Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (219 page)
3.
Combine beef with sautéed onion and tomato in a medium bowl. Add minced garlic, cumin,
1
â
4
to
1
â
2
teaspoon salt,
1
â
2
teaspoon ground pepper, and parsley and mix well. Add rice and mix well.
4.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out centers. Rinse zucchini shells and pat them dry. Put them in a baking dish. Fill them with stuffing.
5.
Mix tomato paste with
1
â
4
cup water and a pinch of salt and pepper and spoon mixture over zucchini. Add enough water to pan to cover zucchini by one third. Add coarsely chopped garlic to pan. Sprinkle remaining oil over zucchini. Cover and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake 15 more minutes. Uncover and bake, basting occasionally, 15 minutes or until zucchini is very tender. Serve hot.
Yemenite spices brighten up any spaghetti sauce. Besides spaghetti, this sauce is good with bulgur wheat, kasha, or white or brown rice. If you have spicy
Zehug
or another hot pepper-garlic sauce, you can serve it on the side, and omit the serrano peppers and garlic from the sauce.
2 or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 ounces ground beef (about 1
1
â
2
cups)
2 medium onions, minced
1 cup chopped celery
2 serrano peppers, ribs and seeds removed, minced (see Note)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup tomato sauce
12 ounces spaghetti
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large sauté pan. Add beef and sauté over medium heat, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, about 7 minutes or until changes color. Transfer to bowl.
2.
Add 1 or 2 tablespoon oil to pan. Add onions, celery, peppers, and a pinch of salt and ground pepper. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Add beef, garlic, cumin, and turmeric and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and simmer 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm.
3.
Cook spaghetti uncovered in a large pot of boiling salted water over high heat, lifting occasionally with tongs, 8 to 9 minutes or until tender but firm to the bite.
4.
Drain spaghetti well. If there is room in pan of sauce, add it to pan; otherwise, put it in a large heated bowl and add sauce. Toss lightly until blended. Adjust seasoning. Bring some of sauce to top for serving. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
Note:
Wear rubber gloves when handling hot peppers.
My mother puts hard boiled eggs in her meat loaf to entice children to eat meat loaf. It worked in my case; for me the egg in the middle of my meat loaf slice was the best part. When I was growing up, this was a standard weekday entree. On the side, we always had pareve mashed potatoes.
You can bake the mixture in a loaf pan, as my mother does, or shape it free-form in one or several loaves and bake them in a roasting pan, as my aunt does. Some cooks bake individual meat portions in muffin tins.
Now my mother often makes meat loaf with ground turkey or chicken instead of beef so it will be leaner, and spices it up with garlic. Ketchup was the topping in my childhood home but as an adult I prefer to mix it with tomato sauce.
1
1
â
2
pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, grated
2 large cloves garlic, pressed (optional)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 slices challah or white bread, soaked in water and squeezed dry
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â
4
teaspoon salt
1
â
2
teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons ketchup
2 large hard boiled eggs, shelled
1 cup tomato sauce or one 8-ounce can
1.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine the beef, onion, garlic if using, beaten eggs, challah, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons ketchup very well in a medium bowl. Lightly oil a 9 à 5-inch loaf pan. Put half of beef mixture inside. Put whole hard boiled eggs lengthwise in center. Top with remaining meat loaf mixture, filling spaces well.
2.
Mix remaining 2 tablespoons ketchup with tomato sauce in a bowl. Pour sauce over top of loaf. Bake 1 hour. Serve in fairly thick slices.
For Friday's lunch, in the midst of cooking the Shabbat meals, my mother-in-law often prepared beef patties when her five children still lived at home. My husband says the aromas of the dishes she was preparing for the Friday night dinner were so enticing that everyone seemed to become extra-hungry at lunchtime. She quickly sautéed these patties in a skillet but you can grill or broil them instead as hamburgers. She slipped them inside fresh pita bread, with diced tomatoes, cucumbers, and pickles. For those who wanted it, there was fiery
Zehug
on the table as well.
2 medium onions, minced
About 1 teaspoon salt
4 slices stale white bread
1 pound lean ground beef
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â
4
cup chopped fresh cilantro
1
1
â
2
teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1
â
2
teaspoon ground turmeric
1
â
4
teaspoon cayenne pepper
1
â
4
teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 large eggs
About 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1.
Put onions in a strainer and sprinkle with
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â
2
teaspoon salt. Let stand about 5 minutes. Dip each bread slice in a bowl of water to moisten. Rinse onions in strainer. Add soaked bread to onions and squeeze both dry.
2.
Mix beef with onions, bread, cilantro, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cayenne, ground pepper, garlic, and if you like,
1
â
2
teaspoon salt. Add eggs. Mix thoroughly but lightly. Shape mixture into patties, using about
1
â
3
cup mixture for each. Flatten them.
3.
Heat 2 or 3 tablespoons oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add enough patties to make one layer and sauté over medium-low heat about 5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Sauté remaining patties in same way, adding oil to skillet if necessary and heating it before adding more patties. Drain patties on paper towels before serving.
DELI MEATS
Corned beef is not just for sandwiches. Try it in this colorful salad, with pasta spirals, green beans, capers, and a spicy dressing. You can make it ahead and keep it in the refrigerator, then warm it slightly before serving.
1 pound pasta spirals
6 to 8 ounces very thin slices corned beef, cut into thin strips
8 ounces green beans, ends removed, halved
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â
3
cup chopped fresh parsley
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â
2
cup cherry tomatoes
1.
Prepare vinaigrette. Then, cook pasta uncovered in a large pot of boiling salted water over high heat about 8 minutes or until tender but firm to the bite. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain well again. Transfer to a large bowl, add vinaigrette, and toss. Add corned beef and toss.
2.
Cook green beans uncovered in a saucepan of boiling salted water over high heat about 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain.
3.
Add green beans to salad and toss. Cover and microwave or steam briefly until warm.
4.
Add parsley to salad and toss. Adjust seasoning. Garnish salad with cherry tomatoes.
Growing up in a traditional Orthodox home, I always found it strange that the Reuben sandwich, which features the nonkosher combination of meat with cheese, became a standard item on American kosher-style deli menus. I make a kosher version with nondairy tofu cheese instead of the usual Swiss cheese. It tastes good with sauerkraut and corned beef or pastrami.
4 slices rye bread or marbled pumpernickel and rye
Mayonnaise or mustard (for spreading)
2 to 4 ounces thinly sliced corned beef or pastrami
1
â
4
cup sauerkraut, drained
2 or 4 slices tofu cheese
2 to 3 teaspoons vegetable oil or a little oil spray
1.
Preheat toaster oven to 450°F or preheat sandwich grill. Spread bread lightly with mayonnaise or mustard. Top 2 bread slices with the meat, then cover with sauerkraut and tofu cheese. Top with other slices of bread and press together.