1,000 Jewish Recipes (258 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
Lightly seasoned with garlic and parsley, this rice pilaf is traditional on menus of the Jews of Rome. It makes a convenient Shabbat side dish as it combines both a grain and vegetable in a single pot. For the cooking liquid you can use water or vegetable stock. If you wish to serve the rice with meat or poultry, use all or part chicken, beef, or veal stock.
1
1
â
2
pounds eggplant
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1
â
2
cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1
1
â
2
cups long-grain white rice
3 cups water or vegetable, beef, or veal stock
1.
Peel eggplants if skins are tough. Cut eggplants into small dice. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large sauté pan or stew pan. Add eggplant, salt, and pepper, and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add garlic and half the parsley. Sauté, stirring often, 2 minutes. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, about 7 minutes or until eggplant is nearly tender.
2.
Add remaining oil and heat briefly. Add rice and sauté, stirring, about 5 minutes, so that rice absorbs flavors in pan. Add water or stock and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat without stirring for 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is just tender.
3.
Adjust seasoning. Use fork to fluff rice. Gently stir in 3 tablespoons of parsley. Serve hot, sprinkled with remaining tablespoon parsley.
I learned about this time-honored dish from Suzanne Elmaleh, who was born in Lebanon and spent most of her life in Jerusalem. When she lived in Beirut more than fifty years ago, this regional specialty, called
majadrah
in Arabic, was a dish for the servants and the poor. In other homes it appeared on the table on laundry day, when there was little time to cook. Now the dish has become very popular in Israel, not only in homes but in restaurants too. Serve it as a vegetarian entree or as an accompaniment for chicken or meat.
Majadrah
is popular throughout the Middle East. The Lebanese version is the most delicately seasoned, relying on the natural flavor of the lentils, rice, and sautéed onions.
1 cup lentils
2 cups water
3 to 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
1
1
â
4
cups long-grain white rice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
1.
Combine lentils and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes or until lentils are just tender. Drain liquid into a measuring cup and add enough water to make 2
1
â
2
cups; reserve.
2.
Heat oil in a heavy skillet. Add onions and sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes or until they are well browned. Add onions and their oil to pan of lentils. Add measured liquid and bring to a boil. Add rice and salt and return to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat without stirring about 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Adjust seasoning, adding pepper and cayenne. Serve hot.
Chard and other greens cooked with rice is a popular dish in many eastern Mediterranean countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Armenia, Turkey, and Greece. You can use green Swiss chard, but if you use red chard, the stems will add an attractive pink color. For a tasty Sephardic menu, serve this dish with roast chicken or grilled fish. If you like, sprinkle the rice with a few tablespoons toasted almonds or pecans for a festive touch.
One
3
â
4
-pound bunch red chard
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup long-grain white rice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cups boiling water
1.
Rinse chard thoroughly by placing leaves and stems in a large bowl of cold water, lifting them out and putting them in a strainer, then discarding water. Repeat several times until water is no longer sandy. Cut chard stems into
1
â
2
-inch slices. Chop leaves.
2.
Heat oil in a heavy sauté pan. Add onion and sauté over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring often. Add chard stems and sauté 2 minutes. Add leaves, cover, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until wilted. Add rice, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and mix with greens. Add boiling water, cover, and cook over low heat without stirring about 18 minutes or until rice is tender. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot.
Rice with saffron is one of the best-loved dishes in the Iranian Jewish kitchen. The rice is varied in infinite ways. One popular way to prepare it for springtime is to dot the rice with fresh, bright green fava beans. If fava beans are not available, you can substitute lima beans (see Note).
2 pounds fresh fava beans
1
â
4
teaspoon saffron
1
1
â
2
cups basmati rice, rinsed well
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1
â
3
cup chopped fresh dill
1.
Remove fava beans from pods. Put beans in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water and cook uncovered over high heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until just tender. Drain the beans, rinse with cold water, and drain well. Peel off and discard the tough outer skins.
2.
Soak saffron in 2 tablespoons warm water in a small bowl for about 15 minutes.
3.
Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Add rice and cook it over high heat for 12 minutes or until barely tender. Drain, rinse with lukewarm water, and drain well.
4.
Heat oil in same saucepan, add garlic, and cook over low heat about 30 seconds. Add fava beans, salt, and pepper, and toss 1 to 2 minutes over heat. Add rice and toss very gently. Add saffron liquid. Cover tightly and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Add dill, salt, and pepper and toss very gently. Serve hot.
Note:
If fresh fava beans are not available, use a 10-ounce package of frozen fava beans or lima beans. Cook them according to package directions and add them to rice.
 or
Â
This light, fresh side dish flavored with sautéed sweet onions is great for Shavuot or for other late spring or early summer dinners. It makes a terrific accompaniment for broiled salmon. When you can find fresh peas, I recommend them but if time is short, you can use frozen ones.
The rice is cooked like pasta, then rinsed. This is a technique I learned when I worked in a restaurant in Paris. It makes it easy to cook the rice ahead. All it needs is quick reheating with a little butter or oil.
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 pound fresh peas (about 1 cup shelled), or 1 cup frozen peas
2 to 4 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
1
â
2
cup minced onion, preferably sweet onion
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley or basil
1.
Bring about 6 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan and add a pinch of salt. Add rice, stir once, and cook uncovered over high heat about 12 to 14 minutes or until tender; check by tasting. Drain in a strainer, rinse with cold water until cool, and let drain for 5 minutes.
2.
Cook peas uncovered in a pan of boiling salted water about 7 minutes for fresh peas or about 3 minutes for frozen ones, or until just tender. Drain thoroughly.
3.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté about 5 minutes or until softened but not brown. Add peas, rice, and salt and pepper. Heat mixture over low heat, tossing lightly with a fork, until hot. Add remaining butter if desired. Cover pan and let rice stand about 2 minutes, or until butter melts. Add chopped parsley; toss again lightly. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot.
