Category: Appetizer

Spring Eggplant Carpaccio

As the days grow longer and the world outside comes back to life, spring brings a welcome shift in the kitchen. Gone are the heavy stews of winter—in their place, we crave something lighter, fresher, and full of color. Enter: Eggplant Carpaccio.

This dish is a celebration of simplicity and the joy of fresh produce. Roasted eggplant flesh becomes the silky foundation for a cascade of crisp radishes and juicy spring tomatoes. It’s clean, bright, and surprisingly satisfying.

Traditionally, carpaccio is a dish of raw meat or fish sliced thin. But in this vegetarian-friendly version, eggplant is roasted or grilled until tender, bringing a subtle smokiness that pairs beautifully with the crunch of raw radishes, the sweetness of tomatoes and the spiciness of schug.

What makes this dish really special is the chance it gives you to play. Think of the plate as your canvas. There are no rules—just colors, textures, and flavors. Each plate becomes a personal expression of what spring looks and feels like to you.

Spring Eggplant Carpaccio

Flesh of 2 roasted eggplants (see method here)
juice of 1/2 lemon
kosher salt, to taste
1/4 cup schug (add a garlic scape for spring!)
1 tomato on the vine, grated
2 breakfast radishes, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
2 tbsp tahini paste
1/4 cup cumbled feta
2 tbsp good quality olive oil
1 tsp sumac
fresh parsley, for garnish
smoked salt, for finishing

Method:

Mash up the eggplant flesh and season with lemon juice and salt, spread out on a round platter. Top the eggplant with dollops of grated tomato and schug, then sprinkle on some feta crumbles and top with sliced jalapeno and radishes. Drizzle with olive oil, tahini, and finish with parsley and some smoked salt.

 

Related Recipes:

tomato carpaccio
simanim carpaccio
Melon Carpaccio

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Beet & Chickpea Salad


I had some leftover pickles and chickpeas from yesterday’s post, plus some beets in the fridge, so I made one of my Shabbos staples – this beet and chickpea salad that’s super easy to put together, budget friendly and oh. so. good. Perfect for your mezze spread, or just because!

 

Beet & Chickpea Salad
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
8 mini Israeli pickles, sliced in half lengthwise and chopped
2 large pre-cooked beets, diced small
1 small red onion, diced small
small bunch of parsley, chopped
1/3 cup prepared tahini
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Chop and mix! It’s as easy as that!

Related Recipes:

roasted beet salsa

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Fully Loaded Stuffed Eggplants

I’m celebrating Yom Haatzmaut and my favorite place in the world today with one of my tried and true favorite recipes – fully loaded stufffed eggplants. I love them so much I put them in my first cookbook, Millennial Kosher, and it’s the dish I make the most often when I’m looking to fill up on something light and healthy!

Fully Loaded Stuffed Eggplant

1 eggplant
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt, to taste
fresh squeezed lemon juice, to taste
Israeli salad (recipe follows)
red cabbage salad
roasted chickpeas
sumac onions
8 mini Israeli pickles, sliced
1/4 cup store-bought or homemade hummus
1/4 cup prepared tahini
1 tbsp harissa
fresh parsley or cilantro, for finishing
optional additions: falafel, shawarma

For the eggplants:

For optimum flavor, you can fire-roast the eggplants over an open flame on your stovetop. Because this is messy and time consuming, I prefer to broil them. To do this, cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and place flesh-side down on a greased baking sheet. Brush the skin with olive oil and and sprinkle with salt and broil on high on the top rack for 20-25 minutes, until skin is charred and the flesh is soft.

Lighty break up the eggplant flesh and season with lemon and salt, mix gently.

To plate, place 1/2 eggplant on a dish, spread hummus over the eggplant. Top with red cabbage slaw, Israeli salad, onions, pickles, and roasted chickpeas. Garnish with parsley and drizzle generously with tahini.

For Israeli salad:

2 plum tomatoes
1 Persian cucumbers
fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Finely dice tomatoes and cucumbers. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh parsley or chop finely and add to salad.

Related Recipes:

roasted eggplant shakshuka
eggplant chips with whipped feta

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Rainbow Carrot Salad

I was so excited to get into the kitchen with my friend Rachel Simons, from Seed & Mill to cook up a recipe from her new cookbook, SESAME! To know me, is to love TAHINI – I am legit sesame-obsessed, and Rachel really helped me look at sesame in a whole new way.

We started by toasting up the sesame seeds in a dry pan and as the kitchen filled up with the smell of toasted sesame, we transferred them to a mortar and pestle where Rachel gently pressed on the seeds to crush them into the most incredible magic dust that was nutty and crunchy with an irresistible mouthfeel. Definitely my new favorite technique!

We used the same powder to create a delicious, light, umami dressing for the prettiest pile of rainbow carrot ribbons that Rachel brought from Union Square market. She shaved some scallions and chopped some carrot greens to sprinkle over the salad, and we drizzled on some Seed & Mill tahini for a fabulous finish.

So so good!

Rainbow Carrot Goma-ae Salad
Serves 6 to 8
reprinted with permission from Sesame by Rachel Simons, Ten Speed Press

⅓ cup well-toasted sesame seeds
1½ tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dashi powder (we used 1 scant teaspoon of Trader Joes umami seasoning)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon mirin
1 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
½ teaspoon honey or maple syrup
¾ pound rainbow carrots, shaved with a vegetable peeler
3 or 4 scallions, sliced on the diagonal (optional)

Method:

1. In a mortar with a pestle or in a food processor, grind the sesame seeds until some of the oil has been released and the seeds are slightly crushed, but the mixture has not yet become a paste. Instead, it should look like crunchy wet sand.

2 In a medium bowl, whisk the ground sesame seeds, sesame oil, soy sauce, dashi powder, rice vinegar, water, mirin, granulated garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and the honey until well combined. Taste and add more salt, if desired. Set aside.
3 In a serving bowl, toss the dressing with the carrots until evenly coated. Top the carrots with the sliced scallions (if using) and serve immediately.

Related Recipes:

Simanim carpaccio

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Chili Lime Tuna Crudo with Mango Juice


A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to a bluefin tuna carving event with Fleishigs magazine and Akimori restaurant at the kosher.com test kitchen, sponsored by Tuscanini. They brought in a 158lb. bluefin tuna that had been caught that very day in Mexico, and they carved it right in front of us! It was fascinating.

The tuna was broken down into akame (lean), chutoro (medium-fatty) and otoro (fattiest) and prepared in different styles – shashimi, nigiri, torched and lightly seasoned. They also set up a poke bar for us to make our own bowls! It was such a fun way to learn about the different styles of fish and their preparation and we had a blast! The best part was getting to take home a goodie bag of otoro, the most prized part of the fish, and I knew I had to make something extra special. With Passover in mind, I decided to create a bright and fresh mango juice to cut the richness of the fish, and it was epic!! I hope you give it a try!

 

Chili Lime Tuna Crudo with Mango Juice

1 ripe mango
2″ chunk of ginger
juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp water
kosher salt, to taste
1 lb. sushi grade tuna
1 Thai chili, thinly sliced
2 radishes, thinly sliced
handful of microgreens
zest of 1/2 lime
2 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
flaky salt

Method:

Using a blender or food processor, blend the mango, ginger, lime juice and water until pureed. Strain the juice through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Season with salt, to taste.

Using a very sharp knife, thinly slice the fish in a single stroke.

Transfer the fish to a large platter, dispersing it in an even pattern. Using a small pitcher, pour the mango juice around the fish, taking care to fill the empty spaces and not pour it over the fish.

Garnish with radishes, chilies, microgreens and lime zest. Drizzle with olive oil and finish with flaky salt.

Serve cold.


Related Recipes:

sushi burrito

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