Category: Dinner

Upside Down Beet & Goat Cheese Tart

This tart flips the script (literally!) on traditional tarts. By baking it upside down, the beets caramelize against the pan, creating a glossy, jewel-toned top once flipped. Paired with creamy goat cheese, fresh arugula, crunchy pomegranate seeds and rasberry balsamic reduction? You’ve got yourself a dish that’s as visually stunning as it is delicious. Low on effort. Big on impact. Just how I like it!

Upside Down Beet & Goat Cheese Tart

3 medium pre-cooked beets, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Tuscanini raspberry balsamic glaze, plus more for finishing
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
5 oz goat cheese, crumbled
arugula, for topping
pomegranate seeds, for topping

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Drizzle the olive oil and balsamic glaze in the center of the parchment paper. Top with 5 rows of overlapping beets, a bit smaller than than the size of the puff pastry sheet. Top with half of the goat cheese and cover with the sheet of puff pastry (lighty roll out to smooth the folds if folded). Brush with eggwash and transfer to the oven. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and flip the tart onto a serving tray. Remove the parchment and set aside to cool.

Once cooled, topped with the remaining half of the goat cheese, arugula, pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of the balsamic glaze.

NOTE: If you can’t find Tuscanini’s raspberry balsamic, you can use the classic one.
If you don’t like goat cheese, you can use feta instead.

Related Recipes:

beet “ravioli” with whipped feta
beet kale and goat cheese shakshuka

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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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Thai Chicken Curry

So here’s my Pesach philosophy, bear with me.

I’m not a fan of all the processed junk that they make to mimic the flavors of year-round-ingredients that people can’t use on Passover – like imitation mustard and caramel-colored brown sauce that they call “soy sauce”. No. Just no.

Passover, to me, is a time to go back to basics and use what’s natural and wholesome. What a way to eat! And that doesn’t have to mean boring and bland chicken and potatoes or 8 days!

It all boils down to the produce – relying on lots of fresh herbs, aromatics and spices to help build a dish from the ground up.

For this recipe, I tried to keep it simple – so while the curry paste is non-traditional it’s doable and not too spicy. And the processed ingredients like almond butter, coconut milk and coconut aminos, are all wholesome and natural. Just the way our Passover should be!

Thai Chicken Curry

For the Thai-ish Chili Paste:

1 large shallot
3″ chunk ginger
4 cloves garlic
2 stalks lemongrass
2 Thai chilies
handful of cilantro stems
2 tsp chili powder
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp tomato paste
kosher salt, to taste

Blend all the ingredients in the food processor until pasty (add a splash of water, if needed, to get it going). Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

For the curry:

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 heaping tbsp minced ginger
1.5-2 lbs. dark meat chicken, diced into bite-size pieces
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup creamy almond butter
1 can full fat coconut milk
1/3 cup Thai-ish curry paste
2 tbsp coconut aminos
1-2 tbsp honey
juice of 1/2 lime

For serving
zucchini noodles
cilantro
chopped scallions
sliced almonds
lime wedges
thinly sliced Thai chilies

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a wok or deep skillet. Add the garlic and ginger and saute until softened, 1 minute. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and saute until cooked through and no longer pink.

Add the almond butter, coconut milk, curry paste, coconut aminos and honey and stir to incorporate. Cook over medium heat until the sauce is slightly thickened and creamy. Season, to taste, with salt. Add the lime and stir to incorporate.

Serve over zucchini noodles (lighty saute for 2-3 minutes until tender-crisp) and garnish with cilantro, scallions, Thai chilies, almonds and serve with a lime wedge.

NOTE: You can also use cashew butter instead of almond butter.

Related Recipes:

peanut chicken curry
panko crusted salmon with almond butter sauce
cucumber salad with almond butter dressing
Almond Butter Tahini

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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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Hamantachos! Eggroll Nachos

Oh em geeeeeeee you guysssss!! I have not been this excited about a recipe in some time (I say that every time, don’t I?!), but seriously now – these nachos are a DREAM! The idea came to me by way of apricot hamantaschen – the triangle shape (perfect for eggroll wrappers or wontons) and the apricot filling – only savory – which I do best.

Who doesn’t love some warm sauteed cabbage, pop-in-your-mouth edamame, and crunchy wonton chips. And the duck sauce? It’s always the favorite part! So I made my own, with an apricot jam base, flavored to perfection with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sriracha. oh. so. good.

This recipe is just perfect for the Purim meal. Finger food for noshing  – just what I like to serve! And you can even set up a BYOB station so people can build their own bowl!

 

Hamantachos

6 eggroll skins, sliced into triangles
canola oil, for frying
1.5 lbs. ground dark meat turkey or chicken
1 scant tbsp minced ginger
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp + 1 tsp neutral oil (grapeseed, avocado), divided
2 1/2 tsp sesame oil, divided
soy sauce, to taste
kosher salt, to taste
1/4 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
1/4 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, julienned
1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
3 scallions, chopped
1 tbsp black and white sesame seeds

Apricot Jam Duck Sauce
1 cup good quality apricot jam
2 clove garlic, grated on microplane
1″ chunk ginger, grated on microplane
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1-2 tsp sriracha

Method:

Heat a generous amount of canola oil in a frying pan. Add a few eggroll wrappers at a time and fry until golden, flipping after 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Heat a large saute pan or wok, add 1 tbsp neutral oil and 1 tsp sesame oil. Add the ground turkey, season with salt and cook until crumbly and no longer pink. Season to taste with soy sauce (about 2-3 tsp). Remove from the pan.

Add another tbsp neutral oil and tsp of sesame oil. Stir in the green and red cabbage and carrots. Stir fry until softened, seasoning with salt and soy sauce, to taste. Remove from the pan.

Add a tsp of netural oil and a 1/2 tsp sesame oil to the pan and stir in the edamame. Stir fry until lightly toasted, seasoning with salt. Remove from the pan.

In a small saucepan, add the duck sauce ingredients, bring to a simmer, whisking to break up the jam. Cool slightly.

Layer the nachos: Spread the eggroll wrappers out on a platter, top with warm sauteed cabbage, ground turkey crumbles, edamame, scallions and sesame seeds. Drizzle the duck sauce generously over the nachos and serve immediately.

Related Recipes:

hot dog eggrolls
Asian chicken salad with crispy wontons
plantain nachos

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