Tag Archives: recipe
Beet and Avocado Salad with Dill
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This is a simple and delicious side dish anytime, that is perfect for the transition from heartier winter root vegetable dishes to light, garden-fresh spring dishes. It also adds wonderful color and meaning to the seder table, too, as an theme-extension of the whole beet that is halachically permissible as a replacement to the zeroa (shankbone) on vegetarian seder plates.
Ingredients
6-8 medium-sized beets, stems and leaves attached (red, purple, gold or a mixture)
2 oranges + zest
1 small onion
1 medium avocado, peeled and cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
sprig of fresh dill, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 400. Trim beets at stems, but leave unpeeled. Set beet green aside.
Wash beets thoroughly. Lightly coat beets in olive oil. Wrap whole beets individually in foil and place foil-covered beets on a baking sheet. Place into oven. Roast beets about an hour to an hour and a half or until beets are tender throughout when pierced with a knife.
Once beets are in the oven, pull beet greens from stems and coarsely chop. Submerge chopped greens in boiling water about 2 minutes, just enough to brighten and make tender. Drain greens, and pat them in-between paper towel or a clean, dry cloth to remove excess water. Place greens in a large bowl. Set aside.
Chop onion into long, thin slivers. Place into bowl with beet greens. Set aside.
Zest about ¼ of one of the oranges. Set zest aside. Working over a small bowl, segment oranges, reserving juice in the bowl below. Add orange segments to large bowl of beet greens and onion. Set aside.
In small bowl with reserved orange juice, add minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dill, orange zest and salt and pepper to taste.
When beets are tender and have cooled at least enough to handle comfortably, unwrap foil from beets completely. Rub each beat gently with a paper towel to remove skins (they will come off very easily). Chop peeled beets into thin wedges. Place chopped beets into large bowl with greens, onion and orange segments. Pour olive oil and vinegar mixture into bowl with other ingredients and toss lightly. Toss in cubed avocado. Serve immediately or refrigerate if prepared in advance.
This dish can be finished with coarsely chopped roasted/salted hazelnuts if desired.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Roasted Veggie Quinoa Salad
I’m gluten-free so quinoa is part of my everyday life, but I think most gluten eaters appreciate quinoa the most on Passover, when more mainstream grains like wheat, barley, and rice are off-limits. This quinoa salad is very versatile in that you can use pretty much whatever vegetables you like depending what is in season. Here I do a roasted veggie medley of sweet potatoes, onions, zucchini, and bell peppers, but asparagus, tomato and scallion would be just as delicious.
Ingredients
1 sweet potato, diced
1 red onion, chopped
2 zucchini, quartered and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, cubed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup quinoa, uncooked
2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
juice of 1 lemon (about 1 Tbsp)
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease two baking sheets. Spread sweet potatoes and onions on one baking sheet and zucchini and bell peppers on another. Drizzle 1 Tbsp of olive oil over each baking sheet. Roast zucchini and peppers for 10 minutes, sweet potatoes and onions for 25 minutes. Remove to a large bowl.
In the meantime, place quinoa, water, and 1/4 tsp salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and rest for 10 minute before fluffing with a fork.
Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Add quinoa to vegetables and drizzle dressing over top, mixing to combine.
Serve cold or at room temperature.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Lamb Tzimmes for Passover
Chef Barry Koslow is Chef at DGS Delicatessen in Washington, DC.
Ingredients
2 pounds lamb stew meat, cut into 2--‐inch cubes
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup red wine
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cinnamon stick
½ cup dried apricots
1 large sweet potato, cubed
1 Tbsp harissa
½ cup cilantro leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Season the lamb with salt and pepper liberally.
In a dutch oven or large oven-safe pot, heat the oil until it is smoking and sear the lamb over high heat. Remove lamb when evenly browned, add onion and garlic to the pan and lower heat.
Cook 5 minutes. Add red wine and reduce liquid by half. Add spices, apricots, stock, harissa, lamb, and sweet potatoes to pot. Cover the pot and place it in the oven for one and half hours at 275 degrees.
Add cilantro and serve.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Cream of Carrot Soup with Roasted Jalapenos
I’m a bit of a procrastinator. But, it’s almost time, it’s almost Passover…!
The aisles are already full of matzah. Kosher for Passover noodles are all the rage, but still, I find myself walking right by them in search of something different.
I come home home and look around, think about planning my seder menu. And think about what i can do differently this year.
And then it happens…almost instantaneously. A soup for the perfect brunch, the perfect dinner or just a perfect starter to your Seder. And even if you’re not kosher for Passover, well, it’s still the perfect soup to warm you up, make you feel good, and fill up your belly.
Hi–I’m Meredith and I write the blog, the food yenta. I’m a mom to two wonderful children who recently rediscovered my love and passion for food. I rant about great recipes, cooking shows, and my love of gardening and farmers markets. I like taking complicated recipes and simplifying them for my modern family.
Ingredients
1 pound of carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups veg stock
2 cups water
1 cup half and half or non-dairy creamer
salt and pepper to taste.
1 jalapeño pepper
Directions
Roast jalapeno pepper by placing pepper under broiler or over a gas burner to till blackened.
Chop onions, carrots and garlic. Sauté in canola oil for 10 minutes or until onion is translucent and carrot starts to soften.
Add stock and water, bring to a boil and cook for 40 minutes or until carrots are soft and easy to mash.
With an immersion blender, blend soup till you have reached your desired consistency. Add half and half or non-dairy creamer, mix and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Garnish soup with roasted jalapenos.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Locusts in Coconut Milk
Over the past week, Israeli media has been closely tracking the arrival of millions of locusts swarming the country from Egypt. 
I’ve also been closely tracking this pre-Passover plague — because I was an eyewitness to Israel’s last locust swarm.
One weekend in late 2004, I was snorkeling in the Red Sea just a short walk from the Egyptian border crossing, marveling at a small octopus, when I emerged from the water to see an enormous cloud of locusts crossing the border and charging due north.
I savored that moment of Biblical irony as the plague of locusts left Egypt and made a mass exodus to the Land of Israel. I asked a local Israeli on the beach what she thought.
“Thailandim eat those things,” she said, referring to the large number of Thai workers working agricultural jobs in Israel. “Yuck!”
Yum, say Israeli foodies, who are turning the pests into a délicatesse. Chef Moshe Basson of the Euclalyptus restaurant in Jerusalem, who specializes in foods of the Bible, prefers his locusts fried and smothered in risotto seasoned with coriander and chili. “First throw your live locusts into boiling vegetable stock. They will squeal like lobsters as the air shoots out of their shells,” goes his recipe, posted by The Guardian.
The head of a southern Israeli municipal council, Shmulik Reifman, has offered his own recipe for locust shish kebobs drenched in coconut milk, a dish he invented while touring the recent locust storm.
Rabbis are mixed on the question of the insects’ kosher status, but Reifman gives it a thumbs-up. “Jews in Morocco and Libya used to eat locust a lot, and it’s rich in protein,” he told the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, which printed this recipe. “You can prepare it in two ways: frying, or with vegetables and coconut milk. It’s a winning recipe, and you don’t mess with a winning recipe.”
Ingredients
1 kilogram locusts
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 green onions, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 can coconut mil
Directions
1. Wash the locusts and skewer them on wooden skewers.
2. Roast them on the grill for 3 minutes each side. Alternatively, fry them in a lightly-greased skillet, and only then skewer them.
3. Heat the olive oil in a small pot. Add the onions, garlic and ginger, and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
4. Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Remove from stove.
5. Arrange the shish kebobs on a plate, dribble the sauce over them and garnish with a little diced onion. Serve with white rice.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Multi-Colored Meringues
I love meringues. I love to eat them and I love to make them. They are so simple, require so few ingredients and can be colored or decorated in so many ways. With that crunchy outside and chewy inside, meringues are always a crowd-pleaser. Meringues are a great Passover treat because they require only egg whites, salt, sugar, and a little bit of food coloring. They’re quick to make but take a while to bake so it’s best to whip up a batch before folding laundry or cleaning your refrigerator, but I promise they’ll be worth the wait.
Brittany Wayne grew up in Weston, CT and enjoyed baking with her parents from a young age. In high school, Brittany completed a year-long independent study on cake decorating, culminating in a three-tiered wedding cake. The teacher who graded the study gave Brittany a D because she didn’t believe Brittany made the cakes she brought in each month. Brittany did make the cakes. You can follow Brittany and her cake creations on Twitter, and Instagram.
Ingredients
4 egg whites at room temperature
¼ tsp. salt
2 ¼ cups powdered sugar
Food coloring
At least three piping bags. (Two smaller, one larger)
Directions
Preheat oven to 200°F.
Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to whisk the egg whites and salt at a medium-high speed until peaks have formed.
Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time (wait 5-10 seconds between each addition of sugar) and beat on medium-high until stiff white peaks have formed.
Split meringue batter into bowls to add color (I used two colors, you can use as many as you want).
Add a small amount of food coloring to each bowl and fold until color is distributed but some white is still visible (I don’t like to mix all the way because it could deflate the meringue and I like the marbleized look).
Fill each small bag with one color of your choice. Cut a hole in the large piping bag and put the tip of your choice in the large piping bag (you don’t need a tip, you can just cut a hole in the large piping bag), followed by the two smaller bags with different colors. Make sure both of the smaller bags are evenly at the end of the bag so the colors distribute evenly.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Pipe out meringue in a circular motion to create small meringue swirls (depending on your tip, they may have a star shape). Meringues should be 1 inch apart on the baking sheet.
Bake for 90 minutes at 200°F, then turn off your oven and let the meringues cool in the oven. This will let the outsides harden a bit to get that crunchy texture while the insides won’t overcook.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Honey Horseradish Chicken
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Growing up, Passover meant sweet and sour brisket. Slowly braised in the oven for hours until Bubbe declared it was tender enough to eat. Sounds simple enough, but that poor brisket was in and out of the oven and examined and re-examined until it was dry. So we tried chicken one year. Surely that would fare better. But the story was the same- Bubbe, my Mom and Aunts gathered around the oven trying to determine if the chicken was done. Opening and closing the door, all whilst poking and prodding the poor bird. “Is it done?” “It looks done.” “No I see pink!” They were petrified of giving the whole family salmonella. Sigh.
Passover recipes are actually some of my favorite to develop- the limit in ingredients forces me to get creative and put together recipes that I never would otherwise. I decided to make a roasted chicken as homage to that Pesach- it would work for a seder, or you could nosh on it for meals during the chametz free week. Honey and mustard is one of my favorite combos, but of course mustard is out. How about horseradish instead as a nod to the seder meal? The horseradish gives the chicken a subtle spiciness much like a Dijon would, and is balanced with the sweet honey- delicious!
Ingredients
1, 5-pound whole chicken, rinsed well and with innards removed
½ lemon
5 bulbs garlic
½ white onion
5 fresh rosemary springs
¼ cup kosher for Passover prepared horseradish
¼ cup kosher for Passover honey
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
Parsley for garnish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Rinse the chicken under cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Then put the chicken breast side up on a roasting rack in a roasting pan.
Stuff chicken with the lemon garlic, onion and rosemary sprigs.
In a small bowl, whisk together horseradish, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread all over the chicken, making sure to get under the skin as well.
Truss the chicken, or tuck the wings under the body and tie together the legs.
Roast chicken for 1 hour and 20 minutes, and then turn the oven up to 450 degrees F to brown the skin. Continue cooking about 20 more minutes until the internal temperature near the thighbone is 160 degrees F and the juices run clear (it should continue to cook once removed from the oven until the temperature is 165 degrees F).
Let chicken rest for 20 minutes covered with aluminum foil before carving. Garnish with parsley if desired.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Mojito-Scented Quinoa
Holidays are meaningful for a variety of reasons, but more often than not, because they include a gathering of family. This will come as no surprise, but in my family, that gathering always features two elements: a mouthwatering feast and a dance party. Without exception, if there is music playing in the general vicinity, there will be dancing. Regardless of the amount of space we have, someone always finds room to bust a move. And depending on how much alcohol was served at dinner, the elders have been known to cut a rug, as well.
On the rare occasion when I need a little liquid courage to hit the makeshift dance floor, one of my favorite cocktails is the classic Cuban mojito. Made famous by Ernest Hemingway, this literary favorite blends the distinctly clean, fresh scent of lime and the aromatic essence of sugar-bruised mint leaves with world-class rum only found on the motherland and the nose-tickling fizz of seltzer. Topped off with a splash of bitters, it’s clear why the mojito is favored by Cubans and Americans, alike.
Since we’ll soon be gathering as a family for Passover, and rum will certainly be off-limits due to the dietary restrictions that accompany the holiday, I thought I’d transform this citrus-y cocktail into a tasty bite suitable for any seder table. By seasoning naturally bitter quinoa, a longtime Passover favorite across the board, with the most memorable elements of a mojito, hopefully, all it will take is one bite to get the more shy family members to hit the dance floor.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
½ cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 Tbsp minced fresh mint leaves
2 limes, zested
Directions
In a medium pot, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add the salt, pepper, and quinoa, and toast for 1 minute.
Pour in the chicken broth, and bring the mixture to a boil.
Cover the pot, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated.
Fluff the quinoa, and stir in the almonds, mint leaves, and lime zest.
Serve immediately.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Mayim’s Moroccan Salad
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The reason I l
ove this simple recipe is: you can prep it beforehand, it stays great, it’s cheap, and it’s very yummy! The vinaigrette is simple but very flavorful, as I have found many Moroccan Jewish recipes to be.
The recipe serves 4-6, but I like to double it and eat the leftover salad throughout chol hamoed.
Ingredients
For the salad:
1 thinly sliced cucumber
2 cold boiled potatoes, sliced
3 bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced: i use one green, one red, one orange for color :)
2 2/3 cups pitted olives (any variety you like)
3 scallions, sliced thin
For the vinaigrette:
3-5 chopped garlic cloves
6 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 a lemon, or 1 Tbsp or so lemon juice
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves
salt to taste
Directions
Lay all of the veggies and potatoes out on a nice platter (think oval-shaped platter). Scatter the olives all around and the scallions on top.
In a small bowl whisk all the ingredients for the vinaigrette.
Pour vinaigrette over the veggies, olives, and scallions.
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Salmon with Maror and Honey
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Maror is an important part of the pre-meal seder, but there’s no reason you can’t make it a part of your Pesach feast. Some people like a little dot of maror to go with their gefilte fish, but I’m a gefilte fish hater, so I wanted to think of some other way to integrate some strong chrein into my meal. Enter: horseradish salmon. This recipe is incredibly quick and easy, and leads to an amazingly moist and sweet dish, with just a jab of chrein getting you on the finish. Do not be dissuaded by the amount of horseradish called for–it mostly cooks away leaving an amazing spicy aroma layered on a honeyed, flaky piece of fish.
Ingredients
2 lbs salmon1/4 cup horseradish
1/2 cup honey
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl combine horseradish (use the white kind unless you want magenta salmon), honey, lemon juice, and salt. It should form a somewhat thick mixture, and it will smell incredibly strongly of the horseradish, but don't worry―most of the kick of the horseradish will cook off in the oven. Place salmon in a greased casserole dish or on a baking sheet. Pour the horseradish mixture over the fish, making sure that it gets all around the fish, and spooning some back on top of the fillet. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
