Author: chanie

Couscous with Thyme & Honey Roasted Root Vegetables


I came up with this dish when thinking of how to incorporate some simanim as well as fall vegetables like beets, carrots and parsnips into the Rosh Hashana meal. These root vegetables complement each other really well, and the addition of honey and thyme really rounds out the dish. If you’d like, you can leave out the couscous altogether, but I like the texture and how it turns purple from the beets. In fact, my kids call this “purple couscous” and they eat it by the bowlful.

This salad incorporates 3 simanim, beets, carrots, and honey. Serve it with fish or meat.

>Beets are called Silka, which is similar to Siluk, meaning removal. We ask Hashem that our adversaries be removed.

>Carrots have a dual meaning. In Yiddish, they are called Meren, meaning to increase. We ask Hashem to increase our merits.

>In Hebrew, carrots are Gezer,  meaning decree. We ask Hashem to judge us positively.

>Honey (as well as carrots) is eaten because of its sweetness. We ask Hashem to bless us with a sweet new year.

Couscous with Tyme & Honey Roasted Carrots, Parsnips and Beets

2 cups Israeli couscous
olive oil
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 tsp salt
2 carrots, diced
2 parsnips, diced (woody core removed, if desired)
2 beets, diced
olive oil
honey
thyme (fresh sprigs or dried)
freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt

Dressing:
2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp orange juice
3 tbsp light olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 heaping tbsp orange marmalade
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a sheet pan, drizzle beets, parsnips and carrots with olive oil, honey, thyme, kosher salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30-45 minutes, until tender and browned around the edges.

For the couscous, add a drizzle of oil to a pan and toast until browned. In a separate pot, boil stock with salt added. Pour stock into pan with couscous and simmer for 8 minutes. Cool.

For the dressing, whisk or blend in a food processor until emulsified.

To prepare, add vegetables to cooled couscous (make sure it’s cool otherwise it will absorb all the dressing) and pour dressing over right before serving. Garnish with fresh thyme.

Post a Comment

Rosh Hashana Roast

A Yom Tov meal, especially a regal one like Rosh Hashanah, deserves a dish fit for a king. In this recipe, a French roast is braised in red-wine with jewels of dried fruit reduced in it’s sauce. I can’t think of anything more festive or delicious for a chag in which we coronate Hashem as our king!

Rosh Hashana Roast

1 large onion
olive oil, for sauteeing
2 lb. French, Chuck, or Minute steak roast
1 1/2 cups port (or any sweet red) wine
salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 cups assorted dried fruit (apricots, dates, figs, prunes)
1/4 c honey
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup water

Method: Saute onions in olive oil until golden, set aside. Season the roast with salt and pepper and sear on all sides (see tip). Pour wine into pot and scrape up any bits and pieces from the seared meat. Return onions to the pot and spread around the meat. Bring wine to a boil over high heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes until the alcohol evaporates. Cover the pot and cook for 1 1/2 hours over low heat. Turn over meat, add dried fruit and season with honey, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add 1/2 cup water and simmer for 30 more minutes. Remove meat from the pot, and cover with foil to keep warm. If needed, continue to simmer the dried fruit until the sauce has reduced and thickened, about 30 minutes. Slice roast against the grain and spoon sauce over meat before serving.

TIP: Searing the roast seals in the juices resulting in meat with a nice brown color and moist flavor. For a good sear, make sure the pan is nice and hot. Once the meat is browned, turn over and repeat. Hold the meat on it’s sides using tongs, so that every edge is covered.

NOTE: For a larger roast, increase cooking time (in the beginning, before you add the dried fruits) approximatley 30 minutes-1 hour per lb.

FREEZING: This roast freezes beautifully. Slice it first so that it’s easier to thaw and freeze it separately from the dried fruit.

UPDATE: 9/1/2014: While I used to simmer my roasts over a low flame, I have learned over time that gentle cooking in the oven is best. You may use an oven-safe pot and place in the oven at 350 degrees for the 1 1/2 hour cooking time. Turn over the meat, add the dried fruit and seasoning and return to the oven for 30 minutes (or more, if roast is larger than 2 lbs.). Remove the roast from the pan and simmer the sauce until thickened.

 

Post a Comment

How to Deseed a Pomegranate


Rosh Hashana is full of traditions, many of them surrounding food. Pomegranates are one of the traditional simanim that are eaten so that our merits should increase like the seeds of a pomegranate. I once heard that some people eat raisins and celery so that they should have a raise in salary! Some of the other simanim, like a sheep’s head, I find a bit harder to chew, but bring on the pomegranates!

Growing up, I remember trying to pick the seeds off the membranes, biting into the juicy seeds, and spitting out the pits. But over the past few years, I began enjoying pomegranates all year round, so I learned to deseed them properly. I also learned to enjoy the crunchy pit and no longer spit them out :)

Deseeding a pomegranate is fairly easy.

1. Cut the pomegranate in half (around it’s center, not from top to bottom) and remove the crowned tip from the top half of the pomegranate.
2. Over a bowl, gently press the skin to loosen the seeds from the membranes.
3. Hold half of the pomegranate open-face-down in the palm of your hand, and with a heavy spoon or mallet, tap the pomegranate. You will see the seeds start to fall out.
4. Continue tapping the pomegranate all around, on all sides, until all the seeds have released.
5. Repeat with remaining half of pomegranate.

Once you’ve deseeded the pomegranate, you’ve got to eat them! Continue down the page for some recipes and ideas!

– Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over ice cream or yogurt
– Add to grains like quinoa, couscous, or sprinkle over oatmeal
– Add to guacamole for extra color and crunch
– Add to smoothies for their antioxidant power and tart taste
– Add seeds to fruit or vegetable salads
– Add to chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies
– Add to salsa and serve over fish
– Add to cranberry sauce
– Make pomegranate jam

World’s Best Honey Cake

Trust me. This.is.the.best.honey.cake.you.will.ever.eat.

I could just let the picture do all the talking, or, I can tell you why.

Did you ever taste the classic Hershey’s chocolate cake recipe? You know the one that is super moist and decadent? Almost fudgy? You know how no matter how many chocolate cakes you make, they can never measure up to that recipe? Well let me tell you a little secret. If you look at the recipe, you’ll see that it calls for a cup of boiling water to be stirred in at the very end. That water makes the cake almost pudding-like. It becomes super moist and incredibly delicious.

Why am I talking about Hershey’s chocolate cake in my honey cake post? Well…When my sister sent me this recipe last year, I thought I already had the best honey cake recipe. But when I saw the addition of boiling water at the end, it had me intrigued. It turns out that this is now my best honey cake recipe. And it will be yours too.

A few years ago, I made Martha Stewart’s honey cake with caramelized pears. The pears made for a beautiful presentation. But let me be honest. This honey cake is way better! I decided to take a cue from the queen of domesticity and top it off with caramelized apples, in lieu of pears, for that “apple dipped in honey” finish. Drizzle some more honey over the top and you’ll be in honey heaven! Talk about a sweet new year!

Honey Cake with Caramelized Apples
adapted from a recipe by Mrs. Dina Lili Sziewicz of Melbourne, Australia

4 eggs
2 c sugar
1 c canola oil
2 c honey
2 c self rising flour (see tip)
2 c all purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
2 c boiling water
Caramelized Apples (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs and sugar until creamy. Add oil and honey and beat until incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix flours, cocoa, cinnamon and baking soda. Add wet ingredients and mix well. Pour boiling water into the batter and mix by hand. The batter will be thin. Grease and flour your pans of choice (see note)  and bake for 30 minutes for small pans or 50 minutes for large pans, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

BAKING OPTIONS: This batter can be made the following ways:
In a bundt pan (you will have some leftover batter to make an extra loaf or a few muffins).
In three 9″ round pans (makes for nice presentation when topped with caramelized apples).
In four 9″x 5″ (2lb.) loaf pans or eight mini loaf pans.
In 10 pint-sized wide-mouth mason jars (fill half way with batter).
In muffins or cupcake tins.

TIPS: If you don’t have self rising flour, add 2 tsp salt + 3 tsp baking powder to a measuring cup, and add flour until you measure 2 cups.
For bundt cakes, place caramelized apples on the bottom of the pan for a sunken apple and honey cake.
Place cake pans on a baking sheet in case of spillage.

PLAN AHEAD: This recipe freezes really well without the apples. Wrap well with 2 layers of saran wrap.

Post a Comment

Blueberry Apple Crisp

I’m not much of a reader. I don’t have the patience to read page by page and wait for the good stuff to happen. I’d rather just watch the movie. I’m more of a magazine kind of gal, and I read them from back to front. I like short articles, little tidbits of information, and pictures – I let them do the talking! So instead of curling up to a good book on Shabbos, I have my trusty Binah magazine, the Jewish Press, and if I’m lucky, a few good food or gossip mags to boot. But I have to be honest. When it comes to The Jewish Press, I only read 2 columns – The Agunah Chronicles and Dear Dr. Yael. My husband always makes fun of me, but can I tell you a little secret? He only reads the classifieds and he’s not looking for a job!

One thing I did get out of The Jewish Press though, is the inspiration for this recipe. They used to have a health column written by a nutritionist named Shani Goldner. I actually became a client of hers, but that’s a story for another day. She has a litened up apple crisp recipe which I’ve adapted to use different types of fruits. I love to make it because it doesn’t have any margarine and it only uses one bowl. Here is my apple-blueberry version, but I have also tried this with apples and cranberries, apples and peaches, and just plain old apples. Whichever way you make it, this crisp is sure to please. You can serve it up as a side dish, or for dessert topped with vanilla ice cream.

Apple Blueberry Crisp

5 apples
1/2 container blueberries (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup sugar (increase to 1/2 cup if using tart cranberries)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp whole wheat flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
4 tbsp canola oil

Method:

Peel and dice apples. Rinse blueberries. Add apples, blueberries, sugar, cinnamon and flour into a bowl and mix. Add to a greased pie dish. In the same bowl, mix oats, flour, brown sugar, walnuts and oil and sprinkle on top of fruit. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes – 1 hour, until topping is golden brown and fruit begins to bubble.

VARIATION: instead of the oat topping,  use this vanilla crumb topping and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Post a Comment