1,000 Jewish Recipes (211 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
2 roasted red
bell peppers
, or bottled, or pickled sweet red peppers
4 long French, sourdough, whole-wheat, or other fresh, crusty rolls
1
â
2
to 1 cup
Creamy Eggplant Dip
or other eggplant salads or dips
8 to 12 thin slices smoked turkey breast, turkey pastrami, or roasted turkey
1.
Prepare peppers. Then, cut roasted or pickled peppers into thick strips.
2.
Halve rolls lengthwise and remove part of soft bread from bottom half of each one. Fill hollow in roll with eggplant dip. Top with turkey and pepper strips. Set top half of roll on sandwich.
3.
To serve as appetizers, cut each sandwich in three pieces; or leave them whole as lunch or supper sandwiches. Serve them with napkins, because of the creamy dip.
Middle Eastern grilled meat turning slowly on a vertical spit is a fixture on the Israeli street food landscape. Although lamb is the classic meat in this specialty called
shwarma
, in Israel it is often made of turkey. For the sandwich, the meat is very thinly sliced off the large chunk on the grill and is served hot in pita bread. Here is a quick, tasty alternative for the home kitchen, using sautéed turkey breast strips and similar Middle Eastern spices.
3
â
4
pound boneless turkey breast slices
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1
â
2
teaspoon paprika
1
â
4
teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1
â
2
red or green bell pepper, diced
2 pita breads, warmed briefly and halved
2 plum tomatoes, sliced
Pickled hot peppers or other pickles (optional)
1.
Cut turkey into strips about
1
â
4
-inch wide. Mix cumin, paprika, and cayenne and sprinkle over turkey. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
2.
Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add onion and bell pepper and sauté over medium heat about 7 minutes or until onion begins to turn golden. Push vegetable mixture to side of skillet. Add turkey and sauté about 2 minutes. Stir in vegetable mixture from side of skillet and sauté about 1 more minute or until turkey is cooked through. Cut into a thick strip with a sharp knife to make sure the meat is opaque inside.
3.
Spoon turkey mixture into halved pita breads. Add tomato slices and pickles, if using. Serve immediately.
OTHER BIRDS
Jews from India prepare creamy tandoori-style marinades like this one without including any dairy products. The fresh garlic and ginger along with the dried spices produce outstanding flavored roast Cornish hens and helps them turn an appetizing reddish-brown.
Serve half or a whole bird per person. To carve a Cornish hen easily into two portions, cut it in half using poultry shears, cutting through the breast, then along the backbone. If desired, cut out the backbone when serving.
1 large clove garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon strained fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons paprika
1
1
â
2
teaspoons ground cumin
1
â
2
teaspoon ground turmeric
1
â
4
teaspoon cayenne pepper
1
â
4
teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
2 Cornish hens (each about 1
1
â
4
pounds)
1.
Combine garlic and ginger in food processor. Process until finely chopped. Add lemon juice, oil, paprika, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Process until combined.
2.
Place hens in a large bowl. Add marinade and rub it all over hens, inside and out. Cover and refrigerate 1 day or overnight, turning occasionally.
3.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Set hens on a rack in a roasting pan and spoon marinade over them. Roast about 50 minutes or until juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into thickest part of leg; if juices are pink, continue roasting a few more minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
These Cornish hens are braised in a sauce that combines favorite flavors of Sephardic Jews, especially those from Morocco. They make a delectable entree for Shabbat or holidays. Unlike most Cornish hen dishes, this one is easy to serve because there's no last minute carving. Instead the hens are cut before cooking, so they absorb the delicious flavors as they simmer. If you would rather use chicken pieces in the sauce, remember that their cooking time is longer than that of Cornish hens.
I prefer to keep accompaniments very simpleâplain white or brown rice or couscous and a cooked green vegetable such as zucchini or broccoli are my choices.
2 large Cornish hens (each about 1
1
â
2
pounds), thawed if frozen
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, minced
8 large cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or two 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes, drained well and chopped
1
â
2
cup chicken stock
Scant
1
â
4
teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
1 bay leaf
Cayenne pepper to taste
1.
Cut each hen in four: First cut off 2 leg-and-thigh pieces at the thigh joint, then 2 breast-and-wing pieces. Cut off backs and wing tips and reserve for making stock. (You can freeze them and add them to chicken pieces to make chicken stock.)
2.
Pat hen pieces dry. Sprinkle them with pepper. Heat oil in a heavy skillet large enough to hold the hens in one layer. Add hen pieces and brown them well over medium-high heat about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer browned hens to a plate.
3.
Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. Add onion and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, about 7 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic, then tomatoes, stock, saffron, bay leaf, and pepper and bring to a boil.
4.
Return hens to skillet with any juices from plate. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat 10 minutes. Turn pieces over, cover, and simmer about 10 more minutes or until tender. Transfer pieces with tongs to a plate.
5.
Cook sauce over medium-high heat, stirring often, about 5 minutes or until thick. Discard bay leaf. Season sauce with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Return hens to sauce. Cover, heat briefly over low heat, and serve hot.
Roasted goose and duck used to be prepared more often in the Ashkenazic kitchen than they are now, and stuffed goose neck was a special treat. These birds are simply roasted with onions and garlic, then heated with a savory accompaniment like sauerkraut, braised cabbage, or cooked turnips. Occasionally they are filled with a bread stuffing or a dried fruit stuffing. Duck's rich meat makes a hearty winter entree that is good for Hanukkah, but not at a meal where you're serving latkes! Instead, serve this with plain boiled potatoes and hot mustard. If you prefer, prepare this dish with chicken instead of duck.
2 ducks (each about 4
1
â
2
to 5 pounds), thawed if frozen and patted dry
4 large onions, 2 quartered, 2 halved and sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
8 large cloves garlic, peeled
4 pounds sauerkraut, rinsed thoroughly in cold water, drained, and squeezed dry
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim excess fat around duck cavities. Put quartered onion inside ducks. Sprinkle them inside and out with pepper. Using skewer, pierce skin all over, at intervals of about
1
â
2
inch; do not pierce meat.
2.
Set ducks on their breasts on rack in large, heavy roasting pan. Roast 30 minutes. Using bulb baster, remove fat from pan. Reserve a few tablespoons for cooking sauerkraut.
3.
Heat 2 or 3 tablespoons duck fat in a large stew pan. Add sliced onions and cook over low heat, stirring, until soft but not brown. Wrap bay leaf, peppercorns, and garlic in cheesecloth and tie ends to form a seasoning bag. Add sauerkraut, seasoning bag, wine, and chicken stock to stew pan. Cover and simmer 1 hour, adding water if pan becomes dry.
4.
After ducks have roasted 30 minutes, turn them on their backs and roast 30 more minutes. Remove from oven and leave until cool enough to handle. Carve each duck into 4 pieces. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
5.
Discard seasoning bag from sauerkraut. Adjust seasoning. If mixture is soupy, simmer uncovered a few minutes to evaporate excess liquid. Set duck pieces skin side up on sauerkraut. Cover and bake about 30 minutes or until duck is hot.
