Cannellini Bean and Lamb Soup

From Jerusalem: A Cookbook

Ingredients
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
¼ of a small head of celery root, peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice
20 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound stewing meat from lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes
7 cups water
½ cup dried Cannellini or pinto beans, soaked overnight in plenty of cold water, then drained
7 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 teaspoon caster sugar
9 ounces Yukon Gold or other yellow-fleshed potato, peeled and cut into ¾ inch salt and black pepper
bread to serve
lemon juice for serving
chopped coriander

Directions

 

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion and celery root over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until the onion starts to brown. Add the garlic cloves and cumin and cook for a further 2 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside.

Place the meat and water in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes, skimming the surface frequently until you get a clear broth. Add the onion and celery root mix the drained beans, cardamom, turmeric, tomato paste, and sugar. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer gently for 1 hour, or until the meat is tender.

Add the potatoes to the soup and season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Bring back to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for a further 20 minutes, or until the potatoes and beans are tender. The soup should be thick. Let it bubble away a bit longer, if needed, to reduce, or add some water. Taste and add more seasoning to your liking. Serve the soup with bread and some lemon juice and fresh chopped cilantro, or zhoug.

Mejadra (Lentils, Onions and Rice)

From Jerusalem: A Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups dried green or brown lentils
• 4 medium onions (1 1/2 lb before peeling)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• about 1 cup sunflower oil
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place the lentils in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the lentils have softened but still have a little bite. Drain and set aside.

Peel the onions and slice thinly. Place on a large flat plate, sprinkle with the flour and 1 teaspoon salt, and mix well with your hands. Heat the sunflower oil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan placed over high heat. Make sure the oil is hot by throwing in a small piece of onion; it should sizzle vigorously. Reduce the heat to medium-high and carefully (it may spit!) add one-third of the sliced onion. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until the onion takes on a nice golden brown color and turns crispy (adjust the temperature so the onion doesn’t fry too quickly and burn). Use the spoon to transfer the onion to a colander lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little more salt. Do the same with the other two batches of onion; add a little extra oil if needed.

Wipe the saucepan in which you fried the onion clean and put in the cumin and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat and toast the seeds for a minute or two. Add the rice, olive oil, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat the rice with the oil and then add the cooked lentils and the water. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat, lift off the lid, and quickly cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with the lid and set aside for 10 minutes.

Finally, add half the fried onion to the rice and lentils and stir gently with a fork. Pile the mixture in a shallow serving bowl and top with the rest of the onion.

Basmati & Wild Rice with Chickpeas, Currants & Herbs

From Jerusalem: A Cookbook

Ingredients
1/3 cup wild rice
2 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup basmati rice
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 15 oz can cooked and drained chickpeas
3/4 cup sunflower or canola oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp all-purpose flour
2/3 cup currants
2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp chopped dill
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Start by putting the wild rice in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and leave to simmer for about 40 minutes, until the rice is cooked but still quite firm.  Drain and set aside.

To cook the basmati rice, pour 1 tablespoon of the olive oil into a medium saucepan with a tightly fitting lid and place over high heat.  Add the rice and 1/4 teaspoon salt and stir as you warm up the rice.  Carefully add the boiling water, decrease the heat to very low, cover the pan with the lid, and leave to cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat, cover with a clean tea towel and then the lid, and leave off the heat for 10 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, prepare the chickpeas.  Heat the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a small saucepan over high heat.  Add the cumin seeds and curry powder, wait for a couple seconds, and then add the chickpeas and 1/4 teaspoon salt; make sure you do this quickly or the spices may burn in the oil.  Stir over the heat for a minute or two, just to heat the chickpeas, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Wipe the saucepan clean, pour in the sunflower/canola oil, and place over high heat.  Make sure the oil is hot by throwing in a small piece of onion; it should sizzle vigorously.  Use your hands to mix the onion with the flour to coat it slightly.  Take some of the onion and carefully (it may spit!) place it in the oil.  Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown, then transfer to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with salt.  Repeat in batches until all the onion is fried.

Finally, add both types of rice to the chickpeas and then add the currants, herbs, and fried onion.  Stir, taste, and add salt and pepper as you like.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

German Apple Pancake (Apfelpfannkuchen)

Inspired by the Original Pancake House; adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/the-original-pancake-house-apple-pancake-291063 and http://whatscookingamerica.net/Eggs/ApplePancake.htm

Ingredients

    5 tablespoons butter
    2 apples (peeled, cored, and sliced thin)
    1 tablespoon cinnamon
    1⁄3 cup brown sugar
    1⁄3 cup granulated sugar
    1 cup flour
    1 cup milk
    1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    4 eggs


Directions

Preheat oven to 425° F. Place oven rack in the middle of your oven.

In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, flour, milk, and vanilla extract; beat until batter is smooth (the batter will be thin, but very smooth and creamy); set aside.

In a large heavy ovenproof frying pan, over medium heat, melt butter, tilting pan to cover sides. Add apples and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture. Stir and let cook for 5 to 7 minutes to slightly cook the apple slices; remove from heat.

Pour prepared pancake batter over the apples into the baking pan. Place pan in preheated oven and bake approximately 20 minutes or until puffed above sides of the pan and lightly browned (it may puff irregularly in the center); remove from oven.

Remove pancake from the baking pan by flipping upside down onto a serving platter (apples and cinnamon will be on top). Once out of the oven, the pancake will begin to deflate.

To serve, cut into serving-size wedges and transfer to individual serving plates. Serve with an optional dusting of powdered sugar over the top

Makes 1 large pancake of 2 to 4 servings (depending on your appetite).

Pumpkin Chickpea Curry

Adapted from http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Pumpkin-Chickpea-Curry

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup canola oil
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 Tbsp ginger, or to taste
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, cored and finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1½ tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. garam masala
½ tsp. ground turmeric
2 (15 oz.) cans chickpeas, drained
1 (29 oz.) can pumpkin puree
6+ cups vegetable stock
1 large russet potato, diced
1 small head cauliflower, broken into medium-size florets
chopped cashews, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in an 8 quart saucepan over medium high heat.

Add garlic, carrot, celery, ginger and onion and cook until soft and golden, 15 minutes.

Add tomato, bay leaves, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, garam masala, and turmeric and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes.

Add chickpeas, pumpkin and stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium, add potato and cauliflower, cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 1 hour. Remove bay leaves. Serve garnished with chopped cashews.

Turkey Zucchini Sliders (aka Jerusalem Burgers)

Adapted from The Jerusalem Cookbook

Ingredients

Burgers
1 lb ground turkey
1 large zucchini, coarsely grated (scant 2 cups)
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 large egg
2 tbsp chopped mint
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper
6 tbsp sunflower oil, for searing

Sour cream and Sumac Sauce
scant ½ cup sour cream
scant ⅔ cup Greek yogurt
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1½ tsp olive oil
1 tbsp sumac
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground pepper

Instructions
Combine the ingredient for the sour cream sauce in a small bowl. Stir well. Refrigerate.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs except the sunflower oil.
Mix with your hands and then shape into 18 burgers (sliders).
Pour sunflower oil in a large frying pan. Heat over medium heat until hot, then sear the meatballs in batches on all sides. Cook each batch for about 4 minutes per side, until golden brown.
Transfer the seared meatballs to a baking sheet lined with waxed paper, tin foil, or a silicone pad. Place in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through.
Serve warm or at room temperature, with sauce spooned over on on the side.

Note: Yummy served in pita with sliced tomatoes and spring mix lettuce, though obviously not at Passover!

Cole Slaw (KFC Style)

Adapted from TopSecretRecipes.com

Ingredients:

1/2 c milk
3 T lemon juice
2 T white vinegar
1/2 c mayo
1/3 c granulated sugar

1/2 t salt

1/8 t pepper

8 cups (1 head) cabbage, shredded (food processor makes this really easy)
1/4 c carrot, shredded

Directions:

Mix first three ingredients in a large bowl; let stand 5+ minutes. 

Add next 4 ingredients and mix well. 

Add shredded cabbage and carrot, mix, and refrigerate at least two hours.

Makes 6-8 cups