1,000 Jewish Recipes (297 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
Food flavored with chicken fat is one of the hallmarks of traditional Ashkenazic Jewish cooking. It's used for general sautéing for
fleishig
dishes and to flavor such foods as matzo balls and potato kugel.
Before being used, chicken fat is cooked, or "rendered." It is available in jars at kosher markets but many people prefer to make their own. You can save the fat from chickens in the freezer until you have enough to render. You can also make this with goose fat. The schmaltz keeps for several months in the refrigerator.
Fat from 4 or more chickens
Salt, to taste
1
â
2
cup water
1 onion, chopped
Rinse the fat, cut it into pieces, and sprinkle it with salt. Heat a heavy skillet over low heat, add the fat and water, and cook until water evaporates and fat melts. Add onion and sauté about 10 minutes or until golden. Strain fat. Pour it into a clean jar, cover, and keep in the refrigerator.
1
â
2
cups chicken fat
Chicken cracklings, or
grivenes
in Yiddish, are made of crisp bits of chicken skin. They are popular in the old-fashioned Ashkenazic kitchen as snacks and as flavorings for noodles, savory kugels, and chopped liver.
When you make grivenes, you also get plenty of chicken fat, which you can save in jars for sautéing.
Fatty portions of skin of 4 or more chickens
Fat from 4 or more chickens
Salt to taste
1
â
2
cup water
2 onions, chopped
1.
Rinse the chicken skin and fat. Cut them into pieces and sprinkle with salt. Heat a heavy skillet over low heat. Add the skin, fat, and water and cook until the water evaporates and the fat melts. Add onions and sauté about 15 minutes or until golden. Continue to sauté, stirring occasionally, until chicken skin is crunchy. Strain fat, reserving onion and skins. Put onion and skins in refrigerator in a covered container. Pour the fat into clean jars, cover, and keep in the refrigerator.
2.
Reheat grivenes before serving.
The Jewish Calendar
The first Jewish calendar year began 5,760 years ago and is said to have started from the day of the birth of Adamâthe sixth day of the biblical creation.
The Jewish calendar is a lunar one, based on the cycles of the moon. Each lunar month begins with the New Moon and lasts 29 or 30 days. There are 12 months in the lunar calendar and the lunar year has 354 days. Because the solar Gregorian calendar has 365 days, the discrepancy between the two calendars causes holidays that were established based on the lunar calendar to occur on different dates each year on the solar calendar. For example, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, occurs in the month of Tishrei, which can begin in September or October.
To keep each Jewish holiday in its right season, a thirteenth month called Adar 2 is added every two or three years.
The New Moon is considered a festive day on the Jewish calendar and is known as Rosh Hodesh. In ancient Israel, religious leaders established the dates of the major Jewish holidays based on a set number of days from the New Moon of a designated month.
When all the Jews lived in ancient Israel, the start of each month was declared by the high court in Jerusalem when eyewitnesses observed that the New Moon had appeared in the sky (which could be one of two days). After the Jews were dispersed to other countries, it was hard for religious leaders to convey what the exact date was. Thus, Jewish people would not know when to celebrate each holiday. To solve this dilemma, two days were set for many holidays. Jews outside Israel observed both days, while those in Israel continued to celebrate as before. This custom continues today.
The Months on the Jewish Calendar are:
Jewish Month | Gregorian Month | Holidays and Important Days |
Tishrei | SeptemberâOctober | Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot |
Heshvan | OctoberâNovember | |
Kislev | NovemberâDecember | Hanukkah |
Tevet | DecemberâJanuary | |
Shevat | JanuaryâFebruary | Tu Bishvat (Tree Holiday) |
Adar | FebruaryâMarch | Purim |
Adar 2(leap month) | MarchâApril | |
Nissan | MarchâApril | Passover |
Iyar | AprilâMay | Israeli Independence Day |
Sivan | MayâJune | Shavuot |
Tamuz | JuneâJuly | |
Av | JulyâAugust | Fast of Tisha B'av |
Elul | AugustâSeptember |
GlossaryâCooking, Customs, and Kashrut
afikoman
a piece of matzo that is hidden during the Passover Seder ritual. Hebrew and Yiddish.
Ashkenazic
Jews of eastern or central European origin. Hebrew.
bar mitzvah
a celebration of a 13-year-old boy's passage into adulthood. Hebrew.
bat mitzvah
a celebration for 12-year-old girls, similar to a boy's bar mitzvah; traditional among Conservative and Reform Jews. Hebrew.
bechamel
a smooth, nutmeg-flavored white sauce. French.
beitza
egg; also, a roasted hard-boiled egg for the Passover Seder. Hebrew.
blanquette
a stew with a creamy sauce. French.
bletels
crepe-like wrappers for blintzes. Yiddish.
blintz(es)
filled crepe-like dishes with savory or sweet fillings; also, the crepe-like wrappers. Yiddish.
boureka(s)
savory Sephardic pastries, similar to Spanish empanadas, often made with phyllo dough and cheese or vegetable fillings. Turkish.
bouquet garni
herb bundle for flavoring. French.
bsari
made of or containing meat. Hebrew. Same as
fleishig
.
challah
Jewish egg bread, often braided. Hebrew and Yiddish.
chimichurri
spiced parsley dipping sauce from Argentina served with grilled meat.
cholent
slow-cooking meat stew prepared for the Sabbath. Yiddish.
cioppino
California seafood stew. Italian.
couscoussier
a couscous steamer. French.
duxelles
a savory mushroom mixture, often used as a filling or topping. French.
etrog (sukkot)
a citron used in Sukkot prayers. Hebrew.
fleishig
made of or containing meat. Yiddish.
genoise
a classic French sponge cake. French.
gremolata
Italian garnish of garlic, parsley, and grated citrus rind for meat. Italian.
grivenes
cracklings made of chicken skin. Yiddish.
halavi
made of or containing dairy products. Hebrew. Same as
milchig
.
halvah
a sesame sweet. Hebrew, Yiddish, and Turkish.
hamantaschen
triangular pastries with sweet fillings for the holiday of Purim. Yiddish.
hametz
not kosher for Passover. Hebrew and Yiddish.
hamin
see
cholent
. Hebrew.
Hanukkah gelt
coin-shaped chocolates for Hanukkah.
Gelt
means money in Yiddish.
haricots verts
very thin French green beans. French.
harira
Moroccan lentil, chickpea, and meat soup. Arabic.
harissa
a North African hot pepper paste. Arabic.
hummus
a golden chickpea puree served as an appetizer or dip. Arabic.
jahnoon
Yemenite Shabbat breakfast pastries made with a flaky dough. Yemenite Arabic.
karpas
a celery stalk or parsley sprig, a ritual food for the Passover Seder. Hebrew.
kasha
buckwheat. Yiddish and Russian.
kashrut
the rules of keeping kosher. Hebrew.
kebab
food grilled on a skewer. Turkish.
kiddush
a blessing over wine; also, a light meal in the synagogue after services. Hebrew.
kishke
stuffed beef casings. Yiddish.
kitniyot
legumes; also, a variety of grains, legumes, and other foods avoided by many Jewish communities during Passover. Hebrew.
kneidel (plural kneidelach)
dumpling, usually made from matzo meal and eggs, and served in chicken soup; matzo ball. Yiddish.
knish
Ashkenazic pastry with meat or vegetable filling. Yiddish.
kreplach
Ashkenazic tortellini; or stuffed, often ring-shaped pasta. Yiddish.
kubaneh
Yemenite Shabbat breakfast bread made from a yeast dough. Yemenite Arabic.
kubeh
savory pastries made of a crunchy case, often of bulgur wheat, and a meat or chicken filling, popular among Jews from Middle Eastern countries. Arabic.
kugel
a casserole, usually baked, often of potatoes, other vegetables, or grains but can be made from any food. Yiddish.
kugelhopf
a delicate, yeast-leavened cake usually studded with raisins and almonds. Yiddish and German.
latke
pancake, especially a potato pancake for Hanukkah. Yiddish.
leben
mild yogurt-like dairy product. A similar but richer product is called
eshel
. Hebrew.
lecso
a Hungarian pepper stew. Hungarian.
lekvar
prune jam. Hungarian.
majadrah
lentils cooked with rice. Arabic.
malawah
Yemenite skillet bread made from rich, flaky dough. Yemenite Arabic.
mamaliga
cornmeal porridge, similar to Italian polenta. Romanian.
mandelbrot
"almond bread"; twice-baked Ashkenazic cookies resembling Italian biscotti. Yiddish.
mandeln
baked soup nut-like croutons; almonds. Yiddish.
maror
bitter herbs for the Passover Seder ritual, usually fresh horseradish or bitter greens. Hebrew.
matzo
unleavened cracker-like bread made of flour and water for Passover. Hebrew and Yiddish.
matzo farfel
little squares of matzo, used for stuffings and as breakfast cereal; available packaged. Yiddish.
milchig
made of or containing dairy products. Yiddish. Same as
halavi
.
moussaka
a Greek layered casserole often made of eggplant and meat sauce also popular in a kosher version among Sephardic Jews.
nigella
black seeds, often incorrectly called "black cumin," added by Yemenite Jews to breads. Latin. They are called
haba sauda
in Arabic.
oznei haman
hamantaschen
. Hebrew.
pareve
neutral food from a kosher standpoint, neither dairy nor meat. Yiddish.
pashtidah
a baked casserole, or skillet cake, sometimes with a pastry base. Hebrew.
pâte sucrée
rich, sweet pie pastry. French.
pepitas
Mexican pumpkin seeds. Spanish.
phyllo
very thin flaky dough used to make savory and sweet Sephardic pastries. Now also used for strudel. Greek.
piroshki
savory Russian turnovers. Russian.
pistou
a Provençal version of pesto that often is made without cheese. French.
pot-au-feu
meat and vegetables poached slowly in water with herbs. French.
povidl
plum jam. Yiddish.
pletzlach
flat breads, often flavored with onion. Yiddish.
sahakeh
see
harissa
. Moroccan Arabic.
samneh
clarified butter. Yemenite Arabic.
schav
sorrel soup. Yiddish.
schmaltz
chicken fat. Yiddish.
schnitzel
pan-fried cutlets. German.
Sephardic
Jews of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern origin. Hebrew.
seudah
meal (with bread). Hebrew.
Shabbat
Sabbath; the weekly "day of rest," from sundown on Friday to nightfall on Saturday. Hebrew.
shakshuka
eggs cooked with vegetables. Arabic.
shul
synagogue. Yiddish.
sofrito
Spanish aromatic vegetable mixture for flavoring stews, often including onions and peppers. Spanish.
soofganiyot
doughnuts without holes, traditional for Hanukkah. Hebrew.
tahini
sesame paste, used to make sauce. Arabic.
tajine
aromatic Moroccan stews, usually of meat or poultry. Moroccan Arabic.
tayglach
an Ashkenazic confection of pastry balls and nuts simmered in honey, usually made for Rosh Hashanah. Yiddish.
tchermoula/chermoula
Moroccan cilantro-garlic marinade for fish. Moroccan Arabic.
tzimmes
an Eastern European Jewish casserole that often includes carrots, prunes, sweet potatoes, honey, or sugar, and sometimes beef. Yiddish.
zehug
Yemenite hot pepper chutney with garlic. Yemenite Arabic and Hebrew.
zeroah
neck; also, a roasted lamb bone or poultry neck that appears on the Passover Seder plate. Hebrew.