Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (215 page)
I learned this easy-to-prepare dish from my mother-in-law, who was born in Yemen. The beef and potatoes bake slowly with tomatoes, garlic, cumin, and turmeric, and the resulting sauce is delicious. It's a great dish for Sukkot or for Shabbat.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1
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â
2
teaspoons ground turmeric
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4
teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
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â
2
cups water
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4
pound ripe tomatoes, chopped, or one 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, with their juice
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4
cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or Italian parsley
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1
â
2
pounds lean beef chuck, cut into 1- to 1
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2
-inch pieces
8 medium boiling potatoes, peeled (about 2 pounds)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1.
Preheat oven to 300°F. Heat oil in a large stew pan or Dutch oven. Add onions and sauté over medium- low heat, stirring often, about 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from heat. Stir in garlic, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, tomato paste, and
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â
2
cup water and mix well. Stir in tomatoes and cilantro. Last, add beef and potatoes and mix well. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
2.
Cover tightly and bake about 3 hours or until beef is very tender; check occasionally and add liquid if necessary, so there is just a little sauce but meat does not get dry. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Serve from stew pan or deep serving dish.
Dried apricots, prunes, and ground ginger give this Ashkenazic-style brisket pizzazz. Potatoes and carrots cook in the savory juices and acquire a delicious flavor. Serve this one-pot meal for Sukkot, Hanukkah, or for a fall or winter Shabbat.
1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3
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â
2
pounds beef brisket, cut into 1
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4
-inch pieces and patted dry
2 onions, coarsely chopped
1 quart water
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 medium potatoes (about 1
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2
pounds)
4 large carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
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â
4
pound pitted prunes
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4
pound dried apricots
1 teaspoon ground ginger
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3
cup brown sugar
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3
cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a stew pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add meat in batches and brown on all sides. Remove from pan. Add 1 tablespoon oil if pan is dry. Add onions and sauté until deep brown, about 10 minutes. Remove half of onions. Return meat to pan and add water, bay leaf, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat 2 hours.
2.
Peel potatoes, cut each into 3 or 4 chunks, and add to pan. Add carrots and remaining browned onions. Push vegetables into liquid. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Put prunes and apricots in a bowl, cover with hot water, and let stand 30 minutes.
3.
Add ginger, brown sugar, and vinegar to stew and stir gently. Remove prunes and apricots from their liquid, reserving liquid, and add fruit to pan. Simmer stew uncovered 30 minutes more or until meat is very tender. Shake pan occasionally; avoid stirring so ingredients do not break up.
4.
Whisk flour gently with 2 tablespoons fruit soaking liquid in a bowl. Gradually stir in about 1 cup of meat cooking liquid; return mixture to pan. Stir gently. Simmer about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve from stew pan or deep serving dish.
A touch of honey makes this colorful entree perfect for Rosh Hashanah. I also like it for Hanukkah and Shabbat in fall and winter. With a small amount of oil and a generous portion of squash, it's lighter than most beef stews. Serve it with couscous, noodles, potato latkes, or white or brown rice.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds boneless lean beef chuck, cut into 1
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4
- to 1
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â
2
-inch pieces, trimmed of fat, and patted dry
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups water
1 cinnamon stick, about 2-inches long, or a pinch of ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 to 2
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â
2
pounds butternut squash, halved
2 tablespoons mild honey
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2
pound pitted prunes
1.
Heat oil in a non-stick Dutch oven. Add meat in batches and brown lightly on all sides over medium heat. Remove from pan. Add onion and sauté until brown, about 10 minutes; cover if pan becomes dry. Return meat to pan and add water, cinnamon stick, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, 2
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2
hours or until beef is tender.
2.
Meanwhile, scrape off any stringy parts from center of squash with spoon. Cut squash in large pieces and cut off peel. Discard seeds and any stringy parts around seeds. Cut squash into 1-inch cubes.
3.
When meat is tender, stir in honey. Add squash and prunes and push squash down into liquid. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Turn squash pieces over, cover, and simmer about 15 minutes or until squash and prunes are tender. Discard cinnamon stick. Adjust seasoning. Serve from stew pan or deep serving dish.
Hungarian food in Israel is quite spicy, and so is goulash, which is a meat stew flavored with both sweet and hot paprika. Use good-quality Hungarian paprika for the best taste. If you like, follow the custom of some cooks and add a pinch of caraway seeds to the stew along with the green pepper. The secret to tasty goulash is to use plenty of onions and to brown them well. You can cook potatoes in the sauce of the goulash, as in this recipe, or boil them and serve them separately.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, halved and cut into thin slices
2 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1-inch pieces, and patted dry
4 teaspoons sweet paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup water
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â
4
pound ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced, or one 14
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â
2
-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 large green or red bell pepper, diced
1 small carrot, diced
4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
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4
teaspoon hot paprika or cayenne pepper, or to taste
1.
Heat oil in a wide stew pan or Dutch oven. Add onions and cook over medium-low heat about 12 minutes or until softened and lightly browned. Remove with slotted spoon. Add meat in batches and sauté over medium heat about 10 minutes or until meat is lightly browned; remove each batch after browning it.
2.
Return onions and meat to pan. Add sweet paprika, salt, and pepper and sauté, stirring, 5 minutes. Add garlic and 1 cup water. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, 1 hour; add a few tablespoons water if pan becomes dry. Add tomatoes and bell pepper and simmer 30 minutes. Add carrot and potatoes and simmer 30 minutes or until meat and vegetables are tender when pierced with knife. Blend tomato paste with 1 tablespoon water and stir gently into sauce. Add hot paprika or cayenne and heat 1 minute. Adjust seasoning. Serve from stew pan or deep serving dish.
Okra is a great favorite throughout North Africa. It is believed to have originated in Egypt, where it is often cooked in savory meat stews like this one. Egyptian Jews flavor the stew with ground allspice, plenty of garlic, and fresh lemon juice and serve it with cooked rice.
Choose small okra about 3 inches long or less. When fresh okra is not in season, you can use frozen. Cook it only about 10 minutes.
3 or 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
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2
pounds beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1-inch pieces, and patted dry
One 14
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2
-ounce can diced tomatoes with their juice
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2
cups beef or chicken stock or water
1 to 1
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4
pounds okra
1 red or green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons tomato paste
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
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2
teaspoon ground allspice, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Juice of
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to 1 lemon
1.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large stew pan or Dutch oven, then add beef in batches and sauté over medium heat to brown, removing each batch with a slotted spoon to a plate as it browns; add more oil if necessary between batches and heat it before adding more meat.
2.
Pour off any oil remaining in pan. Return beef to pan with any juices on plate. Add tomatoes and 1 cup stock and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat 1
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â
2
hours, adding a few tablespoons boiling water from time to time if pan becomes dry.
3.
Rinse okra, put on paper towels, and pat dry. Cut caps off without piercing okra. In a large deep sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add pepper strips and okra and sauté over medium heat, stirring often, 5 minutes.