PJV#27
September 2007

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The Kosher Table

Savory dishes for Elul

-- Lisa Kelvin Tuttle

Doesn’t it always seem that the Jewish New Year either comes early or late? Well, this year it’s an early bird, with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and the first two days of Sukkot all falling in the month of September.

For years I made the same chicken soup, my mom’s brisket, tzimmes with carrot and dried fruit, and a good many of the desserts I grew up with. While these beloved recipes are still important parts of my repertoire, I’ve become more willing to experiment and venture into unfamiliar territory. Pretty soon, I’ve found, novel dishes become family favorites and new traditions are created and added to the old. Whether for a formal dinner for Rosh Hashanah, a break-the-fast buffet, or a light family meal in the sukkah, it’s a treat to have some new dishes to infuse a fresh-start feeling to the New Year. The salmon and salad recipes featured below are great for either a sit-down meal or a buffet.

If you have a favorite Jewish holiday recipe you’d like to see on The Kosher Table, send it to me and I’ll share it with our readers!

Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy, and sweet New Year.

Until we eat again,

Lisa

Lisa Kelvin Tuttle has professional experience in the gourmet, catering, and health-food fields, as well as being an experienced kosher camp cook. Her greatest pleasure, though, is cooking Shabbos dinner for family and friends. She is Communications Director for the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation and resides with her husband, Alan, and sons Adam and Jeremy in Wynnewood.

Slow-Roaster Salmon with Dijon Mustard Glaze, Photo courtesy of Jennifer Hess's food blog.

Slow-Roasted Salmon with Dijon Mustard Glaze
Dairy or Pareve

This luscious main course adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook --– the best of Gourmet magazine – works well served hot from the oven, at room temperature and even cold. The note preceding the recipe states "the technique of slow roasting gives a firm bodied fish like salmon such a tender texture that it practically melts in your mouth. To test for doneness, look not for flakiness but for a change in appearance from translucent to opaque." I like their recommendation of accompanying the dish with buttered asparagus.

  • 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter or margarine, softened, plus extra for buttering the pan
  • 3 tablespoons fine dry breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seeds (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 8 (5-ounce) pieces center-cut salmon fillet, skinned
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
  1. Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 225 degrees. Butter a roasting pan large enough to hold the salmon without crowding.
  2. Make mustard glaze: Stir together the butter or margarine, bread crumbs, parsley, mustard seeds, lime juice, mustard and honey in a small bowl until well combined.
  3. Arrange salmon skinned side down in roasting pan and sprinkle with salt and white pepper. Spread mustard glaze evenly over the salmon.
  4. Roast until the fish is just cooked through (it will turn opaque), about 25 to 30 minutes.

Kiwi, Apricot, Lychee and Mango Salad
Pareve

This gorgeous fruit salad adapted from The Buffet Book by Carole Peck and Carolyn Hart Bryant, is light and refreshing to both the palate and the eye. If you can’t find fresh lychees (a staple of Asian produce markets), canned ones work quite well.

  • 3 kiwis, peeled and cut into sixths
  • 5 apricots, pitted and cut in to quarters or sixths
  • 18-20, peeled and pitted or an equivalent amount of canned
  • 2 or 3 mangoes, peeled and cut from the seed into 1/8-inch slivers

Gently toss all of the fruit together in a bowl.

Serves 10-15.

Sweet and Sour Cabbage, Beet, and Tomato Borscht.

Sweet and Sour Cabbage, Beet, and Tomato Borscht
Pareve or Meat

This version of borscht is best served hot, but is delicious cold as well with a big dollop of fresh sour cream with a slice of good rye bread.

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 4-6 raw beets, 3-4 diced and 1-2 coarsely grated
  • 1 14-ounce can tomatoes
  • 4-6 new potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 small white cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2-3 teaspoons white wine vinegar or cider vinegar or sour salt (citric acid)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus extra for garnish
  • salt and ground black pepper
  • sour cream, for garnish
  1. Put the onion, carrot, diced beets, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage and stock into a large pan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
  2. Add the grated beets, sugar, vinegar or sour salt to the soup and cook for 10 minutes more. Taste for a good sweet-sour balance and add more sugar and/or vinegar if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Stir the chopped dill into the soup and ladle into warmed bowls. If you like, garnish each bowl with a generous spoonful of sour cream and a sprinkling of more dill.

Variation: To make meat borscht, place 2 1/4 lb chopped (not ground) beef in a large pan. Pour over water to cover and crumble in 1 kosher beef bouillon cube. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until tender. Skim any fat from the surface, then add the vegetables and proceed as above. For kashrut, omit the sour cream. This still goes great with the rye bread!

Easy Three-Vegetable Kugel
Pareve

Shredded zucchini and carrot add color and lightness to the traditional potato kugel. This fast and simple rendition will likely become a staple of your holiday meals, including Passover. A food processor makes light work of the dish—and there’s no need to clean the work bowl between veggies. For a delicious change of pace, try beets or parsnips in place of the carrots, or swap sweet potatoes for white.

  • 2 medium zucchini or summer squash, coarsely grated
  • 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated
  • 1 onion, grated
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • Pinch of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley or basil (optional)
  • 2-3 tablespoons matzah meal
  • 7 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
  • salt and ground black pepper
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the zucchini, carrots, potatoes, onion, eggs, garlic, sugar, fresh herbs if using, salt and pepper in a bowl and stir to combine. Fold in the matzah meal and 2 tablespoons of oil and mix together to form a thick batter.
  2. Pour 3 tablespoons of the oil into an ovenproof dish, spoon in the vegetable mixture, and then drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the kugel. Bake for 40-60 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the top is golden brown.

Apple Raisin Cake
Pareve

This moist delicious cake, adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook is just the right thing for a Rosh Hashanah dessert or a midafternoon snack in the sukkah.

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon dark rum or brandy
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 Cortland, Empire, or Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut in to 1/4 inch dice
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  1. Put a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 12-inch Bundt pan or 9" x 13" pan, knocking out excess flour.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.
  3. Whisk together oil, eggs, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, rum or brandy, and vanilla in a large bowl until just combined, and then fold in apples and raisins. Spoon batter into pan.
  4. Bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, about 1 ¼ hours for the Bundt, and 45-50 minutes for the 9" x 13". Cool Bundt cake in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack to cool completely. Cool the 9" x 13" cake completely in its pan and cut into squares to serve.

Previously on the Kosher Table



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