Vegetables

This is the simplest, sunniest dish you can imagine. You layer on the ingredients – don’t bother stirring – slow roast and dip in. It is reminiscent in method of a Sabbath cholent but wonderfully flavorful and upbeat. It is best at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Ratners of New York, a beloved but now departed family restaurant that specialized in vegetarian kosher, served a vegetable cutlet with gravy. Their cookbook (which you can find on Ebay or second hand stores) included their own original version of this entrée and more recently Arthur Schwartz celebrated the recipe in his new cookbook, Jewish Home Cooking, Ten Speed Press. A vegetable cutlet is super for vegetarians and would make a nice main or side dish for Passover. I’ve made my own version of vegetable cutlets. It is a salute to Ratner’s and the wonderful creativity of kosher cooks who could take shoe leather, fry it with onions and make it taste good.

 

These mini kugels and are so tasty. You can also use the batter to make small vegetable latkes.

There are various ways of preparing this new classic (new meaning the last 40 years or so; it debuted in the 70’s). Essentially it is spaghetti or linguine tossed with fresh, springy vegetables such a peas, broccoli, asparagus in a light cream sauce that includes Parmesan, pine nuts and is all topped with basil. Chefs are tirelessly revamping it their way. This is my version – it is fresh, flavorful and not weighed down with the original mushrooms (which I love but to me are heartier versus springy fare). The only ‘difficult’ part of this dish is the vegetable preparation. And just make sure you choose a great imported Italian pasta as the foundation. A glass of wine, Italian bread, and some crème caramel for dessert or biscotti, and you are all set. Some chefs blanch the vegetables for this in a water broth that also contains a rind of Parmesan cheese for extra flavor. Another added touch with be a shaving of truffles, finely minced garlic croutons and some dots of chevre, or goat’s cheese.

Pomegranate juice seems to be vying with blueberries of late, for its health benefits. Sweet potatoes, slow braised in this juice, yielded deeply rich and flavorful potatoes. I also suggest half mango and half pomegranate juice for a variation on a great theme. ….and just in case you tire of the marshmallow and sweet potato bake (also in my recipe archives)

Top of the morning to you with these crisp diced potatoes, replete with peppers and onions. A confetti-like cheer of pototaes to go with some eggs, over easy.

Potatoes lightly browned in olive oil, with a smattering of wine, pancetta, parmesan cheese, and a taste that leaps out of the pan. This is a great crowd pleaser of a potato dish.
Serve with.....anything. Serve alone - they won't notice the absence of the main dish. These are especially good with any sort of grilled chicken, even store-bought rotisserie or Portugese chickens. If you can, use California or local (Quebec) garlic, versus Chinese garlic for a beautiful garlic bouquet.

There are a few recipes for this on the net and one in Secrets of a Jewish Baker by George Greenstein. The main elements are the same: potatoes, flour, yeast, eggs, and oil but the proportions differ substantially. I distilled this recipe down from all those I researched. To say this is outstanding, foodwise, is to say that the Mona Lisa is passing fair, as far as dabbling with oils go. This tastes like a potato latke, cuts like a quiche, and is a side dish wanting to go center stage. This is great hot, warm, or cold. Slather it with sour cream, or serve a thin wedge with a green salad and a BBQ chicken or grilled rib eye steak.

There’s just a bit of spice in these unbelievably tender, crisp, light, simply amazing pancakes. If the beautiful golden hue doesn’t seduce you, the flavour will be your undoing. One of the best recipes to come out of my test kitchen in…..days.

I worked for hours to make this recipe extra special and it is as fine as any bistro offering. Make as many ravioli as you want and then freeze them and pop them in simmering water when you want a special meal or a unique Thanksgiving offering. You can use fresh pasta sheets to make the ravioli (and cut with a paring knife into small squares or a round or square ravioli cutter) or handier still, won ton wrappers. Won ton wrappers are easier to work with unless you you’re your own fresh pasta or really supple, soft, fresh pasta from a gourmet shop. Store-bought fresh pasta (in our testing) was too tough to work with. Canned pumpkin is a noble shortcut but make sure you purchase plain pumpkin (not spiced pumpkin puree). For your own pumpkin filling, roast (not boil) the pumpkin.

This is easy if you make the filling ahead (it keeps for two days in the fridge) and assemble what you need for a meal and freeze the rest. Bakers tip: parchment paper to lay the ravioli out on, a pastry brush for the egg wash and make sure your pasta is very thin (whether it is store-bought or homemade) for a very tender ravioli.