roll them between your palms until smooth. Transfer to a plate. Refrigerate 5 minutes.
2.
Heat oil in large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs in 2 batches and brown them lightly on all sides. With slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels.
3.
Heat sauce in a sauté pan or shallow saucepan just to a simmer. Add turkey balls. Cover and cook over low heat 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked through. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning.
Lean turkey patties are a favorite in many kitchens. These are seasoned in the Israeli style, with cumin and plenty of garlic. You can grill them but they will remain more moist if you sauté them, as this recipe. Serve them in pita bread and top them with
Sephardic Salsa
or
Cilantro Salsa
and, if you like,
Tahini Sauce
. You might also wish to add some Israeli salad and a few pickle slices.
4 large cloves garlic, pressed
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1
â
2
teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1
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4
teaspoon salt (optional)
1
1
â
4
pounds ground turkey
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1.
Mix garlic with coriander, cumin, pepper, cayenne, and salt, if using, in a bowl. Add spice mixture to turkey and mix lightly to blend. Shape in 4 patties.
2.
Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add burgers and sauté over medium heat about 3 minutes on each side or until they are springy when pressed. Serve immediately.
For this festive version of stuffed zucchini, the turkey and rice filling has a tasty embellishment of nuts and raisins. By using ground turkey, you keep the filling lean and healthful. If your family prefers rich stuffings, you can make this stuffing with beef instead.
Jews from Middle Eastern countries love to form whole zucchini into tubes for stuffing; this way the stuffing is completely enclosed. The best zucchini for stuffing whole are the small, pale-green-skinned zucchini that are slightly thicker than the common dark-skinned zucchini. In some markets these are sold as Mexican zucchini. If you are using the dark-green zucchini, the easiest way to prepare them is to first cut the vegetable in two crosswise, so you have two stuffed zucchini from each one.
1
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2
cup long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1
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2
pound ground turkey
1
â
4
to
1
â
2
teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1
â
2
teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
1
â
4
teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
3 tablespoons raisins
3 tablespoons pecans, lightly toasted
2 to 2
1
â
2
pounds zucchini, preferably pale-skinned variety
1 tablespoon tomato paste, or juice of 1 or 2 lemons
2 medium cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1.
Add rice to 3 cups boiling salted water in a medium saucepan and boil 10 minutes. Rinse with cold running water and drain well.
2.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet, add onion, and sauté over medium-low heat about 5 minutes or until softened. Let cool.
3.
Combine turkey with sautéed onion in a medium bowl. Add
1
â
4
to
1
â
2
teaspoon salt,
1
â
2
teaspoon pepper, the allspice, and parsley and mix well. Add rice, raisins, and pecans and mix well.
4.
If using dark-skinned zucchini, cut each into 2 pieces crosswise. Carefully scoop out pulp with a special zucchini hollowing gadget, a vegetable peeler, or an apple corer, leaving a hollow cylinder for stuffing. Put stuffing into zucchini.
5.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a deep sauté pan. Add stuffed zucchini and sauté on all sides, turning them carefully. Mix tomato paste (but not lemon juice) with
1
â
4
cup water and add to pan. Add enough water to pan to cover zucchini by one third. Add garlic. Sprinkle zucchini with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer about 45 minutes or until zucchini are very tender; add a little hot water from time to time so pan does not become dry. If using lemon juice, add it when zucchini are tender and cook over low heat 5 minutes. Serve hot.
CHICKEN AND TURKEY BLINTZES AND SANDWICHES
Garlic, sesame seeds, and sesame oil complete the Chinese-style seasoning of these tasty blintzes. You can make them with turkey or chicken.
8 to 10
Herb Blintzes for Meat Fillings
1 pound leeks (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise, rinsed, and cut into
1
â
4
-inch slices
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1
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4
cup dry white wine
1
1
â
2
cups shredded cooked turkey
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1.
Prepare blintzes. Then, soak sliced leeks in cold water 5 minutes to remove any sand. Lift into a colander, rinse, and drain well. Heat oil in medium, heavy skillet. Add leeks, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, about 10 minutes or until leeks are soft but not brown. If any liquid remains in pan, cook leeks over medium-high heat, stirring, until it evaporates. Add 1 teaspoon sesame oil, quickly stir in garlic and ginger, and sauté 30 seconds. Add wine and boil over high heat, stirring, until it is completely absorbed by leek mixture.
2.
Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool. Add turkey and mix well. Stir in 1 tablespoon sesame oil and pinch of pepper. Adjust seasoning.
3.
Lightly oil 2 medium baking dishes. Spoon 3 tablespoons filling onto less attractive side of each blintz, across the third of the blintz nearest you. Slightly fold over each side of the blintz, to your right and left, then roll up in cigar shape, beginning at edge with filling and rolling away from you. Arrange blintzes seam-side down in one layer in oiled dish. Brush them with 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
4.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake blintzes about 20 minutes or until filling is hot. Serve immediately.
Why are those chicken salad sandwiches so enticing at the deli? There's really no secret; the best ones are freshly prepared from good quality ingredients. Use your favorite mayonnaise, very fresh rye bread or swirled rye and pumpernickel from a good bakery, and chunks of
Poached Chicken Breasts
. At some delis they will add sliced avocado, and if you have perfectly ripe ones of the dark-skinned Haas variety, they make a terrific addition.
3 cups diced cooked chicken
1 large hard boiled egg, chopped (optional)
2 to 3 teaspoons mustard (optional)
6 to 8 tablespoons mayonnaise, or more to taste
Salt (optional) and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 ripe avocado, preferably Haas
8 slices fresh caraway-seed rye bread or swirled rye and pumpernickel
1.
Combine chicken and egg, if using, in a medium bowl. Mix mustard, if using, with 6 tablespoons mayonnaise and add to salad. Season with salt, if using, and pepper.
2.
A short time before serving, halve avocado and remove pit. Scoop out flesh and cut it into thin slices.
3.
If you like, spread a little mayonnaise on each slice of bread. Spread chicken salad on half the bread slices, top with avocado, and then with second bread slice. Cut in half and serve.
This was the sandwich I always ordered at my favorite Tel Aviv sandwich shop. It was made of a long, crisp-crusted roll that was hollowed out and filled with eggplant salad with mayonnaise. The eggplant was topped with thin slices of smoked turkey and a pickle slice. It's easy to prepare at home. You can make your own eggplant salad or purchase eggplant with tahini, which is sometimes sold as baba ghanouj. If you like, you can substitute turkey pastrami or thin slices roasted turkey or chicken for the smoked turkey.
At the sandwich shop you could choose between French rolls or dark, pumpernickel-type rolls. I usually opted for the French rolls but now I often use whole-wheat ones if I can find some that are not sweet. Often I add mild pickled red peppers or roasted peppers. The sandwiches are good cut in thirds as appetizers or left whole as hearty sandwiches.