1,000 Jewish Recipes (182 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
In the Ashkenazic kitchen compote means stewed fruit, usually dried fruit. French chefs sometimes use the same word to apply to vegetables, especially onions, that cook slowly until they are sweet and tender. Depending on the sweetness of the onions, you might want to accent the compote with a little white wine vinegar or sugar. If you'd like to follow the French tradition, enrich the compote with crème fraîche. These onions make a tasty topping for Hanukkah latkes or brown rice, a delicious side dish with fish, or a flavorful butter alternative for spreading on bread.
3 to 4 tablespoons butter, olive oil, or vegetable oil
1
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â
2
pounds white or yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons crème fraîche or heavy cream (optional)
1 to 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar (optional)
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4
teaspoon sugar (optional)
Heat butter in a heavy casserole. Add onions, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring often, 30 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring very often, about 10 minutes longer, or until onions are tender enough to crush easily with a wooden spoon and are golden; do not let them burn. Stir in crème fraîche, if using, and cook until bubbling over high heat. Cook uncovered over very low heat, stirring often, about 2 minutes or until crème fraîche is absorbed. Just before serving, taste, and stir in vinegar and/or sugar if using. Heat until absorbed. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot.
If you are serving a meatless feast for Purim to honor Queen Esther, for a vegetarian, or for another occasion, here is a tasty casserole to include. The slightly bitter taste of the broccoli rabe, also called broccoli raab or rapini, is good with the cheese topping, the creamy sauce, and the brown rice. If you don't have broccoli rabe, substitute Chinese or regular broccoli.
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
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2
cups milk
Salt and white pepper, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion
3 cups cooked brown rice
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2
pounds broccoli rabe
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4
to
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2
cup grated Swiss cheese
1.
In a medium, heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat, add flour, and cook, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes or until foaming but not browned. Remove from heat. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, whisking. Add salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking often, for 3 minutes. Adjust seasoning.
2.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add onion and sauté over medium heat, stirring often, about 7 minutes or until softened. Mix with cooked rice. Season with salt and pepper.
3.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut ends off broccoli stalks. Cut stalks into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Add all of broccoli to a large saucepan of boiling salted water and boil uncovered over high heat 4 to 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain in a colander, rinse with cold water, and drain well. Coarsely chop with a knife.
4.
Butter a heavy 2-quart gratin dish or other shallow baking dish. Spoon rice into dish. Spoon
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â
4
cup sauce over rice. Top with broccoli. Spoon remaining sauce carefully over broccoli to coat completely. Sprinkle with cheese.
5.
Bake until sauce begins to bubble, about 10 minutes if sauce was still hot, or about 15 minutes if ingredients were at room temperature. If you'd like to brown the top, broil just until cheese is lightly browned, about 1 minute, checking often and turning dish if necessary. Serve hot.
Eggplant casseroles need not have greasy layers of fried eggplant. For this light and flavorful vegetarian entree, I bake the eggplant slices instead, then alternate them with layers of ricotta cheese and tomato sauce flavored with fresh basil. This makes a good entree for Shavuot, especially if you have rich blintzes or a hearty noodle kugel on the menu.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or two 28-ounce cans, drained and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried
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2
pounds eggplant
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4
cups low-fat ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
Fresh basil sprigs
1.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saucepan, add onion, and sauté over medium heat until lightly browned. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook 20 minutes or until thick. Stir in basil. Discard bay leaf.
2.
Cut eggplant into round slices about
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2
-inch thick. Arrange eggplant slices on 2 baking sheets. Brush very lightly with oil, using a total of
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2
tablespoon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 5 minutes. Turn over and bake 5 more minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
3.
Lightly oil a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Arrange a layer of overlapping eggplant slices in dish. Spread eggplant with
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4
cup ricotta cheese, then with
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4
cup tomato sauce. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Add another layer eggplant, remaining ricotta cheese, another
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4
cup of tomato sauce, then a final layer of eggplant.
4.
Cover baking dish with foil. Bake 40 minutes until eggplant is very tender. Heat remaining tomato sauce and serve as accompaniment. Serve garnished with basil sprigs.
In classic French cooking, a
blanquette
is a stew of veal or lamb with a creamy sauce. To make it kosher, I like to prepare the white stew with vegetables only. Feasting on this dish is a wonderful way to celebrate the arrival of beautiful spring produce, like baby carrots, fresh asparagus, and baby peas. Vegetable blanquette is delicious served for a meatless meal, with rice or pasta, and makes a rich, colorful side dish for baked or grilled salmon or other fish.
12 pearl onions (about 3 ounces)
8 medium asparagus spears (8 ounces), peeled
1 cup vegetable stock
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2
cup water
11 or 12 baby carrots (about 3 ounces) scrubbed if necessary, large ones halved crosswise
3 ounces small mushrooms, quartered
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4
pound peas, shelled, or
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4
cup frozen
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2
cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
A few drops strained fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1.
Put onions in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, rinse under cold water, drain well, and peel. Cut off asparagus tips and cut stalks into 1-inch pieces, discarding about 1
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2
inches of bases. Boil asparagus in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain well.
2.
Bring stock and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add carrots, cover, and simmer over medium heat until they are just tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a strainer. Add mushrooms and onions, cover, and simmer over medium heat until onions are just tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to the strainer. Add peas and boil uncovered until just tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to the strainer.
3.
Bring vegetable cooking liquid to a boil. Boil until reduced to about
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â
4
cup. Whisk cream into cooking liquid and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking. Boil, whisking often, until sauce is thick enough to coat spoon, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a shallow medium saucepan.
4.
To serve, bring sauce to a simmer. Add vegetables and simmer over medium heat 2 minutes, stirring gently. Remove from heat. Add tarragon, chives, parsley, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Toss gently. Adjust seasoning. Serve in a gratin dish or shallow serving dish.
Mushrooms and barley are such a popular pair in the Ashkenazic Jewish kitchen that they are used in other ways besides the famous soup. For this dairy-based casserole, the barley and mushrooms bake under a cheesy crust.
2 or 3 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
2 large onions, sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup medium pearl barley
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2
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2
cups vegetable stock
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2
cup shredded Swiss or mozzarella cheese or
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4
cup freshly grated Parmesan
1.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in a heavy sauté pan over medium-low heat, and add onions, a pinch of salt, and pepper. Sauté, stirring often, 7 minutes or until onions begin to turn golden. Add barley and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Add mushrooms and sauté, stirring, for 2 minutes.
2.
Grease a 6-cup casserole. Spoon barley-mushroom mixture into casserole.
3.
Add stock to the sauté pan and bring to a boil. Pour stock over barley mixture. Cover and bake, stirring 3 or 4 times, about 1 hour or until barley is tender. Remove from oven. Raise oven temperature to 400°F.
