1,000 Jewish Recipes (242 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
Baby onions are available in two varieties at the markets: small, white boiling onions and pearl onions with white, red, or yellow skins. Whichever ones you choose, this French dish will be a delicious accompaniment for meat or fish. In France the onions are glazed with butter. To keep them pareve for serving with meat, Jewish cooks use vegetable oil instead.
3
â
4
to 1 pound small boiling onions or pearl onions of uniform size
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1
â
3
cup water
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
1.
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, rinse with cold water until they cool completely, and peel them.
2.
Return onions to saucepan. Add oil, water, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat, shaking pan occasionally, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on size, or until they are tender. Sprinkle onions with sugar and cook uncovered over medium heat, shaking pan often, until liquid is reduced to a syrupy glaze. Serve hot.
VEGETABLE MEDLEYS
Tzimmes
is the Yiddish term for a casserole of sweet vegetables and dried fruit. It's a favorite for most holidays, especially Rosh Hashanah. Often it includes meat as well and is served as a main course. When prepared without meat, as in this version, it makes a tasty accompaniment for roast chicken or braised beef.
1 pound orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled, halved, and sliced about
1
â
2
-inch thick
1 pound boiling potatoes, halved and sliced about
1
â
2
-inch thick
3
â
4
pound carrots, diagonally sliced
1
â
2
-inch thick
4 ounces pitted prunes
2 tablespoons brown sugar, or more to taste
1
â
2
teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Salt, to taste
1.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine sweet potatoes, boiling potatoes, carrots, prunes, brown sugar, and cinnamon, if using, in a large saucepan. Add 1 quart water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat 25 to 30 minutes or until vegetables and prunes are tender.
2.
Mix cornstarch with
1
â
3
cup water. Add to simmering liquid, stirring gently. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring gently, until sauce comes to a simmer and thickens. Season it with salt and more brown sugar, if desired.
3.
Spoon mixture into a lightly oiled 2-quart casserole dish. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until bubbling.
Dried cranberries lend a colorful note to this tzimmes of carrots and pineapple instead of the usual prunes. It's great with a holiday turkey, whether for Thanksgiving or for Purim. Since this tzimmes is so easy to prepare, it's good to serve with the Shabbat chicken too. Tzimmes often has oil or margarine but you won't miss them in this delicious, fat-free rendition.
You'll find packages or containers of diced fresh pineapple in the prepared fruit section of your supermarket's produce department.
4 cups diced fresh pineapple
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 pounds carrots, sliced
1
â
2
-inch thick
3 to 4 tablespoons honey
1
â
2
cup dried cranberries
1
1
â
2
teaspoons ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1.
Reserve
1
â
4
cup juice from the pineapple. Mix reserved juice with the cornstarch in a cup.
2.
Combine carrots with 2 cups water and a pinch of salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat about 12 minutes or until just tender. Remove carrots with slotted spoon. Add honey to carrot cooking liquid and bring to a simmer, stirring. Mix cornstarch solution to blend. Add to simmering liquid, stirring. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until sauce comes to a simmer and thickens. Stir in carrots, cranberries, pineapple, ginger, and cloves. Heat until bubbling. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.
Wild mushrooms have long been used by Jewish cooks from Eastern Europe because they were plentiful and inexpensive in that region. In America, wild mushrooms can be hard to find and costly, so I use flavorful portobellos in this and other mushroom dishes. If you want, substitute chanterelles or cèpe mushrooms. Whichever mushrooms you choose, they are a great substitute for meat, they're pareve, and they make this dish delicious! Serve it as an appetizer salad or a side dish with baked fish or roast chicken.
1
â
4
to
1
â
3
cup walnut halves
3
â
4
pound medium asparagus
1 or 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 to 8 ounces portobello mushrooms, sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons walnut oil
2 or 3 teaspoons wine vinegar or herb vinegar
6 cups mixed baby lettuces
1.
Preheat toaster oven or oven to 350°F. Toast walnuts in oven 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2.
Peel asparagus by putting it on a board, holding it at the base, and peeling it towards you, turning it after each strip is peeled. Cut off thick bases. Rinse asparagus. Cut each spear into 3 pieces. Put asparagus in a medium sauté pan or deep skillet of boiling salted water and cook 3 to 5 minutes or until just tender. Drain gently.
3.
Heat vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper and sauté over medium-high heat about 5 minutes or until they are tender and browned. Add asparagus and toss over medium heat until heated through.
4.
Whisk walnut oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. In a serving bowl, toss lettuce with walnut oil dressing. Adjust seasoning. Serve lettuce topped with mushrooms and asparagus. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts.
Roast these vegetables at the same time as the Friday night chicken and serve them with the bird as an easy accompaniment. They also make a good appetizer, topped with
Sephardic Salsa
or
Zehug Vinaigrette
or simply drizzled with a little olive oil, sprinkled with cayenne pepper, and served with a lemon wedge.
Although this is a Mediterranean recipe, I often use small, thin, Asian eggplants, either the deep purple Japanese or the pale-skinned Chinese variety. They cook quickly and have a delicate taste and pleasing, tender texture.
1
1
â
2
pounds Japanese, Chinese, or small Italian eggplants
4 large red bell peppers, or 2 red and 2 green
1 head garlic
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper or paprika, to taste
Lemons, cut into wedges
1.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Rinse vegetables and pat dry. Separate garlic into cloves and wrap them tightly in foil. Line a roasting pan with foil if you like. Prick each eggplant a few times with a fork and put in roasting pan. Put peppers in pan and add foil-wrapped garlic. Bake peppers and garlic 35 to 40 minutes, and eggplants 40 to 60 minutes or until tender; turn vegetables once during roasting.
2.
Transfer peppers to a bowl and cover tightly or wrap in a plastic bag. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel with aid of a paring knife. Halve peppers and drain liquid from inside. Remove core. Quarter lengthwise. Peel eggplant if you like. Quarter each eggplant lengthwise.
3.
Alternate eggplant and pepper pieces on platter. Add garlic cloves. Sprinkle eggplant with oil if using, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Garlic can be squeezed out of cloves onto eggplant, or served on the side. Serve with lemon wedges.
This savory pepper stew is best known as a Hungarian dish but many say it originated in Serbia. It is a popular dish in Israel too.
Lecso
(pronounced "letcho") is easy to make and keeps well. Many cooks like to keep it on hand to use as the base for a quick dish of scrambled eggs or to heat with frankfurters or sausages.
Lecso
is a good side dish on its own and accompanies beef, chicken, fish, or grains well. I find it also makes a terrific topping for a pareve pizza.
To make
lecso
you can use either the pale green peppers called Hungarian or Italian peppers or the common green bell peppers. Other colors of peppers are not traditional but you can mix peppers if you like.