Category: Lunch

Butternut Squash Fries

I think you’ll agree that the very best recipes are the ones that you just came up with on the spot. They’re usually not recipes at all. Just a little of this and a little of that. Am I right?

These addictive healthy baked butternut squash fries are a great example. I whipped them up in no time, and they were gone in minutes! They’re the perfect side for a healthy burger or light dinner of grilled chicken.

What are some of your favorite last minute “no-recipe” dishes? Share them with me in the comments below!

Healthy Baked Butternut Squash Fries

1 butternut squash, cut into sticks*
extra virgin olive oil
garlic powder
chili powder
smoked paprika (use regular paprika if you don’t have)
kosher salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place the butternut squash sticks into a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic, chili, smoked paprika and salt. Mix the squash until well-coated with spices and oil. Place the fries on a rack set over a baking sheet (if you don’t have a rack, place directly on baking sheet).  Bake until crispy and tender, about 30 minutes.

*To cut sticks out of your butternut squash, look for a squash with a long “neck” or top portion. Separate the top from the bulb (set the bulb aside for soup or cut into wedges and bake with the fries). Cut the top off of your squash and stand it up on your cutting board. Cut the sides off the squash to create a square shape. Slice the square into slices and cut each slice into sticks.

TIP: To get the best crunch out of baked fries, place them on a rack set over a baking sheet. This allows the heat to circulate around the fries, so that they get nice and crunchy.

DOUBLE TIP: When baking fries, make sure not to overcrowd the pan. This creates “steam” and the fries will come out soggy.

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Rainbow Cobb Salad

Each year, the week that the Torah portion of Noah* is read, my kosher newsfeeds are flooded with rainbow cakes and crafts of all kinds. It’s fun to get the kids involved in the Shabbat menu but if I had it my way, I’d rather not load them up on food coloring. I’m guilty of creating these rainbow cupcakes last year, but this year I decided to think of something a lot less sugary, and a lot more healthy. Which is how THIS happened.

If you’re not familiar with Cobb salad, it’s a culinary classic, alongside the popular Nicoise and Caesar varieties. Classic Cobb salad is not kosher, as it calls for both bacon and blue cheese. In my kosher version, I subbed pastrami for the bacon and smoked turkey for the traditional grilled chicken. Incorporating popular Shabbat food like cold cuts, will make this rainbow salad a sure hit on your lunch menu. And with all the bright beautiful colors – you may just get your kids to eat it too!

*In the story of Noah, G-d promised never to destroy the world again with a flood, and as a symbol of that promise, he made a rainbow appear.

Rainbow Cobb Salad

1 handful chives, roughly chopped
1 cup romaine lettuce, chopped
1 avocado, diced
1 cup iceberg lettuce, chopped
4 hardboiled eggs, whites and yolks chopped separately
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
1 cup smoked turkey, cut into cubes
5 slices pastrami

Dressing:

1/2 cup light olive oil
2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Prepare all the salad ingredients and set out strips of each on a serving platter. Whisk the dressing ingredients until emulsified and drizzle over salad (or serve separately).

VARIATION: Feel free to experiment with different vegetables of similar color to suit your taste.

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Honey Mustard Roasted Potatoes

This is one of those recipes where you whack yourself over the head and wonder, “why haven’t I thought of this sooner?”

Potatoes are my thing. I just can’t get enough. I’ll eat them any way, pretty much. But sweet? who would have thunk it? I mean sweet potatoes are usually reserved for “sweet potatoes”. But these little starchy red pillows need to be savory. Some thyme or rosemary and fresh garlic – now that’s a good roasted potato, right? Wrong.

Don’t mistake these for over-the-top sweet. They’ve got just enough honey to caramelize the edges without being cloying. Plus, the garlic, onion and mustard give it that savory quality that makes for the perfect balance.

CASE IN POINT: I’ve got two daughters. One loves honey to the point that she was dipping her finger in the jar during every Rosh Hashanah meal. The other one things it tastes like raisins. And she doesn’t like raisins. When I made these potatoes, my honey-loving daughter couldn’t get enough. She kept telling her sister how amazing they tasted. But my honey-hating daughter wouldn’t hear of it. She likes her potatoes prepared as simply as possible. Preferably just potato – cooked. Now somehow, some way, we got her to try one. And her eyes lit up. And then she grabbed her fork.

So there. Honey mustard roasted potatoes. For those that love sweet. And those that love savory.

Happy Holidays!

Honey Mustard Roasted Potatoes

2 lbs red potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1-2 tbsp honey
kosher salt, to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash potatoes well and pat dry. Cut in half and place on a baking sheet. Add remaining ingredients and stir until potatoes are well-coated. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes – 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

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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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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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