Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (221 page)
Braising is a favorite technique for cooking meat in the Jewish kitchen. It is especially good for veal as it helps keep the meat moist. Here the veal is braised in a flavorful sauce of sweet peppers, mushrooms, and sweet and hot paprika. Serve the veal with farfel (egg barley).
One 2-pound veal roast, rolled and tied
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, sliced
1 green pepper, diced
1 red or yellow pepper, diced
4 ounces mushrooms, quartered
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1
â
4
teaspoon hot paprika or cayenne pepper, or to taste
1
1
â
2
cups veal, beef, or chicken stock
1
1
â
2
tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle veal lightly with pepper. Heat oil in a large ovenproof stew pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add veal and brown lightly on all sides. Remove to a plate.
2.
Add onions to pan and sauté over medium heat about 15 minutes or until browned. Stir in green and red peppers and mushrooms and sauté 3 minutes. Stir in garlic, sweet and hot paprika and sauté a few seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer.
3.
Return veal to stew pan and add juices from plate. Cover and bake in oven, turning once and basting from time to time, about 1 hour or until tender. Transfer to a plate.
4.
Discard bay leaf from sauce. Season sauce with salt and pepper; add more hot paprika if desired. Slice veal and serve with sauce.
My Parisian friend Paule Tourdjman once served this memorable dish to my husband and me for a Friday night dinner, and it's worth sharing. Braised veal with seasonal vegetables is often her choice for a festive Shabbat meal. Born in Morocco, she likes to cook in the styles of both her native and her adopted country. For this French dish she adds glazed pearl onions and serves it with rice pilaf or with Moroccan couscous.
2 pounds boneless veal shoulder
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 or 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced, or 1 teaspoon crumbled dried
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or two 28-ounce cans tomatoes, drained and chopped
1
â
2
cup water
3 pounds fresh peas, shelled, or 3 cups frozen
3
â
4
pound pearl onions of uniform size
1 teaspoon sugar
1.
Cut veal into 1
1
â
2
-inch pieces, trimming off any excess fat, and pat them dry. Season lightly with pepper.
2.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy stew pan or Dutch oven. Add veal in batches and brown it lightly over medium heat, transferring pieces as they brown to a plate. Add garlic and rosemary cook over low heat, stirring, 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes. Return veal to pan with any juices on plate and add water. Bring to a boil, stirring. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, 1 hour and 15 minutes. Skim fat from cooking liquid.
3.
Cook fresh peas (but not frozen ones) in a saucepan of boiling salted water 3 minutes. Drain peas. Add fresh or frozen peas to veal stew and simmer uncovered 10 minutes or until meat is very tender, peas are tender, and sauce thickens slightly.
4.
Put unpeeled onions in a heavy saucepan in which they can fit in one layer. Cover with water and bring just to a boil. Drain onions, rinse with cold water, and peel them. Return onions to saucepan. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, 1 or 2 tablespoons oil, and
1
â
3
cup water. Cover and cook over low heat, shaking pan occasionally, 15 minutes, or until nearly tender. Sprinkle onions with sugar and cook, uncovered, over medium heat, shaking pan often, until liquid is reduced to a syrupy glaze. Add glazed onions to veal stew and heat through. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot.
Jews from Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon use artichokes in many ways, and not just as an appetizer. Cooking them with meat or chicken as a main dish is a popular way to use this vegetable when it's at the peak of its season. To save time, however, you can use frozen or canned artichoke hearts (see Note).
2 pounds boneless veal shoulder, trimmed of excess fat, patted dry, and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1
â
2
cup dry white wine
3
â
4
pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or one 14-ounce can tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 bay leaf
4 tablespoons minced fresh dill
4 fresh large
artichokes bottoms
1.
Season veal lightly with pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy stew pan or Dutch oven. Add veal in batches and brown it lightly over medium heat, transferring pieces as they brown to a plate.
2.
Add onion to pan and sauté 7 minutes, stirring often. Add wine, tomatoes, bay leaf, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons dill. Return veal to pan and mix well. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat 1 hour or until veal is tender.
3.
Meanwhile, prepare and cook artichoke bottoms. Cut each into 4 pieces.
4.
Gently stir artichoke pieces into stew and heat 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons dill. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot.
Note:
Instead of fresh artichokes, you can substitute a 9-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts or 8 canned artichoke bottoms. Cook frozen artichoke hearts according to package directions and drain. Drain canned artichokes and quarter them.
For this entree flavored abundantly with herbs in the style of the Jews of Egypt, you can vary the taste by using different meats. I like it with the delicate taste of veal but it is also good with ground beef, chicken, turkey, or with soy "ground meat." The stovetop casserole is easy to make and is popular among my students.
The original versions of this dish call for fava beans but most often I use lima beans, which are more readily available and faster to prepare.
3 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound ground veal
6 tablespoons long-grain rice
2 cups veal, beef, or chicken stock
One 10-ounce package lima beans
1
â
3
cup chopped fresh dill
1
â
3
cup chopped fresh cilantro
7 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups coarsely chopped Swiss chard leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large, heavy saucepan or stew pan. Add onion and sauté over medium heat 5 minutes or until beginning to turn golden. Add meat and sauté, stirring to separate it, until meat's color changes. Stir in rice, then 1
1
â
2
cups stock, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Add lima beans, half the dill, half the cilantro, and remaining
1
â
2
cup stock. Shake pan and bring to boil. Cover and cook 5 more minutes or until rice and beans are barely tender.
2.
Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a medium, heavy skillet. Add garlic and sauté 15 seconds. Add chard and sauté over medium heat, stirring, 3 minutes. Puree mixture in food processor.
3.
Add garlic-chard mixture to beans and stir gently. Add salt and pepper. Cook uncovered over medium heat 2 minutes or until beans, chard, and rice are tender. Add remaining dill and cilantro. Serve hot.
Liver with onions is a classic in the Jewish kitchen. For reasons of
kashrut
, the liver is grilled or broiled rather than sautéed. This is my favorite twist on the popular classic. I like to top the liver with porcini mushrooms that cook along with the browned onions, and to make a quick sauce with red wine and beef stock. You can prepare a variation with chicken livers and use chicken stock in the sauce.
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms or other dried mushrooms
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, halved and sliced thin
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 pound calves' liver slices, about
1
â
4
-inch thick
3
â
4
cup
Quick Brown Sauce