Jewish Cooking

 

Happiness depends upon ourselves.
Aristotle
(384 BC - 322 BC)

 
Jewish Cooking.


Eggplant appetizer. Parve. 

1 onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 tsp. oil
1 eggplant, baked whole till soft in a hot oven, then peeled and chopped
3 Tbs. ketchup or tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
Sauté onion, garlic and green pepper in oil until soft. 
Add eggplant and remaining ingredients. Combine well. 
Cover and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature. 
Shakshooka (pepper and tomatoes with eggs). Hot entrée. Parve. 

Use proportions of tomatoes to sweet peppers to onions as 3 to 2 to 1
oil
garlic, optional
salt and pepper, to taste

Chop all of the vegetables. Cover the bottom of a deep pot with oil 
(probably about a cm deep). Heat the oil, add all of the vegetables, 
salt and ground black pepper then simmer slowly, uncovered, for about an hour, 
stirring occasionally. Add tomato sauce keeping the entire mélange very thick. 
Adjust the seasoning.
You can serve it alone or over hot rice.
Or take one to two cups of the mixture, place in a small frying pan or 
saucepan with oil, make two wells in the mixture and break an egg into each. 
Cover and heat, until the eggs are soft-cooked. Serve this either with a side 
of fresh salad or in a pita (add fresh vegetables such as chopped cucumbers, 
tomatoes and onions to the pita). 

Freeze the rest in portions appropriate to your family size.
Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers. Main course. Parve.

1-2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, grated
1 celery stalk
1 cup of rice (long-grain rice recommended)
2 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup of water
6-8 red sweet peppers
salt
pepper

Sauce:
2 tablespoons tomato paste, mixed with 1 cup of water
1/2-1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
pinch of sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 celery stalks, whole with leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare the peppers by cutting off the cap and removing the seeds.
Heat the first measure of oil in a sauté pan and cook the onions over moderate heat until 
limp and translucent. Add the grated carrots and the chopped celery.  Continue sautéing for
a few minutes.
Mix in the rice and continue sautéing until the rice becomes transparent.  Remove from heat.
  Add the chopped tomato, salt, pepper, chopped dill and the first measure of water, mixing well.
In a saucepan, combine the tomato paste and the cup of water. Add the remaining oil,
 sugar, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 2-3 minutes.  
Pour the sauce into a baking dish which is sized to hold the peppers upright in one layer.
  Lay the whole celery stalks in the baking dish and add the peppers.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Uncover, and add chopped fresh dill. 
  Continue cooking an additional 30 minutes.
Israeli Salad. Parve.

1 medium sweet onion, chopped fine
1/2 English cucumber cut in small cubes
3 ripe tomatoes cut in small cubes with their juice
1/2 cup lemon juice 
1/4 cup white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley and/or dill to taste

 Add marinade and spices to onion in salad bowl. Let sit 1/2 hour.
 Add cucumbers and tomatoes with juice. Add a splash of olive oil (about 2 tablespoons)
and stir well. Adjust seasonings and serve.
Chopped Herring. Appetizer. Parve.

4 salt herring filets 
1-1/2 Tbsp finely chopped onion 
1/2 cup finely chopped tart apple 
2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped 
2 slice white bread, trimmed 
3 Tbsp cider vinegar 
2 Tbsp salad oil 
1 tsp sugar 

Chop the herring as finely as possible. Combine with the onion, apple and eggs.
Beat the vinegar with sugar and oil. Pour over the trimmed white bread, allowing 
it to soak for a few minutes.
Add soaked bread to the herring mixture and chop until it is smooth.
Correct seasoning (should be fairly tart) and chill.



Jewish Cooking resources.

Jewish Cooking. History and some popular Jewish dishes from JewsFAQ.org. Most of these dishes are Ashkenazic.
Review: Discusses the nature and significance of various traditional Jewish foods, and includes recipes for many of them.
Jewish Cooking. History and some popular Jewish dishes from JewsFAQ.org. Most of these dishes are Ashkenazic.
Review: Coming soon.
JEWISH WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
   
  Latkes
Latkes.
A pancake-like structure not to be confused with anything the House of Pancakes would put out.. In a latka, the oil is in the pancake. It is made with potatoes, onions, eggs and matzo meal. Latkas can be eaten with apple sauce but NEVER with maple syrup (sorry Canada ). There is a rumor that in the time of the Maccabees they lit a latka by mistake and it burned for eight days. What is certain is you will have heart burn for the same amount of time. It's a GOOD thing.. Matzot
Matzot.
The Israeli's revenge for escaping slavery. It consists of a simple mix of flour and water - no eggs or flavor at all. When made well, it could actually taste like cardboard or Hardieplank. Its redeeming value is that it does fill you up and stays with you for a long time. However, it is recommended that you eat a few prunes soon after. Very soon after. Kasha Varnishkes
Kasha  Varnishkes.
One of the little-known delicacies which is even more difficult to pronounce than to cook.. It has nothing to do with varnish, but is basically a mixture of buckwheat and bow-tie macaroni (noodles). Why a bow-tie? Many sages discussed this and agreed that some Jewish mother decided that 'You can't come to the table without a tie' or, G-d forbid 'An elbow on my table?' Blintzes
Blintzes.
Not to be confused with the Germanic war machine's: 'blintzkreig'. Can you imagine the Jerusalem Post '39 headlines: 'Germans drop tons of cheese and blueberry blintzes over Poland - shortage of sour cream expected.' Basically this is the Jewish answer to Crepe Suzette. Kishka
Kishka.
You know from Haggis? Well, this ain't it. In the old days they would take an intestine and stuff it. Today we use parchment paper or plastic. And what do you stuff it with? Carrots, celery, onions, flour and spices. But the skill is not to cook it alone but to add it to the cholent (see below) and let it simmer for 24 hours until there is no chance whatsoever that there is any nutritional value left. Kreplach
Kreplach.
It sounds worse than it tastes. There is a Rabbinical debate on its origins. One Rabbi claims it began when a fortune cookie fell into his chicken soup. The other claims it started in an Italian restaurant. Either way it can be soft, hard, or soggy and the amount of meat inside depends on whether it is your mother or your mother-in-law who cooked it. Cholent
Cholent.
This combination of noxious gases had been the secret weapon of Jews for centuries. The unique combination of beans, barley, potatoes, and bones or meat is meant to stick to your ribs and anything else it comes into contact with. At a fancy Mexican restaurant (kosher of course) I once heard this comment from a youngster who had just had his first taste of Mexican fried beans: 'What! Do they serve leftover cholent here too? A Jewish American Princess once came up with something original for guests (her first cooking attempt at the age of 25): she made cholent burgers for Sunday night supper. The guests never came back. Gefilte Fish
Gefilte  Fish.
A few years ago, an Israeli politician had problems with the filter in his fish pond and a few of them got rather stuck and mangled. His son (5 years old at the time) looked at them and asked 'Is that why we call it 'Ge-filtered Fish'?' Originally, it was a carp stuffed with a minced fish and vegetable mixture.. Today it usually comprises of small fish balls eaten with horse radish ('chrain') which is judged on its relative strength in bringing tears to your eyes at 100 paces. Bagels
Bagels.
How can we finish without the quintessential Jewish defense weapon, the bagel? Like most foods, there are legends surrounding the bagel although I don't know any. There have been persistent rumors that the inventors of the bagel were the Norwegians who couldn't get anyone to buy smoked lox. Think about it: Can you picture yourself eating smoked salmon or trout on white bread? Rye ? A cracker? Naaa! The IDF research lab looked for something hard and almost indigestible which could take the spread of cream cheese and which doesn't take up too much room on the desert-maneuvers -ration kit. And why the hole? The truth is that many philosophers believe the hole is the essence and the dough is only there for emphasis. It remains an eternal existential discussion topic.


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