Photo: Brisket photo by Daniel Lailah; Food styling by Amit Farber. Originally appeared in Mishpacha Magazine Family Table and Kosher.com.
BRISKET
Originally appeared in Mishpacha Magazine Family Table and Kosher.com
By Brynie Greisman
For years I’ve been dreaming about how to mimic the flavor and texture of meat they serve at simchas. I had my fill of sweet roasts and wanted something with robust, yet appealing flavor. This is a joint creation of my own and Mrs. Devora Taleznik. It’s the roast you’ve been waiting for!
Ingredients:
1 5-lb. brisket
oil, for sautéing
2 red onions, sliced in half-rounds
2 stalks celery, sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 yellow pepper, quartered and sliced
1 14-oz. (400-g.) can sliced mushrooms
onion powder, for sprinkling
onion powder, for sprinkling
sweet paprika, for sprinkling
hot paprika, for sprinkling
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons onion soup mix
2½ tablespoons soy sauce (up to 4 if desired)
½ cup dry or semidry white wine
½ cup water
1 bay leaf
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
Heat a little bit of oil in a six-quart pot. Add the onions, celery, garlic, and pepper. Sauté over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until just changing color but still crispy, about 8-10 minutes. Add mushrooms a minute before the end. Pour the contents of the pot onto the bottom of a roasting pan and smooth out.
Optional: Add a little more oil to the pot and sear the meat on all sides over high heat.
Place meat on top of veggies in the pan. Sprinkle generously with spices and onion soup mix and rub them into the meat.
Gently pour the soy sauce over the meat, and then the white wine. Pour the water around the pan. Add the bay leaf.
Spray a piece of parchment paper with cooking spray and turn over. (This will seal in moisture, and the spray prevents it from sticking.) Carefully cover the meat. Seal the pan with aluminum foil on top of the parchment paper.
Place in oven and bake for three hours or until desired softness is achieved. Alternately, this can be done on the stovetop and cooked over low heat for three hours.
Tip:
I used walnut oil for added depth of flavor. Also, if you want a slight sweetness to the meat, add two to four tablespoons of silan, honey or brown sugar to the soy sauce and pour over meat together.
STUFFED SALMON-WALNUT ROLLS
By Lucia Schnitzer
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
¼ cup minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chopped spinach
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup cooked brown rice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 pound salmon fillet, skinned and pin bones removed
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium heat.
Add onion; cook until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, spinach, salt and pepper and cook until spinach starts to wilt, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add cooked rice to spinach and stir in lemon zest until well combined.
Spread spinach mixture evenly over salmon and sprinkle with cheese and walnuts. Roll up gently using toothpicks or butcher’s twine to secure.
Place salmon on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in oven until fish is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
Transfer to cutting board and let rest 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with steamed seasonal vegetables or kale salad.
ROUND CHALLAH
Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
3 teaspoons sugar
1 envelope dry yeast
6 cups flour
4 eggs
2/3 cup canola oil
4 Tablespoons honey
3 teaspoons salt
1 egg
¼ teaspoon salt
Directions:
Combine ½ cup warm water with 2 teaspoons of sugar. Sprinkle on yeast and let rest about 10 minutes, until foamy.
Place 5½ cups flour in a large bowl.
Make a well in the flour and add to it: ½ cup remaining water, remaining 1 teaspoon sugar, eggs, oil, honey and salt. Stir until well blended.
Gradually add ½ cup flour or more.
Turn onto floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and no longer sticky, adding small amounts of flour if necessary.
Grease large bowl. Turn dough in bowl to grease all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in volume (about 1 hour 15 minutes). Punch down dough, cover and rise again until doubled, about 1 hour.
Line a baking sheet with parchment baking paper.
Cut dough into desired number of loaves – 2 large, 4 medium or 6 small challos. Pat each ball of dough into a rectangle. Starting at one long side, roll the dough so you have one long stand of dough. Roll the strand back and forth with your hands to make the strand longer if necessary. Starting at one end, roll the strand into a spiral. Tuck one the outside end under the loaf. Place on baking sheet. Cover with damp towel and allow to rise 1 hour.
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Beat the egg with ¼ teaspoon salt. Brush the loaves with glaze.
Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 350. Bake another 25 minutes for large loaves, 15-20 minutes for medium, and 10-15 minutes for small loaves, until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Cool on a rack.
ONION NOODLE KUGEL
Originally appeared in Mishpacha Magazine Family Table and Kosher.com
Recipe by Brynie Greisman.
This is an interesting change from the usual sweet lukshen kugel or Yerushalmi kugel. It has more of a pudding-y (mushy) texture than a fluffy one. It’s really good!
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons onion soup mix
1 cup water
1 pound package (400 grams) thin noodles, cooked and drained
6 eggs, beaten
4-5 tablespoons oil
¼-⅓ cup sugar (preferably light brown)
Salt and pepper, to taste
oil, for coating
Directions:
Combine onion soup mix and water and heat to boiling on the stovetop or in the microwave. Simmer until mixture thickens. Let cool.
Add cooled onion soup mixture to beaten eggs and oil.
Add sugar and spices.
Blend mixture into noodles.
Generously coat a 9×13 inch (23x33centimeter) baking pan with oil.
Preheat pan in oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) for a few minutes.
Pour noodle mixture into baking pan. Bake for one hour, or until noodles are browned.
Note: Serves 10-12.
Tip: After kugel cools to room temperature, take a round (biscuit) cutter and form shapes from the kugel in the pan. Make sure you cut all the way through the kugel. Leave the shapes in the pan (together with the “leftovers” outside the shapes). When you’re ready to serve, heat the kugel, then gently remove the round shapes from the pan (see photo). Place them on a platter. (The leftover pieces are for noshing in the kitchen!) You can decorate the platter with purple onion rings for added color. Leaving the shapes in the pan with the rest of the kugel prevents them from getting dried out later, when heated.
ROASTED CARROT AND CHICKPEA SALAD IN HARISSA-TAHINI SAUCE
Originally published in Binah Magazine, recipe provided courtesy of Kosher.com.
By Sina Mizrahi / gatheratable.com
This roasted “salad” combines many of the Middle Eastern flavors I enjoy and cook with regularly. The carrots shine through the spice blend they’re coated in, and the crispy chickpeas add a crunchiness that’s unexpected and delicious. The tahini and harissa add depth to the flavors, but you can keep the spiciness out by omitting the harissa. Even if this is a little out of your comfort zone, I beg you to give it a try — you will really like it.
Ingredients:
5-6 carrots, peeled
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons tahini
1-3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon harissa or green s’chug
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F with a rack in the upper third of the oven.
On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the carrots with 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, cumin, coriander, paprika, pepper, and garlic. Roast the carrots, turning once, until browned and tender, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
On a different rimmed baking sheet, toss the chickpeas with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes until the chickpeas have shrunk and browned, shaking the pan halfway through.
Allow to cool at least one hour. (The longer they cool, the crispier the chickpeas will get.)
To prepare the dressing, thin out the tahini with water, until the desired consistency is reached.
On a serving plate, arrange the carrots in a single layer and generously spoon the tahini and harissa over it. Sprinkle with the chickpeas and cilantro. Serve warm.
APPLE ROSES
Photo and recipe courtesy of cookingwithmanuela.blogspot.com
Ingredients: (makes 6 roses)
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
2 red apples (red delicious was used)
Juice of half lemon
1 tablespoon of flour, to sprinkle the counter
3 tablespoons of apricot preserve
Cinnamon
Powdered sugar for decorating (optional)
Directions:
Thaw the puff pastry at room temperature. It should take about 20-30 minutes.
Prepare a bowl half filled with water and the lemon juice. Cut the apples in half, remove the core and cut the apples in paper-thin slices, as shown in my picture. Leave the peel so it will give the red color to your roses. Right away, place the sliced apples in the bowl so that they won’t change color.
Microwave the apples in the bowl for about 3 minutes, to make them slightly softer and easy to roll. If you prefer, you can also simmer the apple slices with the water in a small pan on the stove. The apple slices should be cooked just enough to bend without breaking. If they break, you need to cook them a little more.
Unwrap the puff pastry over a clean and lightly floured counter. Using a rolling pin stretch the dough into a rectangular shape about 12 x 9 inch. Cut the dough in 6 strips, each about 2 x 9 inches.
In a bowl, place three tablespoons of apricot preserve with two tablespoons of water. Microwave for about one minute (or warm up on the stove) so that the preserve will be easier to spread. Spread a thin layer of preserve on each strip of dough.
Preheat the oven to 375º F. Drain the apples.
Arrange the apple slices on the dough, overlapping one another, as shown in my picture. Make sure the top (skin side) of the slices sticks a little out of the strip. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Fold up the bottom part of the dough.
Starting from one end, carefully roll the dough, keeping the apple slices in place. Seal the edge at the end, pressing with your finger, and place in a regular muffin cup. No need to grease the muffin mold if it’s silicone. Otherwise, make sure to grease with butter and flour (or spay). Do the same for all 6 roses. Bake at 375 º F for about 40-45 minutes, until fully cooked.
NOTES: Make sure the pastry is fully cooked on the inside before removing the roses from the oven! If after the first 30 minutes the apples start to burn on top, move the pan to a lower rack of the oven and finish baking. You can also cover loosely with aluminum foil for these last 10-15 minutes, to avoid burning the top.
Sprinkle with powder sugar and enjoy!
These are best eaten right after baking, when still warm and crisp.
They can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to two days. Or in the refrigerator for up to three days. You can always warm them up for a few minutes by placing in the oven before serving.
