1,000 Jewish Recipes (290 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
= Pareve  
= Dairy  
= MeatVEGETABLES AND VEGETABLE SAUCES
Good tomato sauce plays a major role in fine Jewish cooking, especially in the Sephardic branch, where it accompanies most vegetables as well as many entrees and grain dishes. When tomatoes are at the height of their season, this thick, chunky sauce is a real treat. It does not cook for a long time so it captures the tomatoes' wonderful sun-ripened flavor. Not many seasonings are needed, so the accent is on the tomatoes.
I especially love making the sauce with different varieties of tomatoes from my garden and from farmers' markets, including yellow and orange ones. I freeze the sauces in the summer and enjoy them throughout the year.
3 pounds ripe tomatoes, any color
3 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 large sprig fresh thyme or
1
â
2
teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs: Italian parsley, dill, cilantro, basil, tarragon, or oregano (optional)
1.
Peel, seed, and chop the tomatoes (see
Peeling and Seeding Tomatoes
). Then, heat oil in a large, heavy, shallow stew pan. Add onion and sauté over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes or until it begins to turn golden. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, salt, and pepper and bring to boil. Cook uncovered over medium heat, stirring often, 20 to 25 minutes or until tomatoes are very soft and sauce is fairly thick, reducing heat as sauce begins to thicken; tomatoes burn easily. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig. Adjust seasoning.
2.
At serving time, reheat sauce and stir in herbs, if using.
Peeling and Seeding Tomatoes
To Peel Tomatoes:
1.
Bring a saucepan full of water to boil. Meanwhile, cut green cores from tomatoes.
2.
Turn each tomato over and slit skin on bottom of tomato in an X-shaped cut.
3.
Fill a large bowl with cold water.
4.
Put tomatoes in the boiling water. Boil tomatoes 10 to 15 seconds or until their skin begins to pull away from their flesh.
5.
Immediately remove tomatoes from water with a slotted spoon and put them in the bowl of cold water. Leave for a few seconds so they cool.
6.
Remove tomatoes from water and pull off their skins. (You can add the tomato skins to vegetable or meat stocks.)
To Seed Tomatoes:
1.
Cut tomatoes in half horizontally.
2.
Hold each tomato half over a bowl, cut side down. Squeeze tomato to remove the seeds and juice.
3.
You can chop the tomatoes with a knife or pulse them in a food processor to chop them.
4.
If you like, strain the juice and refrigerate it for drinking.
During much of the year, when sun-ripened tomatoes are not available or are too expensive, most cooks use canned tomatoes. Although I sometimes use canned diced tomatoes for quick sauces, I find that whole canned tomatoes tend to have more substance and produce a finer sauce. Generally, I season this sauce more than I would one of fresh tomatoes.
Two 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, minced
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 large sprig fresh thyme or
1
â
2
teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1
â
4
teaspoon hot pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1.
Drain tomatoes in a strainer, reserving juice.
2.
Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add onion and sauté, stirring, over medium-low heat about 7 minutes or until it begins to turn golden. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, pepper flakes if using, salt, and pepper and bring to boil. Cook uncovered over medium heat, stirring often, about 15 minutes or until sauce is fairly thick, reducing heat as sauce begins to thicken; tomatoes burn easily. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig. Adjust seasoning.
Lemony sauces are especially popular among Jews of Greek and Turkish extraction. The garlic is added when the sauce is nearly ready so its taste is more prominent, although it is not raw. This refreshingly tangy sauce is most welcome in summer as an accompaniment for baked or grilled fish. It's also good with pasta and rice salads.
2 pounds ripe tomatoes or two 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons tomato paste (optional)
1 to 3 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1.
Peel and seed fresh tomatoes (see
Peeling and Seeding Tomatoes
), reserving their juice and straining it; if using canned tomatoes, drain and reserve juice. Coarsely chop tomatoes.
2.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Add onion and sauté over medium-low heat 7 minutes or until soft but not brown. Add tomatoes, dried oregano (but not fresh), salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 20 minutes.
3.
Add reserved tomato juice and garlic to sauce. Cook uncovered over medium heat, stirring often, about 10 minutes or until sauce thickens to your taste. Add tomato paste, if using, mix well, and simmer 1 minute.
4.
A short time before serving, add fresh oregano and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Taste before adding more lemon juice. Add a pinch of cayenne. Adjust seasoning. Add parsley. Serve hot or cold.
This tasty tomato sauce recipe is from Sara Boni, a cousin of my husband who lives in Rehovot, Israel. When she visited us in Los Angeles, she made this recipe, adapting it with local ingredients. She flavored it with the long chiles called Anaheim chiles (milder than jalapeños) that are usually pale green but are sometimes available red; they reminded her of mild Israeli chiles.
Bell pepper, garlic, and sometimes cilantro complete the fresh flavorings. You can sauté the chiles and bell pepper before peeling them, as in this recipe, or broil or grill them if you prefer. Serve the sauce cold as a dip alongside hummus, or hot or cold as a side dish for meat. You can also poach eggs in the sauce or mix the sauce with beaten eggs and scramble the mixture.
2 pounds ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 mild chiles (Anaheim chiles), green or red
1 green or red bell pepper
3 large cloves garlic, chopped