Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (239 page)
3.
Add
1
â
2
cup water, mint, garlic, and sugar. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Cook about 5 more minutes or until vegetables are tender and absorb most of liquid; add a little more water during cooking if pan becomes dry. Add remaining lemon juice. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot or cold.
Serve this quick and colorful medley of zucchini and red beans for an easy supper side dish, topped with its Sephardic-style topping of yogurt flavored with mint and a touch of garlic. Or turn it into a main course by serving couscous or brown rice as an accompaniment.
1 cup plain yogurt, regular, low-fat, or nonfat
1 medium clove garlic, pressed or finely minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or
1
â
2
teaspoon dried
Salt and white pepper, to taste
4 medium zucchini, halved and sliced
1
â
2
-inch thick
One 15-ounce can red beans, drained
1.
Mix yogurt with garlic and mint in a bowl. Season with salt and white pepper.
2.
Boil enough water in a medium saucepan to just cover zucchini. Add zucchini and beans and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes or until zucchini are tender. Drain well and serve hot. Serve yogurt sauce separately, for spooning over vegetables.
We in America tend to think of pumpkin for desserts but it's delicious as a savory starter or side dish too. Tunisian Jews serve this as one of an array of salads before the meal, but it's also good served warm as an accompaniment for chicken. You can make it with sugar pumpkin or any type of winter squash. I like mild acorn or banana squash or sweet butternut squash. If you are in a hurry for this dish, the squashes cook beautifully in the microwave.
1
â
2
teaspoon
Harissa
,
Zehug
, or bottled hot sauce, or to taste
One 3-pound acorn or butternut squash or sugar pumpkin
1 green onion, white and green parts, chopped
1 large clove garlic, pressed or finely minced
1
â
2
teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
2 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
1 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, plus sprigs for garnish
1.
Prepare sauces, if fresh preferred. Then, to cook squash or pumpkin on stovetop: Cut squash or pumpkin in pieces and cut off peel. Remove seeds. Cut pumpkin meat in approximately 1
1
â
2
-inch cubes. (You should have 5 to 6 cups.) Combine squash cubes in a medium saucepan with 2 cups water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally so that all pieces come in contact with the water, about 25 minutes or until very tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Drain thoroughly.
2.
To cook squash or pumpkin in microwave: cut squash or pumpkin in half and remove seeds. Put halved squash in glass baking dish cut-side down. Add
1
â
4
cup water to dish. Cover and microwave on high about 12 minutes or until tender; check by piercing meat in thickest part with fork.
3.
Mash squash pieces with a fork; leave a few small chunks if desired. Transfer to a colander and let drain 1 hour.
4.
Put pumpkin in a bowl and add green onion, garlic, harissa, paprika, caraway seeds, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt to taste. Mix well, cover, and chill.
5.
Serve pumpkin in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro. If you like, drizzle olive oil over top. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.
CAULIFLOWER, BROCCOLI, AND CABBAGE
 or
Â
Serving vegetables in a white sauce flavored with dill is popular among Jews from Eastern Europe, and those from Hungary often add sweet and hot paprika as well. Although the sauce is creamy, it does not contain dairy products. Serve the vegetables with baked salmon or trout, or with braised or poached chicken.
1
1
â
2
cups
Velouté Sauce
2 pounds cauliflower, divided into medium florets
2 cups frozen peas
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Pinch of hot paprika or cayenne pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons snipped fresh dill or 3 teaspoons dried
1.
Prepare sauce. Then, cook cauliflower uncovered in a large saucepan of boiling salted water 4 minutes. Add peas and return to a boil. Cook another 2 minutes or until cauliflower is crisp-tender. Reserve
1
â
3
cup of cooking liquid. Drain vegetables in a colander and rinse with cold water.
2.
Bring veloute sauce to a simmer in saucepan, whisking. Stir in sweet paprika. If sauce is too thick, whisk in a tablespoon or two of reserved vegetable cooking liquid. Season sauce with salt, pepper, and hot paprika. Stir in 2 tablespoons fresh dill or all of dried dill. Add vegetables and heat through, gently turning cauliflower in the sauce. Serve sprinkled with remaining fresh dill.
Cauliflower in tomato sauce appears on the tables of Jews of many different origins. In our family we loved it spiked with coriander, cumin, and fresh dill, as I learned from my sister-in-law Mati Kahn, who was born in India.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1
â
2
teaspoon ground turmeric
1
â
8
teaspoon cayenne pepper
2
1
â
2
pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or two 28-ounce cans tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 large head cauliflower, divided into medium florets
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or Italian parsley
1.
Heat oil in a heavy stew pan. Add onion and cook over medium-low heat 7 minutes, or until it is soft and beginning to brown. Add garlic, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons water, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, about 20 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and sauce is thick. Discard bay leaf.
2.
Cook cauliflower uncovered in a large pan of boiling salted water over high heat about 3 minutes or until nearly tender. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain thoroughly.
3.
Add cauliflower to sauce, cover, and simmer, gently turning florets over occasionally, about 5 minutes or until tender. Adjust seasoning. Serve sprinkled with dill.
A classic combination, this is the favorite way to eat broccoli for many people. It's a terrific accompaniment for a plain or tomato-sauced fish. For a vegetarian menu it's delicious with a simple grain dish such as
Herbed Rice
or
Israeli Rice Pilaf
, and a fresh vegetable salad. The luscious sauce is rich but its texture is smooth and light, not sticky. You can prepare the gratin ahead and keep it in the refrigerator; simply cover it lightly so it won't dry out.
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1
1
â
2
cups milk
Salt and white pepper, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1
â
4
cup heavy cream, crème fraîche, or whole milk
Pinch of cayenne pepper, or to taste