Gourmet & Kosher

When you think Shavous, what comes to mind?  Spring, flowers…. And of course cheese!  As a cheese-lover this has always been one of my favorite meals to prepare and eat.  The plethora of kosher cheeses available today has made this Yom Tov a truly enjoyable gastronomic experience.

Herbed Flower Salad

And while I’m at it, I like my table to be aesthetically gorgeous as well. This Herbed Flower Salad sets the tone for your meal. I always prepare the salad in mini clear bowls (glass or Lucite) so when the guests arrive it looks my table is a garden. The effect is green and beautiful.

The Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Rounds are a snap to prepare and offer a delicious bite in contrast to the salad.  You can arrange a few on each person’s plate beside the salad or on serving platters in the center of the table.

For my next course I chose the Honeydew Ginger Soup; the crisp, sweet taste provides a refreshing palate cleanser in between courses.  Just the thing to tide your guests over until you bring out the next sumptuous course….

Watermelon Salad

The remaining dishes can be served on a buffet with each guest helping themselves.  Spread out the Creamed Spinach and Red Wine Timbalo (looks just like Mount Sinai), Salmon on Wine Soaked Plank, and my personal favorite is the Watermelon Salad.  I’m sure at first many of you will glance at this recipe and think NO WAY! But give it a chance.  The flavors meld together incredibly.

The Zucchini Crowned Quiche is a stunning centerpiece that will crown your Yom Tov table. If the cheeses intimidate you stick to one kind but know that the cheese flavors stand out in the filling for a savory delight in every bite.

For dessert we have a Chocolate Nut Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce and Summer Fruit Medley with Cinnamon Ginger Sauce.

I can go on and on about each every recipe featured here until there is no time left to cook.  So take my word for it and try them out! And enjoy all that cheese.

Spring produce season doesn’t really kick off for me until I see the sprightly-green shelling peas at the farmer’s market. Piled high and begging to be plucked from their pods and nibbled, I love that table, groaning with possibilities. Ah, sweet, sweet English peas.

While peapods are botanically a fruit since they carry seeds (peas) from the ovary of the flower, they are regarded as a vegetable in culinary uses. Peas are a cool weather crop with planting taking place in winter or early spring and harvest soon after. In ancient times, peas were grown for their dried seeds. In modern times; peas are served fresh and can also be found frozen and canned. In the 17 and 18^th centuries, eating peas was very fashionable and when the English developed new cultivars of peas and the pea trend came to North America, they became known as English peas.  Thomas Jefferson had more than 30 varieties of peas growing on his estate. When canning and freezing became popular, peas were eaten year round and not just in the spring.

Pea Crostini

Similar to shelling peas or English peas are a variety of sweet peas or flat peas that are not shelled and the entire pod is eaten. Those are sugar snap and snow peas.

Peas play an important role in cuisines around the world as they are high in fiber, protein, minerals, vitamins and lutein.

English Peas are easily found at Farmer’s markets in late spring and early summer. They are also found in many specialty produce markets. Store your English peas in the refrigerator for a day or two. If you need to freeze them, shell the peas, blanch and shock them and freeze for up to 6 months.

Pasta with Morel Mushrooms and English Peas

Peas with Escarole and Mint

Peas with Ricotta and Mint Crostini

 Chilled Pea Soup

I am so happy to make an appearance here at JoyofKosher.com. I am so honored to be asked by the loyal and friendly staff of Joy of Kosher to develop a recipe for Shavuot, along with my photographs.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this wonderful opportunity to connect with your readers!

As Jonathan and I were heading up to Massachusetts last month for Passover, I asked him what was his favorite ice cream? He responded ‘not ice cream, but frozen yogurt is my favorite’, which completely took me by surprise.  When I thought about it a tad longer it all made complete sense.  During his undergraduate days at Tel Aviv University, his barren refrigerator would always be graced by a couple of family size containers of a strawberry yogurt drink, called Prili (fruit-for-me). He would have one family size Prili for breakfast every day. He would shake it first before removing the aluminum top. When I saw early strawberries popping up here and there at the farmers markets recently, I couldn’t resist getting a couple of pints to make a Frozen Strawberry Yogurt dessert to celebrate Shavuot, inspired by Jonathan’s love for Prili.

Click here to get the recipe for Frozen Strawberry Yogurt.

A little more about Shulie:

Shulie Madnick is an Israeli born and raised sabra. Both her parents were born and raised in Bombay, India. They emigrated from India to Israel in 1960, met and married there. Shulie is the eldest of six kids.  She met her husband Jonathan, who was born and raised in MA as she concluded her IDF service, as Jonathan was finishing his undergraduate degree at Tel Aviv University at the time. They moved to the US for Jonathan’s graduate studies and now call the DC area home for over two decades. They are proud parents to one son, Sagie, who is a sophomore in college, studying natural resources.

Parsley is the Rodney Dangerfield of herbs. It gets no respect. It’s because parsley is common and so we take it for granted. But apples are common too. And so are lemons and carrots, but people don’t pass these up like they do parsley.  I’m just saying.

I always have parsley in my fridge (and also apples, lemons and carrots) because it’s these common ingredients that come in handy when you’re at a loss for what to cook.

But back to parsley, which at one time, back in the day, home cooks used quite a lot. We used it for a bouquet garni to season stew. And for soup and all sorts of casserole dishes. We’d put a snip or two of parsley here and there to fancy up any and every dish we served to company.

That is, until more exciting herbs and greens became commonplace in the market and everywhere you can think about when it comes to food. Before Food TV and glossy magazines published food photos rivaling paintings in the Louvre.

It was then that we abandoned parsley for more alluring arugula and mache, more fragrant rosemary and basil.

But Albert Stockli, knew best. This chef, who once headed the kitchen of New York’s Four Seasons Restaurant and was as famous as Wolfgang Puck or Daniel Bouloud, once called parsley “the jewel of herbs, both in the pot and on the plate.” French cooks even invented the verb persiller, in the herb’s honor; it means “to sprinkle with parsley.”

If you’ve never tasted Lamb Persillade, you’re missing something fabulously delicious. I’ve added a recipe for Rack of Lamb Persillade, but I realize that rack is more than a bit pricey. So use the persillade on thick shoulder chops or a boneless shoulder lamb or veal roast. Or on roasted cod or halibut or roasted, halved tomatoes (a good accompaniment for grilled burgers or chicken).

Persillade is but one example of actually using parsley as an ingredient, not just as a decorative item. Pesto is another. Most of us know about Genovese basil pesto, but the name pesto comes from the Italian verb “to pound” and can be made with any herb or green that you can pound using a mortar and pestle or, for more modern cooks, a food processor or just a good chef’s knife. Parsley pesto is a terrifically versatile dish. Use it as a sauce for pasta or as a dip for crudites. Or to marinate vegetables or meat for grilling.

If you have some parsley in the bin you can put it to good use and see what a difference it makes in simple everyday dishes like omelets, frittatas, potato salad, steamed rice, sliced tomatoes, corn bread or vinaigrette dressing. When we want a meatless dinner I sometimes cook pasta with breadcrumbs and parsley. It’s fast and easy, a simple supper for any season (and becomes a special, elegant dish if you serve it with white wine). Easy on the pocketbook too.

There are two kinds of parsley to buy, curly parsley, which is more familiar, and flat-leaf Italian parsley, which is more assertive tasting. Many food writers tend to prefer the flat-leaf variety. I say it mostly doesn’t matter. They are interchangeable in recipes. Wash the leaves carefully and dry them well before you keep them in the fridge. Whichever you choose, keep some on hand. You might be surprised how often you will use parsley once you come to regard it as a household staple.

Main Image:

Spaghetti with Parsley and Toasted Breadcrumbs

http://www.joyofkosher.com/recipe/parsley-pesto/

http://www.joyofkosher.com/recipe/rack-of-lamb-persillade/

In modernity, after the destruction of the second Temple, the food most associated with Passover is matzah.  However, Passover was originally known as Hag Ha-Aviv (the holiday of spring) and it was connected to the beginning of the barley harvest.  The newly harvested barley could not be eaten until after the first sheaves of grain were offered to the Priests the second day of Pesach. The word Omer means “a measure or portion” (referring to the grain), and the Counting of the days of the Omer, in biblical times, coincided with the time period between the barley harvest and the harvesting of the first spring wheat, traditionally when Shavuot was celebrated.

The Romans and Greeks in ancient times prayed to their Goddesses of grain for a productive harvest.  The Jews, however, prayed to God to watch over the crops during the typical windy season in Israel.  A northern wind could bring rains that would destroy the new barley crop and a southern, hot, wind could stop the growth of the new wheat before it was to be harvested.  Barley was the mainstay of the Jew’s diet in biblical times because it was a very adaptable plant to cultivate in the different climates of Israel and very resistant to the dry desert heat.

Barley has been around since the Stone Age and cultivated in the Levant for more than 5000 years.  Remnants of the grain have been found in Egyptian pyramids and recipes for barley beer appear in Sumerian and Egyptian writings.

Although the majority of barley grain is used today in making malt for beers and feed for livestock, barley has seen a resurgence of popularity in recent years.  In order to make it palatable for human consumption the outer hull of the barley is ground off, “pearled”, three times and the bran is removed so that it will absorb water and swell. Although cracked, hulled, barley grains can be found in health food stores, pearled barley is readily available in supermarkets and is easier to use in most recipes.

Whether you live in a climate that is still cold during the early period of the counting of the Omer this year or whether summer has already preempted spring, enjoy the following barley recipes to commemorate Hag Ha-Aviv.

Eat in Good Health!

 Spring Barley Risotto with Asparagus and Lemon

Summer Barley Salad

This time of year it is a challenge to find recipes that won’t be dry and tasteless by the time everyone comes back from Shul on Friday night.   Chicken being the most budget friendly can easily dry out, but there are some recipes that hold up better than others.  In general saucy chickens with or without the bones can stay pretty moist as long as they don’t lose their liquid, so add a little extra and don’t let it heat at too a high a temperature.  Breaded, fried or baked, chicken usually does pretty well too, the coating helps lock in the moisture and it is still very good if you have to serve it room temperature.   Here are ten  chicken recipes that would be perfect for a late Friday night or any weekday dinner.

Apricot Chicken Tajine

Chicken Meatball Stew

Kishka Stuffed Chicken

Chicken in a Pot (excuse the pictures, this dish is truly delicious)

Magluba (1 pot meat)

Spicy Chicken and Grape Lettuce Wraps

Chicken with Green Olives and Prunes

Pecan Crusted Chicken

Jamie’s Speedy Coq Au Vin (a juicy chicken perfect for a late friday night)

Herb and Pumpkin Seed Drumsticks

With Passover a wonderful memory and your matzo coma beginning to wane, you must be ready for a dish that has no resemblance to anything you might have eaten throughout the holiday.  It’s time to put away your braising pot, toss your oven mitts to the side and retire your roasting pan at least for the week. The following are some wonderful dishes that sing spring and wake up your taste buds to the promise of a new season.

Pineapple Mango Chutney

That’s right, it’s time to barbecue.  I know there’s still a chill in the air, but don’t be a wuss, you’ve spent way too much time in the kitchen simmering soup and braising brisket.  Breathe some of that fresh air and get your grill on.  I’m talking Korean Kalbi ribs, simple, fast and they can be made indoors if you don’t have a sweater!  This dish takes the humble flanken, which is a short rib that is cross cut rather than cut parallel to the bone.  The result are strips of meat interlaced between sawed off bones, rather than one hunk of meat perched atop a single long bone.  Flanken often benefits from a nice slow braise, but when they are cut super thin, they are wonderful after a simple marinade tenderizes and flavors them.  I love to pair them with fresh Pineapple Mango Chutney and a side of Quick Fried Rice. The chutney, which features Asian infused pineapple, jicama and mango lends a refreshing note and can be served alongside the ribs or dolloped on top of them. The flavor profile is a perfect balance to the Asian inspired ribs. And, what would flanken marinated in hoisin, soy and ginger be without a side order of authentic fried rice?  Lonely!

Quick Fried Rice

All these recipes are found in The Kosher Carnivore, but they are yours today with my wishes for a sizzling start to spring.

Main Image – Korean Kalbi Ribs

Just because it’s Pesach does not mean that we cannot have lasagna or pizza – it just means we have to make them differently. Using matzah instead of noodles or pizza dough is a genius idea – I have tasted some Matzah Lasagnas and Pizzas that are out of this world. How do you use matzah to replicate chametz dishes?

Enjoy these recipes:

Whole Wheat Butternut Squash Matzo Lasagna
Wild Mushroom Matzo Pizza 
Spinach and Artichoke Matzo Pizza 
Pear, Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Goat Cheese Matzo Pizza
Pesto Matzo Pizza
Caramelized Onion Matzo Pizza 
Margherita Matzo Pizza
Roasted Garlic Matzo Pizza
Dessert Matzo Pizza 

We’ve cooked and cooked to prepare for Pesach—but now it’s the first morning of chol hamoed, and our families begin to roll back into the kitchen. They want to eat again! Serving refreshing, filling, and light Pesach breakfast and lunches—while offering variety—can be almost as big of a challenge as preparing yesterday’s yom tov feast.

From filling and hearty breakfasts, to easy-to-pack take-along lunches for chol hamoed outings, to the snacks that tide them over until dinner, these Pesach solutions will satiate your family from dawn to dusk.

BREAKFAST

Cheese Pancakes 
These pancakes are an all-time favorite in my family—I even make them for dinner almost every week all year round. Though the original chametz recipe calls for ¾ cup flour, it took much less potato starch to reach the same consistency.

Avocado Salsa 
Avocados offer a refreshing twist for the palate and compliment the egg and cheese dishes—breakfast time or anytime.

Two Tone Zucchini Frittata 
For those who don’t have many starch options besides for matzah, but still want to start the day with something filling, these frittatas are a complete meal.

Omelette Roulade 
This roulade is a twist on a traditional egg dish—and is a much more practical idea when serving a large amount of people breakfast in the morning, freeing the home cook from skillet duty as the entire roulade bakes in the oven. Use any vegetables you have on hand to vary the roulade every time.

Chocolate Spread
This is a classic Israeli breakfast staples—shmear it on matzah, or use it on top of pancakes or blintzes for a guarantee that even the pickiest children will be running to the breakfast table. This Pesach version is Malky Vorhand’s brainstorm.

LUNCH

Grilled Chicken Mango Salad 
Often, men like to have a filling meat lunch, even if its Chol Hamoed. If everyone else is eating dairy, you won’t have to prepare a whole separate meal. Use your leftover grilled chicken for this refreshing and satiating salad. Credit goes to Malky Vorhand.

Chocolate Cheese Blintzes 
Wrapped in a neat crepe package, blintzes are an easy and filling lunch take-along on a trip and make a great sandwich replacement. They don’t need to be served hot to be delicious and filling. Serve them plain, or add the chocolate spread in the center for an additional dimension of flavor.

Vegetable Cutlets 
These are a great veggie burger alternative—when you’ve overdosed on potatoes, these are filling, are lighter, and offer a little more variety. Though they’re delicious right out of the fryer, they’re neat, easy to eat, and portable for a take-a-long lunch. Eat alone, or if your customs allow, create a sandwich with matzah and some crunchy lettuce.

Mayonnaise 
Mayonnaise is a staple that can serve as a base for so many dishes. When you have a good kosher for Pesach mayo recipe, it fills a lot of needs and is much more delicious than any store bought variety. To achieve the right consistency, eggs need to be beaten at a high speed for a long time, with the oil added extremely slowly, drip by drip. This is not the time to pull out your hand mixer—a Kitchen Aid or Bosch is necessary.

Waldorf Salad 
Orange Carrot Salad 
Red Potato Salad 
Eggplant Babaganoush 

SNACKS

Chocolate Cheese Snack 
These chocolate cheese snacks are easy to take along—bake them in individual disposable holders so they’re neat and easy to transport. I tried three different cheesecake recipes to find the one that works best—and once again, Malky Vorhand’s won hands down.

Pesach Fingers 
This great take-a-long snack couldn’t be easier to prepare.

Most people only eat compote on Passover. Maybe because it’s so much easier to make it for dessert than to patchke with 5 dozen eggs and potato starch? It is so wonderful to have the house smelling of fruit and cinnamon. Nothing like it.  There was even a whole food holiday devoted to it last month – National Fruit Compote Day, check out the article for fun facts about this French dessert.  Here are five fabulous compote recipes, but they are so versatile – how do you compote?

Dried Fruit Compote 

Dried Fruit Compote with Green Tea and Lemon

Compote 

Cranberry & Ruby Grapefruit Compote 

Rhubarb Vanilla Compote

After days of heavy yom tov eating, our stomachs and taste buds are likely craving lighter fare. These wholesome dairy, pareve, and meat options offer a refreshing change of pace—and are easy to prepare after a busy day.

Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

These eggplant parmesan stacks are both delicious, and visually appealing

Marinara Sauce
This marinara sauce is very versatile, and can be used in a variety of Pesach dishes.

Greek Salad

A perfectly light, but filling salad, to compliment any dairy meal.

Pesach Crumbs
Try these, and you will forget that they are Pesachdig! Make extra, as you will want to use these
crumbs for shnitzel and other Pesach specialties.

Skirt Steak Salad

A deliciously filling dinner salad that can be prepared in just a few minutes. As with all my other Pesach recipes, the salt amounts listed are for kosher salt only. If you are using regular iodized table salt, please make sure to reduce the salt amounts.

Hasselback Potatoes with Balsamic Mayonnaise Dipping Sauce

These potatoes turn out crisp on the outside, and perfectly tender on the inside. Break off the crisps and dip them into balsamic mayonnaise dipping sauce for a really delicious experience.

Pan Seared Tilapia

Really simple to prepare, but oh so tasty.

Quinoa Salad

Most commonly considered a grain, quinoa is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. Perfect for Pesach, quinoa is protein rich, has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture, and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. Quinoa is available at your local health food store.

Once we’ve gotten ourselves past the Seder accoutrements ~ the ceremonial foods, the hearty meal and the sweet desserts, we can look forward to some of the other holiday treats.  In my household, running a close second to the chocolate covered matzo, is matzo brei.  Matzo brei is the quintessential Passover brunch food; although it’s just as appreciated as a light dinner, too.

Loosely translated, matzo brei is matzo fried with eggs.  And while that is often the case, it can be so much more!  For instance, is your favorite style more matzo than egg, like a pancake; or is it more egg than matzo ~ frittata style?

Important to the making of any good matzo brei is the crumble to soak ratio.  The matzo should be broken into large pieces, about the size of a half dollar.  The soaking should soften the matzo just enough to still retain a crisp bite of texture.  Too soft and the brei will be like scrambled eggs.  Too crisp and it will not be able to absorb any flavor.  Most recipes, even Bubbe’s, will have you soak the matzo in water.  Ideally the matzo should be soaked in milk or cream for your dairy selections.  For meat dishes, soaking in chicken broth will add an additional nuance.

No matter which recipe you use, be sure to fry the batter undisturbed in butter, schmaltz or olive oil for several minutes over a low fire for a beautifully bronzed crust before turning.

For those with a sweet tooth, in its most traditional form the matzo brei is buttery soft with crispy edges, served with cinnamon sugar, honey and a medley of fresh berries.  Others opt for a savory version of salami rendered in peppered schmaltz.  But one look in your holiday fridge can offer an endless range of options ~ even during this holiday’s restrictions.

Put that leftover dill to use with a lox and onion matzo brei.  Fold in dollops of cream cheese for a rich flavor.  Another option is to sauté chicken with red peppers, ginger and scallions which will bring an Asian flare to the week.

Or perhaps a dessert style matzo brei is more to your liking?  Try one with farmer cheese lightly whipped with lemon zest and vanilla, or turn the classic cinnamon into a sweet treat with toasted chestnuts, vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

Here’s one of my favorite recipes; it’s so delicious that you’ll enjoy it year round!

Salami and Eggs Matzo Frittata

Whenever you talk about Passover cooking, everyone groans and says they are so sick of potatoes. But potatoes on Passover don’t have to be boring. The average American eats about 140 lbs of potatoes every year – that’s a lot. But just think – potatoes can be mashed and fried, boiled and grilled, chipped and chopped. Raw or cooked – everyone enjoys potatoes in their diets.

Here are some great Passover Potato recipes:

Hassleback Potatoes 
Accordion Potatoes 
Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes 

Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes

Dairy Potato Leek Quiche
Creamy Mashed Potatoes 

Potato Pancakes with Guacamole and Poached Eggs

Potato Pancakes with Guacamole and Poached Eggs 
Creamy Smashed Potatoes with Chives 

Red Potato Salad

 Red Potato Salad 

Almond Caper Potato Salad 
Parsley Smashed New Potatoes 

Potato Kugel Cups

Potato Kugel Cups 
Herb-Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes 

Herb Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes

Sauteed Potatoes 
Spanish Omelet/Tortilla De Patatas 
Potato-Pepper Frittata 

Watch Jamie Make Potato Chip Chicken Schnitzel:

Read About the Health Benefits of Potatoes.

Click to read about National Potato Chip Day and National Potato Lovers Day.

After the Seder Plate is washed and the haggadahs are shaken out and put away, there is an inner sigh of relief mixed with contentment, a feeling of release after all those weeks of build-up leading up to Seder night. We are full, we are sated with the work of our hands…that is, until the next day when the festive intermediary days of Chol HaMoed are upon us and somehow, despite all the food….everyone is hungry. Again?

Chol HaMoed Pesach is a particularly beautiful time of year – with spring buds and blossoms all abloom, it presents wonderful opportunities to spend time with family, go on outings or activities and to leave our kitchens! Nonetheless, at the end of the day, there are still hungry mouths waiting for dinner, especially after a long day out. Now is the perfect time to get organized and anticipate those “forgotten” meals of Pesach. A little advanced planning now will go a long way towards ensuring stress-free meals on days when time and energy are at a premium. Plan a holiday week menu now to minimize shopping trips and maximize your family-time.

With so many heavy holiday meals behind us, lighter fare is always a welcome change. I recommend choosing fish or dairy dishes that are either easy to prepare or whose steps can be broken down and done in advance. Grandma Sylvia’s Salmon Croquettes are always a family favorite – the croquette mixture can be made in the morning or the night before, and the onions can be sliced in advance as well.  Roasted Halibut with Orange Gremolata can be assembled in advance and put in the oven right before serving time – by the time you’re done setting the table, it’ll be fresh and ready!

Look for recipes that your family will enjoy and that will allow YOU to enjoy the holiday as well!

From my table to yours, best wishes for a Happy & Kosher Pesach!

Wine and dine your guests this holiday, in the comfort of your own home.

Chef David Kolotkin, executive chef of The Prime Grill in New York City, brings his passion and innovation to your table this Pesach. Learn the secrets behind the unique flavors and flare Prime Grill diners enjoy. Chef David’s love for cooking didn’t sprout in a commercial kitchen. They were born in his childhood home, enjoying his mother’s delicious home-cooked meals and bonding moments with his parents in the kitchen. There, his deep respect for food grew, leading to his illustrious culinary career. Now, this Pesach, find that same inspiration—in your own home, around your own table with these recipes:

Chilean Sea Bass Mousse Wrapped with Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Lemon Aioli

Sweet and Sour Beets with Basil

Dry Rubbed Double Cut Veal Chop for Two

Sweet Potato Soufflé

Wine Recommendation: Domaine du Castel Petite Castel

A full bodied white win such as a Viognier would definitely work well with the sea bass, souffle, and veal chop, but a medium bodied red wine might work a little better and be a more festive option.  Pinot Noir has a lighter body and higher acidity than big red wines (Cabernet or Merlot) and will complement the subtle flavors found in this fish appetizer and veal main rather than overwhelm them.

Enjoy a gourmet dinner at home.