1,000 Jewish Recipes (194 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
This traditional Polish Shabbat specialty calls for carp because the fresh water fish was readily available in that region. Indeed, carp is so popular among Jews of Eastern European extraction for gefilte fish and for dishes like this, that it is farmed in Israel in vast pools, although it is not native to the Middle East.
My mother uses carp or other firm fish and flavors the cooking liquid simply with carrots, onions, bay leaves, vinegar, and sugar. She notes that the fish gets a pickled flavor. Some people add spices like cloves or dried ginger. I like to add pickling spices, which include bay leaves but also have coriander seeds, peppercorns, and cloves. Make the dish with carp if you like, or use halibut or pike. Dried cranberries are a new twist but go well with the flavors and give the fish a festive garnish.
This dish is served cold and is refreshing and low in fat.
1
1
â
2
pounds carp or halibut steaks, 1 inch thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon pickling spices
1 onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced into rounds
2
1
â
2
cups water
2 or 3 tablespoons vinegar
2 to 3 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons dried cranberries (optional)
1.
Sprinkle fish lightly with salt and pepper and set aside.
2.
Wrap pickling spices in cheesecloth and tie ends together to make a spice bag, or put them in a tea ball. In a sauté pan or deep skillet in which fish can just fit, combine spice bag, onion, carrots, salt, pepper, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add fish, cover and cook over low heat 10 to 12 minutes or until fish is tender and its thickest part is opaque inside; check with a sharp knife. Transfer fish carefully to a deep serving dish.
3.
Boil cooking liquid 5 minutes or until it is re- duced to 2 cups. Strain if you wish to remove onion slices, but reserve a few carrot slices for garnish and return liquid to pan; or simply discard pickling spices and leave all of vegetables in liquid. Add vinegar, sugar, and cranberries, if using, to liquid and simmer 1 minute. Adjust seasoning. Pour mixture over fish. Refrigerate.
4.
Serve fish cold. When serving, spoon a little of the liquid over fish. Garnish with cranberries, if using, and carrot slices.
This lavish rendition of blintzes is worthy of the most festive occasions. Its richly flavored sauce is redolent of the exquisite perfume of morel mushrooms. Cook any fish that you like for the filling or use boneless cooked fish that you already have on hand in the refrigerator or freezer. If you don't have a chance to prepare fish stock, use prepared vegetable broth.
2 cups
Fish Stock
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2
to
3
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4
ounce dried morel mushrooms
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 pound fish steaks or fillets, such as halibut, cod, sea bass, or salmon
2 tablespoons dry or semi-dry white wine
1
â
4
cup (
1
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2
stick) butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3
â
4
cup whipping cream
4 teaspoons snipped fresh chives
1.
Prepare fish stock. Meanwhile, prepare blintzes. Then, rinse morels. Soak them in hot water to cover for 30 minutes.
2.
Bring fish stock to simmer in a medium saucepan. Add salt and fish. Cover and poach fish over low heat, turning once, about 10 minutes or until the thickest part of the fish is opaque inside; check with a sharp knife. Transfer fish with slotted spatula to a plate, reserving cooking liquid. Strain cooking liquid and return to saucepan.
3.
Rinse soaked morels, discarding soaking liquid, and drain well. Cut large morels into 2 or 3 pieces. Add morels and 2 tablespoons wine to fish cooking liquid. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Remove morels with slotted spoon, reserving cooking liquid.
4.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk in flour. Cook over low heat, whisking, about 2 minutes or until mixture turns light beige. Remove from heat. Gradually whisk in morel cooking liquid. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, whisking. Whisk in cream and return to boil, whisking. Reduce heat to low, return morels to sauce and simmer uncovered, stirring often, about 7 minutes or until sauce heavily coats a spoon. Remove from heat. Leave morels in sauce. Set aside 1 cup sauce with a few morels for serving separately.
5.
Discard any bones and skin from fish. Flake fish. Stir fish into remaining sauce, which will be used for filling. Stir in 2 teaspoons chives. Add pepper; Adjust seasoning.
6.
Butter 1 or 2 shallow baking dishes. Spoon 3 tablespoons filling onto cooked side of each blintz, across lower third of blintz. Roll up in cigar shape, beginning at edge with filling. Arrange blintzes seam-side down in single layer in a buttered dish. Melt remaining tablespoon butter and brush lightly over blintzes.
7.
Bake blintzes about 15 minutes or until hot. Bring sauce just to simmer in small saucepan, stirring. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 2 teaspoons chives. Add pepper; Adjust seasoning. To serve, trans- fer blintzes to plates and spoon a little sauce over each blintz.
BRAISED FISH
Hraimeh
is one of the most popular fish dishes of Moroccan Jewish cooking and is made in numerous versions. Almost all include plenty of fresh garlic and cilantro and many add fresh sweet peppers as well. Other flavoring variations are cumin, lemon juice, and tomato paste. Some cooks make the dish very hot, adding plenty of chiles and accenting the dish with additional ground hot pepper. Others make it milder, especially when children are at the table. This version makes use of whole dried chiles to flavor the sauce. They are fairly hot but since they are removed before the sauce is served, the result is flavorful but not searing. If you want it hotter, add hot red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to taste, or choose smaller, more fiery chiles such as chiles japones and add more of them. Traditionally, the fish simmers slowly in the sauce until it's very tender. If you're serving the fish as a main course, rice is a good accompaniment.
2 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 red bell peppers, cut into strips
10 large cloves garlic, chopped
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2
cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon tomato paste
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1
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2
cups water
2 long dried chiles, such as New Mexico chiles
2 pounds fish steaks or fillets, about 1 inch thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
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4
to
1
â
2
teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
1.
Heat oil in a large sauté pan. Add bell peppers, half the garlic, and
1
â
4
cup cilantro. Sauté over medium-low heat 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and water, add chiles, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. Add fish to pan and sprinkle it with salt, pepper, paprika, remaining garlic, and half the remaining cilantro. Return to a simmer. Cover and cook over very low heat 5 minutes. Turn fish over. Uncover and simmer about 5 more minutes or until fish just flakes but is not falling apart.
2.
With a slotted spatula, transfer fish and pepper strips to a deep platter. Leave chiles in pan.
3.
If sauce is too thin, simmer it over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until it reduces to about
3
â
4
cup. Taste liquid; if you like, add pepper flakes or cayenne and simmer 2 more minutes. Pour sauce over fish. Discard dried chiles. Serve fish sprinkled with remaining cilantro.
My husband's aunt, Mazal Cohen of Rehovot, Israel, who was born in Yemen, taught me how to make this dish about ten years ago when we cooked together at my home in Santa Monica, California. For the sauce, she grates fresh tomatoes, so that most of their peels remain in the grater. She spikes the sauce generously with cumin, turmeric, and black pepper, and finishes the dish with fresh cilantro. In Israel, she makes this dish with mullet steaks and simmers them 20 to 30 minutes so that they are very tender. I use halibut or cod, which are more widely available in the United States and cook more quickly.
1 pound ripe fresh tomatoes or one 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
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2
large onion, diced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
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â
2
teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt, to taste
1
â
2
teaspoon freshly ground pepper plus more, to taste
1
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4
cup chopped fresh cilantro
1
1
â
2
pounds halibut or cod steaks or fillets, about 1 inch thick
1.
Grate fresh tomatoes using large holes of grater. If using canned tomatoes, chop them fine.
2.
Heat oil in a large sauté pan, add onion, and sauté over medium heat until golden brown. Add tomatoes, cumin, turmeric, paprika, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.
3.
Add 2 tablespoons cilantro to sauce. Add fish and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat 7 minutes. Turn over and cook 7 to 10 more minutes or until flesh flakes easily.
4.
Serve fish hot or at room temperature, sprinkled with remaining cilantro.
