Category: Appetizer

Holiday Salad with Apple & Honey Vinaigrette


When I first developed this salad recipe, I did not have Rosh Hashanah in mind. In fact, it was just about getting creative with the ingredients in my refrigerator (which is pretty much how all my salads happen). When all the components came together, it just screamed holiday, and I knew I had to share it for the upcoming Chag.

Although figs are not one of the traditional fruits eaten on Rosh Hashanah (like pomegranates, apples and beets), it’s a good idea to take advantage of the season’s bounty. Fig season is short and sweet, and besides, they are one of the Seven Species of the Land of Israel. The figs add a chewy texture, sweet flavor, and beautiful color to the salad making it the perfect holiday appetizer.

Fresh figs are not the only bright piece to this beautiful salad puzzle. Chioggia beets also add amazing color and design. On the outside, the humble root vegetable is unassuming (ie. ugly). But when you cut into it – you get the most beautiful candy cane spiral that is almost too magical to eat. The thing about chioggia beets is that when you cook them, that beauty all but disappears into a dull pinky beige mass. To appreciate the bright pink spirals, candy cane beets should be eaten raw – shaved thinly on a mandolin.

Holiday Salad:

1 pkg mixed greens
1-2 chioggia (candy cane) beets, thinly sliced on a mandolin
1 green apple, cored and sliced
1 red apple, cored and sliced
1 container fresh figs, quartered
honey roasted nuts such as walnuts, pecans or almonds
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)

Method:

On a serving platter, arrange the beets around the edge and fill the center with mixed greens. Top greens with apples and figs and sprinkle nuts and pomegranate seeds all around.

VARIATION: For a simanim salad (a salad that incorporates many of the symbolic foods traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashanah), use the following ingredients along with the apple and honey vinaigrette: mixed greens, 1 honeycrisp apple, 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, 1 julienned carrot, 2 chopped medjool dates and shaved chioggia beet. (Watch me make it in the video posted below!)

To further the Holiday theme, I whipped up an “apple and honey” dressing, using apple cider vinegar and sweet honey. If you have a custom not to eat vinegar on Rosh Hashanah (due to it’s sour taste), you may substitute with lemon juice.

Apple & Honey Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 c honey
1/4 c apple cider vinegar (or 3 tbsp lemon juice + 1 tbsp apple juice)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp finely minced shallot
s&p, to taste

Method:

In a bowl, whisk together the dressing until emulsified. Drizzle dressing over salad before serving.

Watch me make a Rosh Hashanah Simanim salad with TorahCafe here:


Watch on TorahCafé.com!

Other Rosh Hashanah Salad Ideas:

rainbow slaw with poppy seed dressing
pomegranate coleslaw
apple celery veggie dip
roasted beet & orange salad
couscous with thyme & honey roasted carrots, parsnips and beets

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Duchesse Sweet Potato Apples

I was less than a week into culinary school (at the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts), when we dedicated an entire day to potatoes. An entire day. Let’s just say that if I was stranded on a dessert island, potatoes is all I would need.

One of the things we learned to make is duchesse potatoes. In culinary arts, duchesse refers to a classic French recipe for puréed potatoes that includes butter, egg yolks, nutmeg, salt and pepper. We piped the filling into scooped-out potato halves, formed some of it into crispy fried potato croquettes and experimented with the extra filling to make fried pear shapes. When I saw my culinary instructor stick a bay leaf and clove into the crispy breaded mound of potatoes, a light switch went off in my head and I knew I’d be making THESE for Rosh Hashanah.

And by these I mean the adorable duchesse sweet potato “apples” that you see here. Duchesse sweet potatoes are not as popular as their russet cousins, but they are just as delicious. One of the tricks I learned is to add instant mashed potato flakes to the filling to help it firm up and hold it’s shape. To stay true to the classic duchess recipe, I added a pinch of nutmeg, and subbed coconut oil for the butter, complementing the sweet potato flavor (and keeping it pareve). The addition of honey and sliced apple makes these the perfect dish to serve at your Rosh Hashanah meal.

Now since The Kosher Connection (a group of kosher food bloggers that I belong to) is so generous, they decided to do a link-up of APPLE recipes in honor of Rosh Hashanah. Below, you’ll find links to countless sweet apple recipes that are perfect to start off the New Year.

You can also check out these other BIB recipes that are perfect for Rosh Hashanah:

Cinnamon Infused Honey
Apple & Honey Tart
Pomegranate Coleslaw
Hassleback Sweet Potatoes with Apples
Honey Challah with Sweet Toppings
Rosh Hashanah Roast
Honey Cake with Caramelized Apples

Sending you all best wishes for a happy and healthy sweet New Year!

Duchesse Sweet Potatoes with Apples

3 small apples, cored and sliced into 1/2″ thick rounds
3 tbsp coconut oil, divided
1 tsp cinnamon
4 medium sweet potatoes
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt, to taste
1/4 c instant mashed potato flakes
1 egg mixed with 1 tbsp water, for eggwash

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake sweet potatoes until soft and syrupy, about 1 hour. Set aside to cool.

Remove the flesh of the sweet potatoes and add to a bowl. Mix in egg yolks, 2 tbsp of coconut oil, honey, nutmeg, salt and instant mashed potato flakes. Add the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.

Place the apple rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet (you should have 9 rounds of equal size) and brush both sides lightly with remaining tbsp of coconut oil. Sprinkle the apples lightly with cinnamon.

Pipe the sweet potato filling onto the apples to form a round shape and brush lightly with eggwash. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until sweet potatoes are set and just starting to brown around the edges.

Place a clove and bay leaf in the center of each sweet potato mound to resemble an apple.

YIELDS: 9 duchesse sweet potato & apple mounds.

 

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Melon Carpaccio

The term carpaccio is usually used to refer to thinly sliced cuts of meat or fish that are served as an appetizer. In recent years, however, chef’s have reinvented the idea of carpaccio, preparing  dishes of thinly sliced veggies or fruit, like zucchini and melon, carpaccio-style. The trick to making a carpaccio is to keep the ingredients thin and uniform by shaving them down with a mandolin or vegetable peeler. Ever since slicing my palm on a mandolin last year, I have a hard time using it without cringing, so peelers are a welcome substitute in this case!

When working with melon, you don’t want your fruit to be too ripe, otherwise the thin shavings won’t hold up after plating. They’ll let out too much juice and turn to mush. Use just-ripened fruit that’s cold (warm melon will be harder to peel) and shave it over a bowl to catch the juices. If using a mandolin or peeler doesn’t work for you, you can also slice it thinly with a knife.

What I love most about this melon appetizer, is the combination of sweet melon with spicy jalapeno and tart lime.  It celebrates the best of summer produce –  melon, tomatoes & basil – at their prime. This unconventional melon salad is not only a party on your palate, it looks beautiful on your plate too.

Melon Carpaccio

1/2 green melon (canary or honeydew)
1/2 orange melon (cantaloupe or orange flesh honeydew)
1 handful yellow grape tomatoes
1 handful red grape tomatoes
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced
1/3 cup tomato juice
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp lime zest
5 basil leaves, chiffonade
pinch of salt
additional basil, for garnish

Method:

Over a bowl (to catch the drippings), thinly slice melon using a mandoline, peeler or knife (see above for tips). Add the remaining ingredients and mix gently to combine. Serve in glasses and garnish with fresh basil.

 

1 year ago: cherries in red wine syrup
2 years ago: fried fish sandwich

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Summer Rolls with Spicy Dipping Sauce

I couldn’t imagine  going through summer without posting the ultimate light and healthy dish – summer rolls. To be honest, I have no idea why they are called “summer” rolls. I think it’s because they are lighter than their wonton cousins, but I could be wrong.

Unlike classic eggrolls, which are usually fried and heavy, summer rolls are made with rice paper rounds and don’t require any cooking. If you’ve never worked with rice paper before. don’t be intimidated, it’s really super easy.

The great thing about summer rolls is that they can be filled with anything – fruit, veggies, or your protein of choice. Fish and tofu work wonderfully in these rice paper roll-ups, but grilled chicken and veggies are my faves. I once watched Giada de Laurentiis make a fruity version on the Food Network. She filled the rounds with pad Thai noodles, strawberries, mango and almonds and prepared a honey-mint dipping sauce to go on the side. She served them after a yoga lesson as the perfect post-workout treat.

For me, making a dish like this doesn’t really require a recipe. I look into my fridge and put together whatever scraps I can find. In this case, I had leftover marinated chicken breasts, so I threw them on my grill pan for a quick sear. I found some nappa cabbage, shredded carrots, scallions and edamame, and put them all together for a fabulous combo. Feel free to do the same (grab whatever you can find in your fridge) or follow my recipe below.

Oh, and the dipping sauce? Let me just say this — it’s awesome.

Rice Paper Rolls

6 rice paper wrappers
2 pieces grilled chicken, sliced
1/4 head nappa cabbage, thinly sliced
1 carrot, shredded
1 cup edamame
2 scallions, ends trimmed, thinly sliced lengthwise

Method:

Prepare all your fillings on a tray, so they are ready to go once your rice paper has softened. Fill a shallow bowl with warm water and slide the rice paper wrappers inside for 10-15 seconds, until soft and pliable. Remove gently from the water and place on a cutting board. Place filling in the center of the wrapper, and roll the bottom portion of the rice paper around the filling. Fold the sides over, and continue rolling to form rolls. Cut summer rolls in half and serve with dipping sauce

Dipping Sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp honey
Zest of 1/2 lime
Juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sriracha
salt, to taste

Method:

Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. Serve with summer rolls.

1 year ago: roasted beet salsa
2 years ago: gefilte fish patties in tomato sauce

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The Modern Menu Review & Giveaway

While this cookbook may have been published back in March, it’s never too late to bring a fabulous collection of kosher, innovative recipes to your attention.

At first look, The Modern Menu is exactly what it appears to be – modern. The food is laid out perfectly sleek and contemporary, without any over the top garnishes or plating. It simply speaks for itself, and I love that.

Unlike traditional cookbooks, Kim Kushner brings her own style and pizzazz, arranging the cookbook by how the dishes make you feel – from vibrant and indulgent to gutsy and clever. “To my mind,” says Kim, “Less is more, simple is always best, and food should look as good as it tastes and taste as good as it looks.” A healthy philosophy and outlook that should be the motto of every cook in the kitchen.

Browsing through the cookbook, I can’t help but be inspired by Kim’s clean and simple dishes that are so fresh and appealing. I find myself wanting to bookmark every single page. While Kim emphasizes healthy from-scratch ingredients, her Middle Eastern inspired recipes are possible for the novice chef with a well-stocked pantry.  Her dishes remain light, but the flavors seem anything but. Kushner does not shy away from herbs and spices, adding surprising notes to every dish.

I look forward to trying many of The Modern Menu Cookbook recipes including the kohlrabi cabbage salad with maple lemon dressing, crunchy curry cauliflower with tahini and pomegranate, crispy miso marinated chicken, jalapeno and tomato chutney, chicken with pumpkin, figs and honey, tequila london broil with mango chutney, black sesame crusted char, sticky beef ribs, fig and pecan biscotti, plum crumb cake with star anise and individual halvah, gelato and sorbet towers.

If I could critique anything about this wonderful cookbook, it would be to say that some of the recipes require ingredients that may be hard to find. In addition, while I love Kim’s concept for arranging the book’s chapters, it’s slightly difficult to follow the sections when they are categorized this way.

Busy In Brooklyn is giving away a free copy of The Modern Menu.

To enter the giveaway:

1. Leave a comment with your favorite light & healthy summer food/recipe.
2. Like Busy In Brooklyn on Facebook.

Winner will be chosen at random on August 2nd, 2013.

Spinach, Haricots Vert & Avocado Salad with Honey Dressing
Reprinted with permission from The Modern Menu by Kim Kushner
Gefen Publishing

Crunchy, salty, sweet, and sharp—this salad has it all! The dressing contributes texture with sunflower and sesame seeds as well as sweetness and tang with honey and cider vinegar. All in all, a unique and delicious concoction.

8 cups baby spinach
Handful haricots verts, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into small cubes
1 white peach, skin on, pitted and cut into very thin slices
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup honey
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup salted shelled sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Place the spinach, haricots verts, avocado, and peach in a large bowl or on a large platter.

Combine the sugar, honey, vegetable oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake to thoroughly combine. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat all over.

Serves 6 to 8

Baby Lamb Chops with Pesto Croute
Reprinted with permission from The Modern Menu by Kim Kushner
Gefen Publishing

This recipe calls for frenched lamb chops, which are chops with the meat cut away from the end of the rib so that part of the bone is exposed. Frenching the chop makes it cleaner and let’s call it fancier, almost like a lamb lollipop, if you will! Your butcher can do this with the quick swipe of a knife; asking him or her to do this makes fast work of this simple-to-prepare dish. Croute simply means “crust” in French. Fancy.

1 handful fresh basil, washed and dried well
½ handful cilantro, washed and dried well
3 garlic cloves, peeled
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
¼ cup unseasoned dried bread crumbs, plus more for sprinkling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 baby lamb chops, frenched

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a food processor, combine the basil, cilantro, and garlic. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the olive oil and pine nuts and process until the mixture forms a paste, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, stir in the bread crumbs, and season with salt and pepper.

Season both sides of the lamb chops with salt and pepper. Prepare a grill or set a grill pan over high heat. Sear the lamb chops on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a baking sheet.

Place a spoonful of pesto in the center of each chop, then spread it evenly over the surface. Sprinkle with additional bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil. Bake until the crust is golden and crisp and the lamb is pink inside, about 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Serves 6

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