Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (238 page)
3.
Chop flesh removed from eggplant. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet and add chopped eggplant, salt, and pepper. Sauté over medium-low heat, stirring often, about 10 minutes or until tender. Mix with stuffing. Adjust seasoning.
4.
Rinse eggplant shells, pat them dry, and put them in a baking dish. Fill them with stuffing. Mix tomato paste with
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4
cup water and spoon mixture over eggplant. Add enough water to dish to cover eggplant by one third. Add garlic to dish. Spoon 1 tablespoon oil over eggplant. Cover and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake 15 more minutes. Uncover and bake, basting occasionally, 30 minutes or until eggplant is very tender. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature.
Note:
If you have any stuffing left, you can spoon it into a small baking dish, cover it, and bake it at 350°F 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
No longer liked only in the South, okra is becoming more popular throughout the United States and can now be found at many markets in other parts of the country, especially in the summer.
I first learned to appreciate it in Israel. Okra is loved by Jews from Lebanon and other eastern Mediterranean countries and I prefer their method of cooking the vegetable; first you sauté the okra, then add chopped tomatoes and seasonings, and finish cooking the vegetable in a covered pan. It makes a tasty accompaniment for grilled chicken or braised meat. Okra's meaty texture also makes this a satisfying vegetarian entree for serving with rice.
For the best okra, choose small, firm, deep green pods. If they are over 3 inches long, they are likely to be stringy and tough.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 large cloves garlic, minced
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jalapeño pepper, minced
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3
cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 pounds okra, stemmed
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, diced, or one 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
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teaspoon ground coriander
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large, deep skillet or sauté pan. Add onion, garlic, jalapeño, and
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3
cup cilantro. Sauté over medium heat, stirring often, 7 minutes or until onions begin to turn golden. Add okra and sauté, stirring, 2 minutes.
2.
Add tomatoes, coriander, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cook over medium-low heat 20 to 30 minutes or until tender. Stir in remaining tablespoon oil and remaining
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cup cilantro and remove from heat. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot or lukewarm.
My friend Dvorah Alon, who was born in Morocco and lives in Israel, prepares this aromatic side dish for Shabbat. A colorful dish of red stems and green leaves, it's delicious with fish or chicken or as part of vegetarian meals.
1 bunch red chard
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
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teaspoon ground cumin
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2
teaspoon paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon strained fresh lemon juice
1.
Pull chard leaves from stems and keep each in a separate pile. Rinse chard well and soak it in a large bowl of cold water if it is sandy. Cut stems into
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2
-inch slices. Coarsely chop leaves.
2.
Cook chard stems in a medium saucepan of boiling water over medium heat 2 minutes. Add leaves and cook 3 minutes or until tender. Drain chard, reserving a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid.
3.
Heat oil in the saucepan, add garlic, and sauté over low heat about 30 seconds. Add chard and heat about 3 minutes, adding 1 or 2 tablespoons cooking liquid if pan is dry. Add cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper and heat about 1 minute. Just before serving, add lemon juice and heat through. Adjust seasoning.
Fava beans are prized in the Sephardic kitchen and are used in all sorts of waysâin soups, in stews, in salads, and combined with rice. You can find them fresh at farmers' markets, especially in the summer months, and in Middle Eastern markets, where they are often available frozen as well. If you like, you can substitute lima beans (see Note).
Fava beans are shelled like peas. The large beans have thick skins and most people find them more attractive and more appealing to eat if the skin is removed. Some cooks prefer to leave them on.
2 pounds fresh fava beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
One 14
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2
-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
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2
teaspoon ground allspice
Cayenne pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or Italian parsley (optional)
1.
Remove fava beans from pods. Put beans in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water and cook uncovered over high heat 5 to 7 minutes or until they are done to your taste; some people like to cook them only 2 minutes, while others prefer as long as 20 minutes. Drain well; peel off thick skins.
2.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Add onion and sauté over medium-low heat 7 minutes or until beginning to turn golden. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and allspice. Cook uncovered over medium heat 5 minutes. Add fava beans and cook about 2 minutes or until heated through. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Add half of cilantro, if using. Serve sprinkled with remaining cilantro.
Note:
If fava beans are not available, use a 10-ounce package of frozen lima beans. Cook them according to package directions and add them to sauce.
SQUASHES AND PUMPKINS
Dill- and paprika-seasoned sautéed onions are the hallmarks of Hungarian cooking and I love the delicate way they highlight the flavors of the summer squashes from my garden. Unlike many vegetable dishes from the Hungarian culinary tradition, this one is light and does not contain cream or butter. As a vegetarian entree, I like to spoon it over brown or white rice and accompany it with a salad of baby lettuce and garden-fresh cherry tomatoes. It also makes a terrific accompaniment for poached chicken or broiled fish.
1 pound crookneck squash (about 4)
1 pound zucchini (about 4)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced
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2
teaspoons sweet paprika
Pinch of hot paprika or cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable broth or water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 2 teaspoons dried
1.
Cut off thin "neck" of each squash. Halve rest of squash lengthwise, place each half cut-side down, and cut it into 4 lengthwise slices to form sticks. Quarter each zucchini and cut each quarter into 3 crosswise pieces.
2.
Heat oil in a nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes or until golden. Add squash necks and pieces, sweet paprika, hot paprika, salt, and pepper and sauté 1 minute, stirring to coat.
3.
Add 2 tablespoons broth to pan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp-tender. If pan becomes dry during cooking, add 1 to 2 tablespoons broth. Add dill and toss. Adjust seasoning.
Jews from Syria like sour and sweet vegetables seasoned with a touch more lemon juice than sugar. Dried mint, garlic, and onion accent the sauce, which is a particularly good match for the sweetness of carrots and delicate zucchini.
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pound carrots
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pound yellow summer squash, either straight, crookneck, or pattypan
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pound zucchini, cut into
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2
-inch slices
2 or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
About
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2
cup water
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2
teaspoons dried mint
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
1.
Cut carrots into diagonal slices about
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-inch thick. (There is no need to peel the squash.) Cut yellow squash and zucchini into
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2
-inch slices.
2.
Heat oil in a sauté pan, add onion, and sauté over medium heat about 5 minutes or until golden. Add carrots, yellow squash, zucchini, salt, and pepper. Sauté, tossing, 2 minutes.