Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (216 page)
4.
Add tomato paste and remaining
1
â
2
cup stock to stew. Add okra and pepper mixture. Bring to a simmer. Add garlic, allspice, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer without stirring about 20 minutes or until beef and okra are tender. Add lemon juice and heat through. Adjust seasoning. Serve from stew pan or deep serving dish.
POT-ROASTED, BRAISED, AND POACHED BEEF
Succulent brisket cooked slowly with onions on top of the stove is a favorite in the Ashkenazic Jewish kitchen. Some cooks prepare the brisket with potatoes and carrots, as in the recipe below; others prefer the pure flavor of the meat and cook it only with the onions, garlic, and seasonings.
A convenient way to prepare this pot roast is to cook it ahead, slice the meat, and skim the fat from the sauce. Then reheat the sliced meat and vegetables in the savory sauce.
One 4-pound piece of brisket
1 teaspoon salt
3
â
4
teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (optional)
3 large onions, sliced
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
About 1 cup water
8 to 10 medium potatoes, scrubbed
5 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks
2 ribs celery, sliced
1.
Trim excess fat from brisket. Pat brisket dry. Sprinkle brisket with salt and pepper.
2.
Heat oil in a large stew pan or Dutch oven; if pan is heavy or has a nonstick surface, no oil is needed. Add meat and brown on all sides over medium heat. Add onions and continue browning, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, paprika, and
1
â
2
cup water. Cover and cook over low heat 2 hours, adding a few tablespoons water occasionally if pan becomes nearly dry.
3.
Peel potatoes if desired, cut them in half, and add to pan. Add carrots, celery, and
1
â
2
cup water. Cover and cook over low heat, adding more water if needed, 30 to 45 minutes or until meat and vegetables are tender. With thin, sharp knife, carve meat into thin slices crosswise, making sure to cut against the grain. Skim excess fat from sauce. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Serve meat and vegetables with sauce.
Serve this aromatic entree with plenty of rice or noodles to soak up the delectable sauce. It's also great for Hanukkah, accompanied by potato pancakes.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 small carrot, diced
2-pound piece boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat and patted dry
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
2
â
3
cup dry red wine
4 large sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 sprigs fresh marjoram or
1
â
2
teaspoon dried marjoram, crumbled
1 bay leaf
12 ounces ripe tomatoes, diced or one 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
About 1
1
â
2
cups beef stock, or stock mixed with water
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms or other dried mushrooms
1.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large stew pan or Dutch oven that fits meat snugly. Add onion, celery, and carrot. Sauté over medium heat, stirring often, about 7 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Transfer vegetables with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Add remaining tablespoon oil to stew pan and heat it. Add meat and brown it on all sides.
2.
Return vegetables to stew pan. Add garlic and wine. Wrap thyme, marjoram, and bay leaf in cheesecloth, tie ends to form a seasoning bag, and add. Bring to a boil. Cook uncovered over medium heat, turning meat once or twice, until about half of wine evaporates. Add tomatoes and enough stock to cover meat by about half. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat, turning meat over from time to time, about 1
1
â
2
hours or until beef is very tender.
3.
Soak mushrooms in enough hot water to cover for 30 minutes or until tender. Remove mushrooms, rinse, and coarsely chop.
4.
When meat is tender, remove it from stew pan. Cover it and keep warm.
5.
Remove seasoning bag from sauce. Puree sauce in blender, food processor, or a food mill. Return sauce to stew pan. Add mushrooms, and
1
â
4
cup more stock if sauce is very thick. Cover and cook 5 minutes.
6.
To serve, cut meat into thin slices. Spoon a little sauce over meat. Serve remaining sauce separately.
Baked until very tender in homemade barbecue sauce, this savory brisket is great for Hanukkah or Shabbat dinners. Serve it with baked or boiled potatoes or latkes and with rye bread.
1 teaspoon paprika
3
â
4
teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1
â
2
teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
One 3-pound piece of brisket, trimmed of excess fat and patted dry
1 small onion, finely chopped, plus 2 large onions, sliced
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1
â
2
cup water, plus more if pan becomes dry
1.
Mix paprika, pepper, salt, and 1 teaspoon oil in a bowl to a paste and rub into meat. Let stand about 30 minutes.
2.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium saucepan. Add chopped onion and sauté over medium-low heat, stirring, 5 minutes. Stir in ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, and chili powder and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in mustard. Cool to room temperature.
3.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Put sliced onions in small roasting pan and top with brisket, fat side up. Cover with foil and roast 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Pour barbecue sauce over brisket and spread lightly. Add
1
â
2
cup water to pan, pouring it around, not over, meat. Cover tightly and bake about 3 hours, basting once or twice; occasionally add a few tablespoons water to pan if it becomes nearly dry. When done, brisket should be very tender when pierced with a fork.
4.
Remove meat to board, sauce side up. With a slotted spoon transfer onions from roasting pan to a small saucepan for reheating.
5.
With a thin sharp knife, carve meat into thin slices crosswise, making sure to cut against the grain. Skim excess fat from sauce. Serve sauce and onions separately.
Sauerkraut, or pickled cabbage, is made by shredding cabbage and layering it with salt and seasonings, like juniper berries and bay leaves, and letting it sit for about a month.
Ashkenazic Jews like to cook sauerkraut with fresh cuts of beef that have a long cooking time like brisket or short ribs. This savory entree is seasoned in the sweet and sour Polish style.
1 teaspoon paprika
3
â
4
teaspoon freshly ground pepper
One 3-pound piece of brisket
4 pounds uncooked sauerkraut
1 large potato
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
3
â
4
cup apple juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar, rice vinegar, or other mild vinegar
1 cup water
Salt to taste (optional)
1.
Mix paprika and pepper in a bowl and rub into meat. Let stand about 30 minutes. Drain sauerkraut in a colander. Rinse sauerkraut thoroughly under cold running water. Drain and squeeze out excess liquid. Peel potato and grate on large holes of grater. Mix with sauerkraut. Add onion, brown sugar, and caraway seeds and mix well.
2.
Put half the sauerkraut mixture in a heavy stew pan. Put brisket on top. Cover with remaining sauerkraut mixture. Add apple juice, vinegar, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat about 3 hours or until brisket is very tender when pierced with a fork; check and add hot water from time to time if pan appears to be getting dry.
3.
Remove meat to board. If sauerkraut is too soupy, cook it uncovered over medium-high heat, stirring, until it thickens to taste. Adjust seasoning.
4.
With a thin sharp knife, carve meat into thin slices crosswise, making sure to cut against the grain. Serve it with sauerkraut.
A standard "hot plate" on many deli menus is boiled beef short ribs in the pot, accompanied by potatoes and vegetables. Other popular ways to prepare this cut in the Jewish kitchen are in soups, in
cholent
, and braised.
Many people braise short ribs differently from other meats. Instead of browning them in fat and then simmering them on top of the stove, they brown them in the broiler and then braise them in the oven. This is more convenient and gives tasty results. Ketchup- or tomato-based sauces, usually with a sweet and sour accent, are the most widely used seasonings in Jewish-American homes. I like to combine both, with hot red pepper flakes and fresh ginger for extra zip.