1,000 Jewish Recipes (223 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
Jews of Middle Eastern origin often add fried eggplant to meat stews so the vegetable gains flavor from the meat's savory sauce. A friend of mine in Jerusalem gave me this recipe long ago. She makes it with either lamb or beef. Now I usually broil the eggplant slices; it's easier and uses much less fat. The dish is plenty rich from the lamb.
Serve the lamb with
Bulgur Wheat Pilaf
, fine noodles, or rice pilaf.
2 pounds lamb shoulder
2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil, or 1 tablespoon oil and a little oil spray
1 large onion, chopped
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, or one 28-ounce can tomatoes with their juice
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup water
1
â
2
teaspoon ground allspice, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 medium eggplants, sliced crosswise
1
â
4
-inch thick
1 tablespoon strained fresh lemon juice
1 or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1.
Cut lamb into 1-inch pieces, trimming off any excess fat, and pat them dry.
2.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy stew pan or Dutch oven. Add onion and sauté over medium heat 5 minutes or until beginning to turn golden. Add lamb and sauté lightly until meat becomes very light brown.
3.
Chop fresh or canned tomatoes and add them with their juice to the pan. Add garlic and bring to a simmer. Add water, allspice, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring often. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, 1 hour or until lamb is tender; add a few tablespoons water if pan becomes dry. Arrange eggplant slices in one layer on a foil-lined baking sheet or broiler pan. If eggplant doesn't fit, do it in 2 batches. Brush or spray eggplant lightly with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil 7 minutes. Turn over, brush or spray again with oil, and broil about 7 minutes or until barely tender.
4.
When lamb is tender, add lemon juice to sauce, taste, and adjust seasoning. Add eggplant slices to pan, spoon a little sauce over slices, cover, and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Jews from eastern Mediterranean countries make entrees like this using a small amount of meat to flavor a variety of vegetables. The result is a sort of baked ratatouille seasoned with allspice and a touch of cinnamon. It is easy to assemble as all the ingredients are combined in a baking dish and do not require separate sautéing.
Use either boneless lamb shoulder or buy shoulder chops and cut off the bones and fat.
1 to 1
1
â
2
pounds boneless lamb shoulder meat or about 2 pounds shoulder chops
1 pound small zucchini, cut into 1-inch slices
One 1
1
â
4
-pound eggplant, unpeeled and cut into 1-inch dice
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced, or two 14
1
â
2
-ounce cans diced tomatoes, with their juice
2 large onions, halved and sliced
1 pound red-skinned boiling potatoes, unpeeled
3 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1
â
2
teaspoon salt, or to taste
1
â
2
teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1
â
2
teaspoon ground allspice
1
â
4
teaspoon ground cinnamon
A pinch of cloves
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â
3
cup water
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Trim excess fat from lamb and remove bones if using chops. Cut meat into
3
â
4
-inch cubes. Combine lamb, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes with their juice, and onions in a large gratin dish or shallow, heavy baking dish. Cut potatoes into
3
â
4
-inch dice and add to gratin dish. Add garlic.
2.
Mix the salt, pepper, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves in a small bowl. Sprinkle spice mixture over vegetables and lamb and toss with clean hands to mix thoroughly. Add water to gratin dish. Cover and bake 40 minutes. Drizzle with the oil. Bake uncovered, stirring often, 1
1
â
2
hours, or until lamb and vegetables are very tender; occasionally add a few tablespoons hot water to dish if necessary to prevent burning. When casserole is done, there should be little liquid left.
Jewish cooks from North African countries like to use celery as a vegetable and not simply as a seasoning. In this stew, the celery and lamb are paired with another popular flavor of the region, saffron. Many cooks substitute turmeric when they don't have saffron. The taste is completely different but is still good.
2 pounds boneless lean shoulder of lamb
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups water
1
â
4
teaspoon firmly packed crushed saffron threads
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 pound celery (5 large ribs), peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 to 3 teaspoons strained fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1.
Cut lamb into 1
1
â
4
- to 1
1
â
2
-inch pieces, trimming off any excess fat, and pat them dry.
2.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in large, heavy stew pan. Add lamb in batches and brown lightly on all sides over medium-high heat. Remove from pan to a plate.
3.
Add onion to pan and sauté over low heat, stirring often, about 7 minutes or until softened. Return meat to pan, reserving any juices on plate, and sprinkle meat with flour. Toss lightly to coat meat with flour. Cook over low heat, stirring often, 5 minutes. Stir in water and bring to boil, stirring often. Add meat juices from plate, saffron, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring and turning lamb cubes over occasionally, about 1
1
â
2
to 2 hours or until lamb is very tender. Stir in tomato paste.
4.
Heat remaining tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat, add celery, and sauté about 3 minutes; do not let it brown. Add celery to stew and push pieces down into sauce. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until celery is just tender.
5.
Sauce should be thick enough to lightly coat spoon; if it is too thin, simmer uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally very gently, 5 to 10 minutes until lightly thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley and lemon juice. Adjust seasoning.
A favorite in the Sephardic kitchen, braised lamb shoulder produces a flavorful sauce that enhances many vegetables. It's popular with white beans and, in France, with pale green flageolet beans. I like to use frozen lima beans, as they contribute a similar color to the entree and taste great with the lamb and its sauce.
2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder or lamb for stew, cut into 1-inch pieces and trimmed of excess fat
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or one 28-ounce can tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 large sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
6 fresh Italian parsley stems, leaves reserved for chopping
1 cup water
1 small carrot, halved lengthwise
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
One 1-pound or two 10-ounce packages frozen lima beans
Cayenne pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1.
Pat lamb dry. Heat oil in a large, heavy stew pan or Dutch oven. Add lamb in batches and brown lightly on all sides over medium-high heat. Remove from pan to a plate. If necessary, pour off excess fat from pan, leaving only about 1 tablespoon. Add onion and sauté over medium-low heat about 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and cook 2 minutes.
2.
Wrap thyme, bay leaf, and parsley stems in cheesecloth and tie ends to form a seasoning bag; add to stew pan. Return lamb to pan. Add water, carrot, and a little salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer about 45 minutes or until lamb is tender. Discard carrot and seasoning bag.
3.
Skim off excess fat from sauce. Add lima beans. If stew is too thick, add a few tablespoons water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat about 7 minutes or until beans are tender. Add cayenne; adjust seasoning. Serve sprinkled with parsley.
Navarin is a French stew of lamb and vegetables. This classic dish is popular among the Jews of France, especially for springtime. A meal in one pot with plenty of colorful vegetables, it's easy to prepare and delicious when made with delicate, young lamb.
I thicken the sauce with potato starch instead of the traditional
roux
because it's easier. Besides, potato starch makes the dish suitable for Passover; omit the peas if it's your family's custom not to eat them during the holiday.
1
1
â
2
to 2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or one 28-ounce can tomatoes, drained and chopped
1
1
â
2
cups veal, beef, or vegetable stock or water
12 to 16 pearl onions (optional), unpeeled