Emily's Corner Page 3 of 5 pages < 1 2 3 4 5 >
Emily Moore • JTNews Columnist
A look back at when Jews and Muslims Cookd their succulent meals in communal kitchens
Posted July 5, 2007 |
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Emily Moore • JTNews Columnist
Though not the most recognized of holidays, Shavuot holds many different meanings
Posted May 11, 2007 |
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Emily Moore • JTNews Columnist
Some food ideas for the rest of the holiday
Posted March 30, 2007 |
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Emily Moore • JTNews Columnist
And you can drink to both, with these alcoholic and non-alcoholic spirits
Posted March 2, 2007 |
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Emily Moore • JTNews Columnist
Reprints of classic recipes, with a twist on the traditional
Posted December 14, 2006 |
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Emily Moore
• JTNews Columnist
Possibly the most common association the rest of the Western world makes about Jews is the one about Jewish mothers and chicken soup.
Feeling the flu coming on? Chicken soup. Is it getting cold outside? Chicken soup. Depression? Definitely chicken soup! Just arrived? Chicken soup! Going on a trip? Take a little with you it couldnt hurt! But, perhaps less famously, our culture has contributed many more soups through the ages than just the over-burdened chicken.
Even Esaus birthright was famously sold for a pot of lentils, undoubtedly a rich, irresistible broth, redolent with the exotic spices Jews traded for those eons ago. Its probable that Jews, over centuries and through poverty and invention, created and passed on more versions of beet borscht than every Slavic nation combined could have ever thought possible.
But this fall I dont want to reveal to you yet another version of a luscious, heart-healing mushroom barley soup or another creamy, heart-healthy split pea, as lovely and beloved as a bowl of either one would be. Whats in store in my annual soup offering are some unusual, sensual flavors and perhaps a new warm fragrance or two to pass around the kitchen while the weather gets colder and the days shorten until the world brightens with the sparkle of Hanukkah.
There may still be some good fresh tomatoes around for this big-flavored, golden-hued Sweet Potato, Parsnip and Tomato soup, but good Italian canned tomatoes will also do very well. You can add cream, non-dairy milk or regular whole milk and pure until very smooth for a rich, comfort-food version like Campbells Tomato soup, all grown up.
Sweet Potato, Parsnip and Tomato Soup
2 Tbs. butter, margarine or olive oil
1 medium onion, diced small
1 stalk celery, cut fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped (optional)
1 lb. parsnips, peeled, trimmed and diced small
2 lbs. sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and diced in 3/4 pieces
2 lbs. fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced, juices saved or
1 28-oz can Italian plum tomatoes, diced, with their juice
2 red peppers, cored, seeded and cut in long, thin strips
1 Tbs. brown sugar or honey
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. saffron threads (optional)
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper or 1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
4 cups water, vegetable bouillon or vegetable broth
1/4 cup lemon juice or 1/2 cup orange juice
1-1/2 cups milk, cream, half-and-half or non-dairy milk (optional)
1/2 cup walnuts, pumpkin seeds or pecans, toasted and roughly chopped, for garnish
3-4 Tbs. blue cheese, cream cheese, mascarpone or chevre, for garnish
Heat the butter or oil in a three- or four-quart saucepot over medium heat until it sizzles. Add the onion and celery and cook until the onion is wilted and golden, stirring occasionally. Add the parsnips, the sweet potatoes and the peppers. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the sweet potatoes start to caramelize (becoming golden-brown on the edges). Stir in the spices, the sugar or honey and the salt.
Add the garlic and cook for another two minutes, stir, then add the diced tomatoes and their juice and let the mixture come to a boil. Add the water or vegetable broth, bring back to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender.
Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes before pureing. Put two or three cups of the soup into the jar of a blender (no more, or the hot soup will explode out the top!), remove the inner plastic cap from the center of the lid, put the top on the blender and a folded towel over the hole in the top. Pulse the blender on and off on low speed two or three times, then blend the soup on medium speed until very smooth, then pour into a clean pot.
Blend half of the soup in the same manner, then pour the remaining unblended soup into the pured soup, put the new pot on the burner and bring to a simmer. If you want a completely smooth, creamy soup, pure all of it instead of half. Add the milk or cream if using, then add the lemon and/or orange juice and taste for salt and seasonings.
Put a little blue cheese, cream cheese, mascarpone or chevre in the bottom of each bowl and ladle the soup over it. Garnish with the toasted nuts or pumpkin seeds and serve hot. The soup will keep for a week, cooled, covered and refrigerated, or about two months frozen in a sealed container.
6 good-sized servings, with leftovers. Parve or dairy
The next soup is uniquely suited to satisfying a very traditional Eastern European Jewish need: using up leftovers! What goes into kugel? An egg and some leftover noodles, potatoes, whatever! Got extra carrots, cooked chickpeas, potatoes? Put them in the tzimmes or into the cholent! Except this time, were going to make the leftovers to make the soup.
Luckily (or maybe by design) the dish to be left over is very simple, delicious and perfect to make on a cold, lazy afternoon when the kitchen beckons and theres just energy enough to stir a pot every once in awhile. Then, the initial dish can be eaten up for dinner and the leftovers can be made into an equally simple and delicious soup in a day or so.
First make:
Smothered Green Cabbage, Venetian Style
2 lbs. smooth green or Savoy (crinkly green) cabbage, ribs cut out and finely shredded
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup good olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, chopped fine
1-1/2 tsp. kosher salt (or to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs. red or white wine vinegar
Put the onion and olive oil into a deep saut pan with a cover. Turn the heat to medium and saut the onion until it turns a deep gold, then add the garlic. Saut for a minute or two, then add all the cabbage. Stir and turn the cabbage for several minutes until it is all wilted. Add the salt, a few grindings of pepper and the vinegar. Stir, cover the pan and turn the heat down to minimum. Cook for at least 1-1/2 hours, or until very tender. Turn it every once in awhile. Taste and correct for salt and pepper. Serve either hot or room temperature and save the leftovers for:
Risotto and Smothered Cabbage Soup
2 or 3 cups leftover smothered cabbage
3 cups rich vegetable broth or vegetable bouillon dissolved in 3 cups water
2/3 cup Arborio rice (available at most grocery or specialty foods stores)
2 Tbs. butter
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the cabbage and the broth into a soup pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the rice and cook uncovered at a slow boil, stirring from time to time. The soup is ready when the rice is done, about 15 to 20 minutes. The rice should be a little firm to the bite, not mushy, but not hard in the center. If you find that the soup is becoming too thick while the rice is cooking, add more broth or water. When done, the consistency of the soup should be rather dense.
Add the butter and the grated cheese and stir well. Taste and add salt and pepper to your taste. Give the soup a few minutes rest and serve medium hot with pieces of crusty rustic bread and more grated Parmesan, if desired.
Four servings. Dairy. Posted November 10, 2006 |
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Emily Moore
• JTNews Columnist
What is your favorite Jewish holiday? Can you decide? To me, the decision seems akin to choosing my favorite relative, my favorite food impossible! or my favorite month of the year.
When I was a kid, besides Passover, which I loved but didnt really understand, my absolute favorite holiday was Purim, when the point seemed to be having fun: dressing in costumes and telling stories about an incredibly beautiful queen and her unbelievably intelligent uncle. There is a family photo of my sister and me wearing face-breaking grins and bee-yootiful costumes: she as the lovely queen Esther and I as the all-important white horse, in a white leotard with my hair in pigtails to represent ears.
Tu BShevat, another favorite, meant little in those years beyond the donation my parents sent with me to the synagogue to plant trees (which have, by now, become beautiful pine forests) in Israel and I forgot about the holiday almost before it began.
Lately, however, since we have been holding wonderful seders for the New Year of the Trees, I have developed an enduring love for a celebration that recognizes the encompassing role that trees have in our lives.
However, all other holidays and their lovely memories considered, I secretly hold Sukkot in a special place in my heart. Because food is my life, autumn and harvest have brought intoxicating pleasures since Ive been seriously cooking: the plethora of colors and flavors of vegetables found in late tomatoes, peppers, corn and eggplants. A hundred squashes and a thousand shapes of pumpkins have always given me a particularly acute culinary thrill.
The unparalleled fragrances of basil, marjoram, mint, lavender and rose mix together in the waning but most glorious sunlight to lure us to grasp a final freshness in a symphony (or even a cacophony) of taste. Sukkot is the festival of harvest, when we are encouraged to live outside our houses with the plentitude of the harvest.
Each region has its own fall flavors and each family its own favorite dishes we are encouraged to make what is most appropriate from the harvest in our region, given the traditions of our families. What could be more integrated and comforting what could be more like home?
Let me share some of these recipes in hopes that you might try them and, more importantly, rediscover some of your own beloved dishes in your home outside, when you gather with family and friends in the sukkah this year. Here are two recipes I learned in Bordeaux when I had the opportunity to stay for an October week during one of the many French holidays that seem so capricious to workaholic Americans.
One uses my favorite fall fruit, quince, which is more fragrant than any apricot but only turns from puckery sourness to sweet when cooked. Here its simply coated in a dusting of sugar, surrounded by apples and pears and gently cooked in a casserole for two to three hours until the whole thing is turned out and can be cut like a cake. It is simply delicious!
Quince Cake
(or Gateau aux Coings)
3 medium quinces, golden yellow and fragrant, peeled, cut in half, cored and sliced in 1/4 slices
3 new fall apples, peeled, cored and sliced as above
3 Bosc, DAnjou or Comice pears, peeled, cored and slice as above
1 cup sugar, or as needed
Butter for greasing the mold
Set the oven at 300. Butter an ovenproof casserole about eight or nine inches across and three inches deep. Sprinkle the bottom with about 2 Tbs. of sugar. Place a single layer of quince slices on top of the sugar, sprinkle again with 2 to 3 Tbs. of sugar, place on a layer of sliced apples, then repeat the sugaring, lay on a layer of pears and sugar again. Repeat the whole process until all the fruit is used up.
Press down gently but firmly on the fruit, pressing evenly all the way around until the cake is about half its original height in the casserole. Cover the casserole lightly with foil and set in the middle of the oven.
Cook for 1-1/2 hours, turning every half hour. At two hours, remove the cover and continue to cook until the cake takes on a deep rosy color, about three hours in all. If the gateau seems dry at any time during the cooking, add a little apple or pear cider or water. When done, let the gateau cool and turn it out on a platter. Serve with ginger or vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, crme fraiche or plain cream. So perfect for Sukkot!
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
The second recipe from Bordeaux, called Milla was the family fall festival recipe for the entire village I was visiting. As we drove around the village near St. Emillon, picking up a case or two of wine from the local vintner or dropping in to say hello to friends, everyone would ask How is your Milla going?
They would then open their own oven doors to show the progress of their gorgeous orange autumn delicacy, made with pumpkin and plump prunes. The cold air smelled like caramelizing pumpkin-sugar as we hurried home to put ours in the oven.
Milla
1 medium sugar (cooking) pumpkin, about 4 lbs., peeled, seeded and cut into large (3" x 3") pieces
2 oz. unsalted butter, plus 2 Tbs. for greasing the dish
1/2 to 1 cup sugar, depending on the sweetness of the pumpkin
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
20 pitted prunes, soaked overnight then cooked until soft, and drained
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
Melted butter for brushing the top of the Milla
Cook the pumpkin pieces in boiling, salted water to cover until completely soft. Drain well and, while still hot, mash together with the butter, the sugar (to taste) and the vanilla. A food processor works well for this step. Let cool, then beat in the eggs and flour, mixing well until smooth.
Butter a ceramic or other ovenproof dish, nine to 10 inches across and three or four inches high. Put half the pumpkin mixture into the dish and place the prunes in one layer in top. Layer on the remaining pumpkin, smooth well and arrange the apple slices attractively on top. Brush with butter and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake at 350 for an hour to an hour-and-a-half, or until set in the middle and nicely golden brown and puffed on top. If the Milla doesnt seem set after an hour (a clean knife inserted in the center will come out clean when set), turn the heat down to 325, cover lightly and continue to bake until done.
Milla can be served with dinner, after dinner or even re-warmed for breakfast. You may serve it with creams or sauces, but you might feel that you are slightly gilding the lily! Be well and warm in the sukkah and enjoy!
Yield: Serves 8 to 10 Posted October 13, 2006 |
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Emily Moore
• JTNews Columnist
The High Holidays. We know them well, right? They are the time for us to go to synagogue with the desire to understand ourselves and our behavior: to set right our misdeeds before God and with our community, to resolve to do better, to hope the slate may be wiped clean. It is a time to see everyone we may not have seen all year, to deeply contemplate the meaning of tzedakah, to shed tears over loved ones passed, to commiserate with kids squirming in their seats, and to just make it through the fast one more year.
But seders for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?
This year in Seattle, Panim Hadashot a wonderful new organization dedicated to bringing greater personal meaning to Jewish rituals and traditions through discussions, small Shabbat gatherings, and feasts is holding unique seders for both erev Rosh Hashanah and the meal before the fast on Yom Kippur.
Founded and led by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg, Panim Hadashot (New Faces of Judaism) will gather the community in the beautiful dining hall of Bastyr University for parve ritual meals that it hopes will spark new traditions during the Days of Awe.
Although Panim Hadashot is bringing what seems to be a new concept to this season of ancient teachings and practiced rituals, the idea of a seder for Rosh Hashanah full of ritual foods and discussions of the meanings of the holiday and wonderful smells and tastes is not new.
The Gemarrah, in tractate Kersius declares: At the beginning of each year a person should accustom him [her] self to eating gourds, leeks, fenugreek, beets and dates, all of which represent good omens or have positive connotations.
One interpretation of why the authors of the Gemarrah advise us to eat these foods is that ingesting them will remind us that merely eating the good will not be enough for us to be seen as truly good on this Judgment Day; we also have to search our own hearts for goodness and repent the bad deeds in which we have indulged. Another view indicates that by eating that which represents goodness, we are asking to be remembered for a good year internally and not overtly petitioning on our own behalf.
Blessings and Yehi Ratzon (May it be Your will) prayers are said for each of the foods stated in the Gemarrah, and for a few others that have attracted Rosh Hashanah significance over the centuries such as challas, apples and honey, pomegranates, fish and the head of a sheep or a fish.
How these particular foods became honored on Rosh Hashanah lies with the ancient practice of matching the name of a thing with a concept whose name has a similar sound. For example, the Hebrew name for leek is karti, which sounds like karet, meaning to cut out or to destroy.
So, the prayer related to leeks might be Yehi ratzon, may it be Your will to destroy my adversaries, or Yehi ratzon, may You help me in destroying my will to do (a) bad deed, or Yehi ratzon, may you help me by cutting out my will to yell at my kids, or whatever Yehi ratzon is most appropriate for you in your life. Of course, the leader of the seder will choose a meaning he or she feels is most appropriate, but this seder tradition leaves much room for individuals to bring their own intimacies to the prayer.
However, because this referencing practice is ancient and most Jews have moved away from the Middle East where these particular edibles are common, other foods are also referenced as having the same name as the original ones mentioned in the Gemarrah.
For example, rubiyah, the Hebrew name for fenugreek, is also the name for beans and black-eyed peas, two foods that were probably common in geographic areas where fenugreek was either difficult to acquire or unknown. The sounds-like concept word for rubiyah is yirbu, meaning to increase. So, while some seders direct you to eat black-eyed peas for the prayer Yehi ratzon, may it be Your will to increase my virtues, in others (Panim Hadashots, for example) you will be eating leek fritters for the same prayer concept.
Similarly, while the word kra, phonetically related to the word for proclaim or to tear, was known to the ancients as meaning gourd, kra is also found to mean red lentils. So, although the Panim Hadashot seder will serve a savory pumpkin-filled pastry to be eaten accompanying the prayer entreating: May it be Your will that our merits be proclaimed before you or that the decree of our sentence be torn up, you might find the same prayer has you eating a lovely red lentil stew in another place, another year.
But that lentil stew will not be spicy. Traditionally, on the High Holidays we avoid foods that are very sour or spicy so that we can better concentrate on hoping internally for a good, sweet year. Instead, we eat sweet foods (of course), such as apples with honey, honey cake and any fabulous traditional family sweets.
Many of these foods have lore attached to them. The lore that has developed for honey cake is well-known: Ask a friend to give you a piece of the cake on Rosh Hashanah and you will not have to ask them for anything else all year. Or, if it has been declared in heaven that a person is to become a beggar, through this request for food the decree has been fulfilled and can be annulled.
Traditions about eating pomegranates on the New Year abound, but one of the most enriching is the notion that there are 613 mitzvot, according to tradition the same number of seeds in a pomegranate, making the fruit the embodiment of good deeds.
Fish are eaten because they are so numerous that consuming them will promote a prosperous year.
The head of a sheep (yes, really eaten in many Jewish cultures over the ages) represents the ram that was sacrificed by Abraham when God released him from having to give up Isaac. Eating any head sheep, fish or, for beef, maybe just the tongue also promotes the idea of being at the head in the world and not at the tail.
Challahs for the holidays may be studded with dried fruits for sweetness and shaped into rounds for the cycle of the year, or formed into ladders, suggesting Jacobs ladder (where again we want to be at the top!).
What about a seder for Yom Kippur when we know we will be fasting for 25 hours? On the day before Yom Kippur it is as much a mitzvah to eat twice as much as usual as it is to fast for the Day of Atonement! So, clearly a Feast Before the Fast must live up to its title so that worshipers will have the strength and stamina to get through the rigors of the following holy day. Practical suggestions are that salty foods and foods that produce heat in the body, such as garlic, spices and eggs, should be avoided to inhibit thirst.
But what will be the substance of a ritual meal that must also prepare the mind, the heart and the soul for the holiest and most difficult day of the year? Although Rosh Hashanah seders have been celebrated over the Jewish millennia, and indeed Panim Hadashot held its first last year, a Yom Kippur Feast Before the Fast is a new creation. Rabbi Gartenberg has divided the Yom Kippur seder into seven parts, each relating a central theme of the holiday to a symbolic food, in keeping with referenced lore and literature from Yom Kippur texts.
The first part, called Chet: The Acknowledgement of Sin, references red as the color of sin (for the red string tied around to neck of the goat sent out into the wilderness carrying the sins of the Children of Israel). The food eaten will be a salad of roasted tomatoes, sweet red peppers and beets.
The second part, Teshuvah: Turning to Repentance: Revealing the Truth, brings foods that must be opened up to reveal a hidden truth, for example, the peeling away of artichoke leaves to find the heart, or the discovering of a sweet/savory filling in a kreplach (also a carbhighly recommended for stamina!)
Tefilah: The Self-Reflection of Prayer begins with the ephemeral and a whiff of rose water. Then we reflect on Jonahs relationship with God and the gourd vine that Jonah loves by eating crunchy toasted pumpkin seeds.
Tzedakah: The Act of Righteousness takes us to the definition of righteous acts in Leviticus, which directs us to leave the small grapes (unripe bunches) on the vine during harvest so the poor may collect them. We eat tiny, sweet grapes as we reflect on our own acts of tzedakah.
In Kapparah: Atonement the goat who carries away our sins comes up again, and in reflection we eat fresh, white goat cheese in pure, fragrant olive oil.
Purity: Taharah is accomplished with the ritual washing of hands and brings us to Mahzor: The Cycle of the Year when we dip pieces of round challah in honey and wish all at the seder LShana Tova! And then comes the meal!
To get more information on the Panim Hadashot High Holiday seders and to receive registration forms call Cynthia at 877-643-7274. Posted September 15, 2006 |
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Emily Moore
• JTNews Columnist
Ever wonder why one of the most popular pickles of the five million that Americans eat every day is the kosher dill? Its partly because of the garlic that is normally used in kosher pickles, and partly because theyre so good. But whats the story behind the brand I mean, why are they always called kosher dills, whether the manufacturer is kosher or not?
One answer might be that in 1923, Heinz Foods developed, in conjunction with the Orthodox Union of that time the Circle U kosher symbol, becoming the first maker of processed foods to carry a kosher hechsher. So, Heinz pickles at the time were kosher and the pickles were made, in the Askenaz way, with garlic and dill, and Heinz, wanting to make sure their large Jewish audience knew they were kosher (as opposed to other manufacturers whose pickles were not), started giving them the brand name of kosher dill pickles. And a star was born!
Now, there are many, many styles and preferences in making (and eating) kosher dill pickles. Some, the sour types, often use only a salt brine embellished with dill and cherry or grape leaves and are usually pickled in a ceramic crock.
Others, that are pickled with vinegar and a variety of spices, are first cured overnight in salt then drained and washed and packed in sterilized jars with their spices. A hot vinegar brine is poured over them and theyre sealed up to continue pickling.
Every family or community of families has its own favorite pickle recipes, so dont be surprised at the response you get if, after trying the recipes Im going to give you, you enjoy one or another and you give someone else the recipe.
Oh no, they may say, My bubbe never made pickles this way! She always used horseradish and dill seed and drained them evey three days! Im sure that some of the best pickle recipes have died with their makers because we dont usually make pickles now, thanks to the proliferation of good (and some really bad) kosher dills. But let me assure you, not only is pickle making easy, making your own wonderfully improvised kosher dills in the summer will make you think about summer all winter long, in a proud and happy way.
The equipment youll need is: A box of quart, wide-mouth mason jars with bands and lids (available at all grocery stores, just ask-and theyre not expensive and box of a dozen comes with band and lids).
Pick up an extra box of lids (wide mouth) just in case of an accident or two. If you can find or have one, a two gallon straight-sided ceramic crock is wonderful to have but not necessary; theyre great for making sour dills that you plan to eat within two or three weeks. But a big ceramic bowl or a clean plastic bucket will do the trick.
So lets start with the sours. They are categorized as new (barely pickled for a day or two in light salt brine), half sour (pickled in salt brine halfway through, with a lot of the white of the cucumber still showing in the middle), Three quarters sour (less white, more pickle color, brinier taste), and sour dills (pickled all the way through).
First, heres a recipe for half-sour dills made in a crock (or use a big bowl or a very clean plastic bucket!)
Real Jewish Half-Sour Dill Pickles
24-36 small, not too ripe pickling cucumbers, gently scrubbed
3 bay leaves, crushed
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large stalk dill, cut up, or 2 Tbs dried dill
1 Tbs dill seed (optional)
6 bruised black peppercorns
2 tsp mustard seeds (optional)
1 tsp coriander seeds (optional)
1 dried red chile, crushed (optional)
1/3 cup kosher salt
9 to 10 cups boiling water
Place the cucumbers in a large bowl, crock or tub. Scatter the spices, dill and garlic among the cukes. Sprinkle all over with the salt. Pour the boiling water on top of the cucumbers and weight down with a plate with a brick (or 2 heavy cans of food) on top; the weight is to keep the to-be-pickles in the brine. Put a cloth or a cover over the top to keep bugs away. Check the pickles twice a day and skim off any scum that appears; put the weight and cover back on each time. Store in a cool, dark place for one week in warm weather or for 10 days in cool weather.
The pickles will be done to half-sour within this amount of time. If you think you will eat all your half-sours within about two to three weeks, just refrigerate them in containers, covered in brine. If you want to keep them for the winter, drain off the brine, strain and boil it. Pack the pickles in clean jars (add a little more dill and/or spices in the jars if you like) and cover with the hot brine. Clean off the rims of the jars with a clean, damp cloth, place the lids on the jars rubber side down, and screw on the bands hand tight. Make sure the brine is still very hot when you put on the lids and bands so the lids will seal-youll hear a loudish pop or ping sound when the brine inside has cooled enough to create a vacuum under the lid, pulling down the center of the lid and sealing the jar.
Heres another excellent traditional sour recipe that pickles the cucumbers right in the jars and refrigerates them till theyre gone.
Kosher Dill Pickles
(From Olive Trees and Honey by Gil Marks)
24 very fresh 4-inch pickling cucumbers
8 cups soft or distilled water
1/2 cup kosher salt
12 to 16 sprigs fresh dill
8 cloves garlic
16 whole peppercorns
4 bay leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp (or less) coriander seeds
1/2 tsp (or less) red pepper flakes, or for more heat, use 8 small, dried red chiles
Soak the cucumbers in ice water for between one and eight hours. Drain. Snip the end not attached to the vine. In a non-reactive saucepan, combine the water and salt. Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from heat and cool.
Sterilize (in boiling water) four 1-quart mason jars. Divide the dill, garlic and spices among the jars. Pack six cucumbers upright in each jar and pour the cooled brine over the cucumbers to cover, leaving 1/2 inch of clear headroom at the top of each jar. Tightly cover the jars with the lids, tighten the bands and shake to distribute the garlic and spices.
For new pickles:
Place the jars upside down on a clean counter covered with a dishtowel and leave overnight. If any liquid seeps from the jars, tighten the bands to seal the lids tighter. Place the jars lid side up. Refrigerate.
For half sours:
Place jars upside down in a dark place at cool room temperature to ferment overnight. If liquid seeps from the jars, tighten the bands and wipe clean. After one day, turn right side up and leave for two more days After this period, bubbles will rise in the liquid. Two to three days later, bacteria begins souring the cucumbers, which remain bright green to greenish brown outside. Refrigerate to slow the fermentation.
For three-quarter-sour pickles:
Proceed as for half-sours. After one week, the outsides of the pickles will be almost uniformly green-brown. Refrigerate to slow further fermentation.
For sour pickles:
Proceed as for half-sours but leave pickles to ferment at cool room temperature for two to three weeks or until bubbles stop forming. The pickles will be uniformly greenish brown. Refrigerate.
Yield: 4 quarts of pickles
Here are some typical (and delicious) more modern kosher pickles, cured in a salt and vinegar brine.
Kosher Dills in Vinegar Brine
8 cups water
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
20 to 24 small pickling cucumbers, 4 to 5 inches long
8 heads fresh dill
8 large, washed cherry or grape leaves (optional)
4 cloves garlic, sliced
4 tsp mixed pickling spice
Bring the water to a boil in a non-reactive saucepan. Add the salt and boil for two minutes, stirring to dissolve. Let cool for five minutes, then add the vinegar and let the mixture cool, covered, for three to four hours.
When youre ready to pickle, sterilize four quart jars and four sets of bands and lids.
Wash the cucumbers and dry with (non-linty) paper towels. Put one dill head and one fresh leaf in the bottom of each jar. Pack the cucumbers upright up to the shoulder of each jar, then add one quarter of the sliced garlic and 1 tsp of the pickling spices to each jar. Put one dill sprig on top and cover with the remaining fresh leaves. Pour the cooled brine over everything, up to one inch below the top of the jar. Cover loosely with the lids and bands and keep at cool room temperature for two to three days.
When the jar starts to bubble, let it bubble for a day or two, removing the scum daily. Then re-sterilize the lids and bands in boiling water, clean the jar rims and tops with a clean towel dipped in hot water and seal the hot lids onto the jars with the bands. Store in a cool, dry place for about three weeks before eating. Refrigerate after opening. The pickles should last several weeks after opening in the refrigerator, or indefinitely unopened.
Yield: 4 quarts Posted August 18, 2006 |
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Emily Moore
• JTNews Columnist
Cucumbers. Eggplant. Tomatoes. Peppers. Onions. I wondered, after eating these vegetables every day, sometimes many times a day while in Israel, how I never tired of them and of the salads they composed.
Was it the quality of the produce? Well, yes, but there was always a feeling that there was a harmonious relationship between the food, the place and me. True, the produce was always grown within a very few miles of where I was eating it, but it is significant that these are the foods, along with lemons, oranges, olives, figs and pomegranates, that have been cultivated in the Middle East and in Israel for nearly three millennia.
Its therefore interesting that the myriad of salads created daily in Israel, made from recipes that have been developed over countless trials and put on hundreds of thousands of tables over the centuries, remain beautifully and deliciously simple. Simple, so the clear flavors of all the ingredients can be distinctly appreciated without your palate becoming tired or jaded.
This approach to salad making works so well that its easy to make several salads for one meal and find each more delicious than the last. And two more pluses our Pacific Northwest summer produce is here and its easy to buy delicious, local and organic food at the Farmers Markets that have popped up in almost every neighborhood. So go out and buy some wonderful Northwest summer produce, grab these recipes, get out in the sun, and enjoy!
Here are a series of eggplant salads that, even if you think you dont like eggplant, you are assured to fall for their succulent lightness.
Have a happy, fresh and simple summer, Israeli style!
Basic Eggplant Salad
This simple mashed roasted eggplant dish is used to make the following three salads, just by varying the additions.
About 2 lbs. large dark eggplants
1/4 cup olive or sunflower oil
Fresh lemon juice, or white vinegar, depending on taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 cloves peeled garlic, crushed then chopped (optional)
Roast the eggplants in their skins on a charcoal grill or on a baking pan under the broiler, turning often, until the skins are charred black all over.
When completely soft, black and caved in, remove from heat and put immediately onto a cutting board. Place the cutting board over the sink and slit the eggplants open, using a sharp knife. Tilt the board so the liquid inside will run off into the sink. When cool enough to handle but still warm, use the knife to remove the peel and the large seeds.
The consistency of the salad depends on the method used for pulping the eggplant: Mashing it with a fork or pressing it through a potato masher produces a thick, pulpy mixture. Placing it in a food processor results in a smooth puree. Or it can be mashed with a large spoon or with the back of a knife for a result somewhere in between.
When mashed, place the eggplant in a bowl and slowly add the oil, stirring constantly to blend in well.
Add the lemon juice, freshly ground pepper, fresh garlic (if using) and kosher salt to taste. The oil and seasonings should be added while the eggplant is still warm.
Eggplant Salad with Onion and Tomato: To the basic recipe above add:
2 Tbs. chopped sweet onion
(or 3 Tbs. chopped green onions)
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 Tbs. roughly chopped fresh parsley
Cured black olives to garnish.
Eggplant with Feta: Add 1 cup crumbled feta cheese to the recipe above, stir in gently and serve warm.
Eggplant with Peppers: Roast 4 sweet red peppers and 1 or 2 hot green peppers under the broiler until their skins are blackened all over.
Place in a covered bowl for 20 minutes, then scrape off their blackened skins, cut open, and scrape out the seeds and membranes.
Chop the peppers fine and add to one recipe of Basic Eggplant Salad with 1 Tbs. of white vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
A leftover salad in Arab kitchens, fatouch incorporates leftovers from other meals as well as ingredients at hand. Stale pita is broken into small pieces and added to absorb the flavors of the lemon, olive oil, mint and pomegranate juice. Ive suggested using pitted local cherries instead of pomegranate seeds to take advantage of the fruits of our summer!
This is a great way to use some of the mint taking over your (or your friends or neighbors) garden. If no mint is available, use fresh basil or dill in smaller quantities. Also, this salad lends itself naturally to the addition of cooked chicken or fish halibut is especially good or hard-boiled eggs and feta to make it a light main course.
Fatouch Pita Vegetable Salad
3 to 4 firm ripe medium-sized tomatoes
2 to 3 young cucumbers
1 medium sweet onion, diced small
or 3 green onions, sliced
1 to 2 small hot peppers, sliced very thin
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
(or 1/4 cup chopped basil or dill)
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice and grated peel of 1 large lemon
2 stale or toasted pita breads
1 clove peeled garlic, split
Seeds of 1 pomegranate or
1/2 lb. local cherries, pitted and chopped
Salt to taste
Chop the tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and peppers, transfer to a large bowl and sprinkle with mint leaves.
Grate the lemon peel and add. Squeeze the lemon juice over the salad. Add the oil with a generous amount of salt and mix well.
Split the pitas, rub the inside with the cut surface of the garlic clove, tear into bite-sized pieces, and toss into the salad. Add the pomegranate or chopped cherries and mix well.
Serve immediately or set aside for 30 minutes or so before serving to let the flavors blend.
Serves 2 to 3 as a main course
Though Ashkenazi Jews in Israel often make a potato salad with apples, pickles, onions and mayonnaise thats German in origin, Christian Arabs in Israel prefer a simpler version dressed with the now-familiar lemon juice and olive oil. Substitute mild green or red peppers for the small hot green ones if your heat tolerance is low.
Middle Eastern Potato Salad
4 new red potatoes, cooked in boiling water till tender, cooled
1 to 2 spicy small green peppers (or
substitute 1/2 mild green or red pepper)
1 clove garlic, crushed
Juice of 1-1/2 large lemons
1/3 cup high quality olive oil
Kosher salt to taste
1/2 cup chopped parsley or mint leaves
2 green onions, chopped fine
Slice the potatoes fairly thin. Remove the stem and seeds of the pepper and slice thin, or chop into small pieces. Mix in all the other ingredients and let marinate for an hour or more. Taste for salt and serve.
4 servings as a side
Posted August 18, 2006 |
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Emily's Corner
Emily Moore, former executive chef at the Painted Table and now a cooking instructor and consultant to well-known kosher manufacturers, brings us recipes, stories and a dash of Jewish history to readers each month.
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