1,000 Jewish Recipes (117 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
Serve this colorful, easy-to-make dish as an accompaniment for a vegetable stew or for braised or roasted chicken. I love it with aromatic basmati rice but you can substitute long-grain rice.
To speed up preparation, buy sunflower seeds shelled and pre-roasted. You can also use roasted pepitas, the green Mexican squash seeds.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, cut into small dice
2 cups white basmati rice, rinsed and drained
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 cups hot vegetable or chicken stock or water
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme or
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2
teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
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3
cup roasted sunflower seeds
1.
Heat oil in a large sauté pan. Add onion and carrot, and sauté over medium-low heat, stirring often, 5 minutes. Add rice, salt, and pepper and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Pour hot stock over rice and stir once. Add bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer, without stirring, 15 minutes.
2.
Scatter peas and corn over top of rice in thin layer. Cover and simmer 2 or 3 minutes or until rice is just tender, liquid is absorbed, and corn and peas are hot. Let stand off heat 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig. Fluff rice with a fork and gently mix in half the sunflower seeds. Adjust seasoning. Serve garnished with remaining sunflower seeds.
SAUCES
It's hard to believe this tasty, multicolored salsa is fat free! I learned to prepare it when I went to a culinary camp at the Marriott Resort in Palm Desert, California. It was a real winner among the students. The chef-instructor noted that you can prepare it with mango, papaya, or both. He served it with corn fritters. The salsa is perfect for Sukkot because it's full of colorful fruit and vegetables. It makes a savory-sweet topping for grilled chicken or fish. I also like it for Hanukkah with potato latkes, sweet potato latkes, and Cajun corn latkes.
To save time, you can use 3 cups ready-diced fresh pineapple, which is available in the salad bar section of many supermarkets.
1 large fresh pineapple
1 medium papaya
1 red bell pepper, diced
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2
green bell pepper, diced
1 cup finely chopped red onion
3 green onions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons strained fresh lime juice, preferably from Mexican or Key limes
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8
teaspoon cayenne pepper or hot sauce, to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1.
Cut peel from pineapple. Slice pineapple and cut out core from center of each slice. Dice pineapple. Halve papaya and scoop out seeds. Remove papaya flesh with a spoon and dice it.
2.
In a large non-aluminum bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix gently, then adjust seasonings. Refrigerate until ready to serve. The salsa is best on the day it is made. Serve cold.
Like a salsa, this fat-free, easy-to-make relish requires no cooking, but it is not hot. The relish is terrific with chicken or fish, either grilled or roasted. I also love it as a fresh accompaniment for simple grain and pasta dishes and for
Indian-Jewish Salmon and Rice Casserole
.
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2
cup finely chopped red onion
1 small yellow or green bell pepper, halved, cored, and finely diced
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4
to 1 pound ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 to 2 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
Several drops hot sauce, or to taste
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4
cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Combine onion, pepper, tomatoes, lemon juice, and hot sauce in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 1 day. A short time before serving, add parsley and season with salt, pepper, and more hot sauce, if desired. Serve cold.
I first tasted this sauce at a family picnic birthday party during Sukkot, where it was served cold with grilled beef kebabs and was very popular. Each person spooned the sauce over meat kebab pieces that were fitted into pita bread. You can also serve it with grilled chicken, or if you like to serve spicy dips with chips as an appetizer, it's good for that, too. You can also serve the sauce hot.
The recipe came from a Moroccan-Israeli friend of the family who lives in California. It's easy to make, but she cautions that you should stir the sauce often as it simmers so the tomatoes don't burn. Moroccan cooks love hot chiles and make use of a variety of them. In this sauce, she uses jalapeño peppers, as they are easy to find in the United States.
If you would like the sauce to be less spicy, remove the seeds and membranes from the jalapeño peppers.
10 jalapeño peppers, green or red, chopped or sliced (see Note)
Two 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes, with their liquid
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Put jalapeño peppers in a large saucepan. Add tomatoes, garlic, and oil. Bring to a simmer, stirring. Cook uncovered over low heat, stirring often, 30 minutes to 1 hour or until the sauce is as thick as you would like it. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot or cold.
Note:
Wear rubber gloves when handling hot peppers.
DESSERTS
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With plenty of just-harvested apples in season, it's no wonder apple strudel is a time-honored Sukkot dessert. You can find it at most Jewish bakeries but it's so much better with a fresh-tasting homemade filling. Strudel is easy to make with prepared phyllo sheets, which are often also labeled "strudel dough." Be sure the walnuts you use in the strudel are very fresh. Serve the strudel on its own, or with regular or pareve vanilla ice cream.
1
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2
pounds sweet tender apples such as Golden Delicious, peeled, halved, cored, and sliced paper-thin
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2
cup sugar
1 tablespoon strained fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
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4
cup apricot preserves
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3
cup golden raisins
1 cup walnuts, chopped
8 phyllo or strudel sheets, thawed if frozen
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2
cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted, or vegetable oil
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2
cup dry cookie crumbs or plain bread crumbs
Powdered sugar (optional)
1.
Put apples in a large bowl. Add sugar, lemon juice, lemon rind, cinnamon, and apricot preserves and mix well. Stir in raisins and walnuts.
2.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
3.
Remove phyllo sheets from their package and unroll them on a dry towel. Cover phyllo immediately with a piece of wax paper, then with a damp towel.
4.
Lay 1 phyllo sheet on a large sheet of wax paper. Keep remaining phyllo sheets covered. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon cookie crumbs. Top with a second sheet of phyllo. Brush with butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon crumbs.
5.
Put one fourth of filling near one end of top sheet, arranging it in a log shape and leaving a 1-inch border. Starting with that end, carefully roll up dough as for a jelly roll, using the paper to help support dough. End with seam of dough on the bottom. Transfer to baking sheet. Brush top with butter.
6.
Make 3 more strudels, using remaining filling and remaining dough sheets. Roll remaining phyllo sheets up, wrap tightly, and return them to freezer.
7.
Bake strudels 25 minutes or until golden. Serve warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar, if using.
