1,000 Jewish Recipes (292 page)

BOOK: 1,000 Jewish Recipes
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2.
To cook artichoke bottoms: Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice to a medium saucepan of boiling salted water. Add artichoke bottoms and stems. Cover and simmer over low heat 15 to 20 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife; the stems may take a few minutes longer. If serving cold or making ahead, cool to lukewarm in liquid.

3.
Using a teaspoon, scoop out hairlike "choke" from center of each artichoke. Pull thick skin from stems.

BROWN AND WHITE SAUCES

Quick Brown Sauce
Makes about 1 cup

I learned to make this sauce in France. It is most popular for serving with steaks, lamb chops, and other meat dishes such as
Calves' Liver and Onions with Porcini and Wine Sauce
. In France it is usually made with
Brown Veal Stock
but it's also good made with
Beef Stock
,
Roast Turkey Stock
, or
Chicken Stock
. If you use potato starch to thicken the sauce, it's good for Passover meals.

Although it simmers 30 minutes, it's a quick alternative to traditional brown sauce, which simmers for hours and is made with a heavy roux of fat and flour.

If you like, prepare a double or triple quantity of this sauce and keep it on hand. You can keep this basic sauce 2 days in the refrigerator or several months in the freezer. Often the sauce is finished with a splash of dry or semi-dry wine and a little salt and pepper.

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1
⁄
2
onion, diced

1
⁄
2
carrot, diced

1
1
⁄
2
cups
Brown Veal Stock
,
Beef Stock
,
Roast Turkey Stock
, or
Chicken Stock

2 ripe medium fresh tomatoes or 4 canned plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped (optional)

1 large sprig fresh thyme or
1
⁄
2
teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons cold water

1 teaspoon potato starch, arrowroot, or cornstarch

1 teaspoon tomato paste (optional)

1.
Heat oil in a medium, heavy saucepan. Add onion and carrot and sauté over medium-high heat, stirring often, until well browned. (Do not let them burn.) Add stock, tomatoes, if using, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, stirring. Simmer uncovered over very low heat about 20 minutes.

2.
Strain into another saucepan, pressing on vegetables. Skim as much fat as possible from surface. Simmer uncovered over medium heat until reduced to 1 cup.

3.
Whisk cold water and potato starch in a small bowl to form a smooth paste. Whisk in tomato paste, if using. Gradually pour paste into simmering sauce, whisking constantly. Bring back to a boil, whisking constantly. Simmer 1 to 2 minutes if necessary, until thickened. If not using immediately, dab surface of warm sauce with small piece of margarine to prevent skin from forming; or simply stir the sauce as it cools. Reheat over medium heat before using, stirring often.

Quick Turkey Gravy
Makes about 3 cups, 8 to 10 servings

When you have roasted a turkey, use the pan juices and turkey or chicken stock to make this rich, savory sauce. It takes only a few minutes. You can make it with any turkey roast, whether a whole bird or just part of one, no matter how it is seasoned.

Roasting pan with the pan juices from 1 roast turkey

1
⁄
2
cup dry white wine

3 cups
Fast Turkey Stock
,
Brown Turkey Stock
, or
Chicken Stock

1
⁄
4
cup vegetable oil or margarine

1
⁄
4
cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1.
After roasting the turkey, transfer the bird carefully to platter or large board. Cover turkey and let it rest while making the sauce.

2.
Skim fat from pan juices. Add wine and
1
⁄
2
cup stock to pan and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping to dissolve any brown bits in pan. Boil liquid until reduced to about
1
⁄
2
cup. Strain into a bowl.

3.
Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over low heat. Whisk in flour. Cook, whisking constantly, about 3 minutes or until mixture turns light beige. Remove from heat. Gradually pour in remaining 2
1
⁄
2
cups stock, whisking. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking. Add strained turkey pan juices. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat, whisking often, about 5 minutes or until sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Whisk in tomato paste, if using, and simmer 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.

4.
Reheat gravy just before serving. Pour into a sauce boat and serve alongside turkey.

Velouté Sauce
 
or
 
Makes about 1
1
⁄
2
cups, about 6 servings

Velouté sauce is very useful in the kosher kitchen because it's creamy in texture but requires no cream. Depending on the stock you use, it can be
fleishig
or pareve. It can be made from chicken, veal, fish, or vegetable stock or canned broth. You can even make it from the poaching liquid of chicken, meat, or fish, or from cooking liquid of a single flavorful vegetable like carrots, onions, leeks, mushrooms, or celery.

Of course, you can make Velouté sauce
Milchig
too, by using butter and by choosing fish or vegetable stock. If you like, you can whisk
1
⁄
4
to
1
⁄
3
cup whipping cream into the finished sauce and simmer it another few minutes or until it thickens.

Velouté sauce takes just a few moments to prepare and is great for adding interest to plainly cooked foods like poached fish, chicken, meat, or vegetables. Of course, you can enhance its flavor by adding spices like curry powder or paprika to the sauce along with the flour, or adding chopped herbs to the finished sauce. Just about any herb is good—tarragon, thyme, chervil, chives, cilantro, dill, or parsley.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or margarine

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1
1
⁄
2
cups cup chicken, veal, fish, or vegetable stock or canned broth

Salt and white pepper, to taste

A few drops strained fresh lemon juice (optional)

Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

1.
Heat oil in a medium, heavy saucepan over low heat. Whisk in flour. Cook, whisking constantly, about 3 minutes or until mixture turns light beige. Remove from heat.

2.
Add stock, whisking. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking. Add a small pinch of salt and white pepper. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat, whisking often, 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning, adding lemon juice and cayenne if using. If not using sauce at once, dab top with margarine to prevent a skin from forming. Whisk sauce when reheating. Serve hot.

Cream Sauce
Makes 1
3
⁄
4
to 2 cups, 6 to 8 servings

Cream sauce is popular for
milchig
meals, especially in the Ashkenazic kitchen. It's great with fish and with vegetables. You can also use it to moisten cooked noodles, mix them with cooked vegetables or cooked fish, and bake the mixture in the oven as a casserole. Be sure to season the sauce well so it won't be bland. Embellish it with herbs if you like, such as dill, chives, or parsley, as in
Brussels Sprouts and Carrots in Creamy Parsley Sauce
.

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2
1
⁄
4
cups milk

Salt and white pepper, to taste

Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

1
⁄
3
cup whipping cream (optional)

Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

1.
Melt butter in medium, heavy saucepan over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until foaming but not browned, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, whisking. Add a small pinch of salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking often, 5 minutes.

2.
Whisk in cream, if using, and bring to boil. Cook over low heat, whisking often, until sauce thickens and coats a spoon heavily, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add cayenne, if using. Adjust seasoning. Dab surface of sauce with butter if not using immediately. Whisk sauce when reheating. Serve hot.

SPICY SAUCES AND OTHER UNCOOKED SAUCES

Yemenite Hot Pepper Chutney

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