Category: Main Dish

Stuffed Cabbage Bolognese

A couple of months ago, the kosher culinary school that I attended sadly closed down. I remember bumping into another alumni and we shared our disappointment in the school’s closing. “Do you realize,” she said, “that our diplomas aren’t going to be worth anything anymore? Don’t you care?” I thought for a minute and realized, that no, I didn’t care, because it wasn’t really worth anything to me to begin with.

Being a Chef isn’t something you learn and file away in a drawer. It’s something you become, irregardless of schooling. A true chef never stops learning. They are constantly honing their skills, reading, watching and improving. I don’t need a piece of paper to show that I went to culinary school. The love that I put into my dishes, the effort that I put into my technique and the taste of the finished product is all a testament to my knowledge and understanding of food.

And still, I have a hard time calling myself a Chef. I have so much more to learn. I’ve never worked a restaurant kitchen. Never smoked a piece of meat. Never butchered anything. OK – never butchered anything correctly. Forgot how to break down a fish. Have yet to make a Thanksgiving turkey. Chef? I think not.

I so strongly believe this, that in the hundreds of cooking classes I’ve given around the country, I refuse to wear a Chef’s jacket and wear an apron instead. I feel like I’m a cook, just like my audience, and we’re learning together.

It’s this attitude that has allowed me to learn about interesting dishes and techniques, not necessarily from other Chef’s, but from average cooks. I’m always open to chatting about food and recipes, and hearing what’s cooking in other people’s kitchens. I’ve come home with amazing recipes from people I bump into in the supermarket, or on the train. I belong to lots of Facebook cooking groups and I love to browse through the Pages and see what’s cookin’ in other peoples kitchens.

Alas, and getting back on track here… that’s precisely how this recipe happened. I saw a recipe for an unstuffed cabbage with noodles made by Danielle Cooper Lader on the What’s for Supper Facebook page and it looked so amazing that I had to try my own version! I used my Bubby’s amazing cabbage & flanken soup recipe as my starting point and just went from there! It’s kind of a cross between lokshin and cabbage and stuffed cabbage, both popular Hungarian dishes that I grew up eating. And you know me and mashup recipes. This one is a winner!

In five years of blogging, this is my first time posting on a Saturday night, I just really wanted to get this up for you in time for the seconds days of the Chag! Soooo much easier than stuffed cabbage, and dare I say even more delicious. Chag Sameach!

Stuffed Cabbage Bolognese

2 tbsp olive oil
1 lg onion, peeled and sliced thinly into half rings
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 heaping tbsp tomato paste
2 lbs ground beef
salt and pepper, to taste
small head of cabbage, shredded
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
Juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/4 cup golden raisins, optional
1 pkg papardelle noodles, or other wide noodles

Method:

In a 5 qt pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until golden. Add the tomato paste and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Add the ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until crumbly and no longer pink, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add the cabbage, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, water, lemon juice, brown sugar and raisins and bring the mixture to a boil. (Don’t worry if it seems there is too little liquid, the cabbage will break down as it cooks). Season with salt and pepper, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. If the sauce seems too thick, and not saucy enough (this will depend on how big your cabbage is), you may add a bit more water to desired consistency. If it’s not thick enough, simmer until thickened. Taste, and adjust seasoning to your liking (adding more brown sugar if you like it sweeter, or more lemon juice or a splash of apple cider vinegar if you like it more sour).

Cook the papardelle noodles according to package directions. If serving immediately, toss the noodles with the bolognese. If serving in advance, toss the pasta with a bit of oil right after draining so it doesn’t stick together. (Never rinse the pasta with water, and this removes the surface starch that helps it hold onto the sauce).

VARIATION: to make stuffed cabbage meatballs, prepare the sauce as follows: dice the onion and saute with the garlic, add the tomato paste and saute, then add 2 15oz. cans tomato sauce, 2 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes, 1 cup water, juice of 2 lemons, and 1 cup brown sugar. Add 1/2 head of cabbage and bring to a simmer . In a separate bowl, combine the beef with 2 extra-large eggs, 1 grated small onion, 1/3 cup breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup uncooked white rice, 1/4 cup ketchup, salt and pepper. Roll the mixture into balls and add to the sauce. Simmer for 1 hour.

Related Recipes:

Bubby’s cabbage soup with flanken
Passover stuffed cabbage
how to stuff cabbage
spaghetti squash bolognese
veal marsala bolognese

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Veal Marsala Bolognese with Turnip Noodles

It’s almost New Year’s and stigmas aside, I really want to get back into healthy eating. The December donutfest threw me off the wagon, and I’ve been having a hard time getting back on! I’m back to the “I’ll start tomorrow”,  or just after the weekend, or my favorite, “Monday is a new day”. Except Monday comes and goes and it’s already time for the ball to drop.

So here I am, heading into New Year’s Eve and I’m renewing my commitment to pull out my spiralizer and eat more veggies and less carbs. Who’s in for the ride?

We’ll start with these turnip noodles and this amazingly rich bolognese made with veal (my favorite protein), mushrooms and marsala wine, a twist on the classic chicken marsala.

I’m a big fan of marsala (it’s got wine and mushrooms, hello?!), but bolognese? Not so much. Classic bolognese is made with ground beef (not my fave) and dry red wine, and the good stuff is usually simmered for hours. Truth be told, I usually just make my split-second bolognese by browning my beef and adding store-bought marinara, which is probably why I don’t like it very much. My kids, on the other hand, love it over spaghetti with a side of zoodles. It’s by go-to whenever I need a quick and easy dinner, and eating it over zoodles makes it guilt-free too.

But I’m marinara’d out. I use it for my 2-ingredient lazy meatballs, my quick and easy shakshuka, my cheesy zoodle marinara and so much more. I wanted something different so I decided to create a bolognese that’s marinara-free. Something not so heavy, but rich and tasty, and oh so delicious. I hit the nail on the head.

Not only is this veal bolognese amazingly rich and satisfying, it’s virtually guilt-free when served with spiralized turnip noodles, a nice change from the overdone zoodles. Looks like January 2016 is going to be healthy and delicious indeed. Happy New Year!

Veal Marsala Bolognese

10oz. baby bella mushrooms, stems trimmed and sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 lb ground veal
3 tbsp flour
1/2 cup marsala wine
1 cup veal or chicken stock
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper, to taste
fresh parsley, for garnish

Method:

Saute the mushrooms in olive oil until all the liquid has evaporated and mushrooms start to brown. Add garlic and continue to saute until fragrant. Add veal  and cook until crumbly and no longer pink. Sprinkle the flour over the meat and cook until flour is incorporated. Add the wine, stock, bay leaf and seasoning and simmer, stirring, until the sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. Continue to cook over low heat for an additional 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve over turnip noodles. Garnish with parsley.

Turnip Noodles

1 turnip
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Wash the turnip well (you do not need to peel) and spiralize into noodles (I use the 3mm blade on this spiralizer).  Saute the noodles in olive oil until tender and season with salt and pepper.

Related Recipes:

spaghetti squash bolognese
melt-in-your-mouth veal meatballs
veal shepherds pie with celery root mashed potatoes
caraway roasted turnips

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Turkey Meatballs with
Red Wine Cranberry Marinara

Ah the classic childhood favorite, meatballs! We all love them, but we get so bored of them, don’t we? I’m always trying to reinvent the classic meatball, whether it’s quick and easy lazy beef meatballs, melt-in-your-mouth veal meatballs, or even baked chicken meatballs, there’s something for everyone. One thing I hadn’t tackled yet is turkey meatballs.

Now when KOL Foods sends you 100% pasture raised ground turkey, you can’t just make any meatball. You gotta be good to your meat (or in this case, poultry) and make sure it doesn’t dry out! And that my friends, can only be done with REAL bread. Yes, real, organic, GMO-free poultry deserves only the best, so mass-produced dry breadcrumbs just doesn’t cut it. Soaking the bread in almond milk creates a wet binder to keep the turkey super moist. Say goodbye to the dry, bland turkey balls of your past because KOL turkey is about to change your meatball horrors forever!

Now the perfect, moist turkey ball can’t just swim in boring old marinara either. I had to up the ante on that too, starting with a Casa Del Cielo Cabernet reduction from kosherwine.com. You can’t go wrong with cabernet now can you? The red wine reduction gives the marinara a great depth of flavor, and the addition of cranberry sauce just brings everything together for a thick and rich sauce.

It’s not every day that I spike my marinara with cabernet, but KOL is hosting a special Rosh Hashanah Cooking with Wine contest, and I created this recipe in it’s honor! They’ve got a whole roundup of recipes featuring different wines from kosherwine.com, so head on over to the contest page to check them out! You can also enter their GIVEAWAY to win $150 gift certificates to KOL Foods and KosherWine.com! Click here to enter!

Can you believe someone is already having a Rosh Hashanah giveaway? Are the high holidays really just around the corner?! {Insert Meltdown}… Bring on the kosher wine ‘cuz I’m going to need a few glasses!

Speaking of the holidays and wine, I’ve got plenty of boozy recipes on the blog, like this mulled wine cranberry sauce, cherries in red wine syrup, and my very first blog post ever (!!) chicken with port wine cherry sauce. This honey roasted za’atar chicken with red wine and dried fruit is my favorite Rosh Hashanah dish, and these Moscato poached apricots make the most of the summer fruit before they go out of season.

Whether you’re cooking with wine this holiday or not, we can all use a glass or two (or three), especially with the month-long cookfest that’s coming up soon, so lets raise a glass…L’chaim!

Turkey Meatballs with Red Wine Cranberry Marinara

Enter the Cooking with Wine Giveaway to win $150 worth of grass-fed meat/poultry from KOL Foods or $150 to spend at KosherWine.com!

for the meatballs:

1.5 lbs. KOL Foods ground turkey
3 cups bread, cut into cubes (use bread that is at least a day old)
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup pine nuts, optional
3 tbsp olive oil

for the red wine cranberry marinara:

1 medium onion, diced small
1/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries
1 cup Casa Del Cielo cabernet sauvignon
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 tsp allspice
juice of 1/2 lemon
kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

In a small bowl, soak the bread in almond milk until wet and squeeze to remove most of the milk.

In a large bowl, combine the turkey, bread, egg, garlic, parsley, pine nuts (optional), salt and pepper. Mix with your hands to incorporate.

Using wet hands, form the mixture into small meatballs. If the meatballs start to stick to your hands, just rinse your hands again with water.

Heat a large skillet with oil and brown the meatballs in batches, so that they are golden on all sides. Set the meatballs aside.

In the same pan, add the onion and saute until golden (add more oil if needed). Add the dried cherries and wine and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook until the wine is reduced by half. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, stirring to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and glazed with sauce. Serve immediately.

NOTE: if you like a lot of sauce with your meatballs, you may double the sauce recipe.

TIP: If your sauce gets too thick, add a bit of water to thin it out.

This post is sponsored by KOL Foods & kosherwine.com. All opinions are my own. 

Related Recipes:

melt-in-your-mouth veal meatballs
2-ingredient lazy meatballs
baked chicken meatballs

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Food, Family and Tradition Review & Giveaway

I have to confess that while I love to collect cookbooks, I don’t really read them. I prefer to browse through the pictures, take a mental note of the good-looking recipes, and return them to the bookshelf amid my growing collection. Rarely do I come upon a cookbook that I want to read front to back. Where the food photography doesn’t matter, and the story is what grabs me.

I read Food, Family and Tradition cover to cover. The new book by Lynn Kirsche Shapiro celebrates the resilience and courage of holocaust survivors through food and stories. As the daughter of holocaust survivors, Lynn sought to bring to light the beauty and richness of traditional Jewish life in Czechoslovakia and Hungary before the Holocaust. In the preface to the recipe portion of the cookbook, she paints a vivid picture of her parents’ family life in Eastern Europe. With period photographs, biographies, a family tree and original vignettes, Lynn draws you in to her family history and story of survival. She details their emigration from Europe to the U.S. and how they went on to weave new family traditions while founding Hungarian Kosher Foods, the first all-kosher supermarket in the midwest.

In the second part of the cookbook, Lynn shares 150 family recipes, many of which were prepared for sale in the family’s supermarket. Many of the dishes are highlighted by family stories and remembrances.

There’s nothing fresh and modern about the recipes in Food, Family and Tradition. On the contrary, the book seeks to keep century-old traditions alive through sharing family recipes that celebrate the spirit of Eastern European culture. Some of the heimishe recipes you’ll find include chopped herring, mandel bread, rakott krumpli (potato-egg casserole), blintzes, gefilte fish, brisket, schnitzel, Hungarian goulash, tzimmes, honey cake and so much more.

Growing up in an ashkenazi family with Eastern European roots, so many of the Hungarian dishes in Food, Family and Tradition hit close to home. My bubby would prepare many of the above-mentioned recipes as well as borscht, cheese kugel, chop suey, chicken paprikas, stuffed peppers, sweet and sour tongue, cabbage and noodles and others. Since my bubby is not the measuring type, it’s nice to be able to see these recipes written out in a clear and concise manner. Some of the recipes are accompanied by photos, but most of them are not. I usually find that bothersome, but in this book, it seems to make no difference. Maybe it’s because it’s the story that matters, or because I recognize so many of the dishes from my upbringing, that I don’t need to see them to know what they look like.

All in all, Food, Family and Tradition is about more than just family recipes. It’s about continuing the legacy of Jewish life before the holocaust through food and culture.

I’m giving away a free copy of the Food, Family and Tradition cookbook! To enter, simply leave a comment below about a traditional family dish that means a lot to you. For an extra entry, follow Busy In Brooklyn via any of the channels below. Just be sure to leave a note in the comment letting me know where you follow.

Facebook
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Giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only. Winner will be chosen at random at 10:00 AM EST on Monday, November 10th, 2014.

Esrog Preserves and Candy
Parve, Makes 1 cup
Reprinted with permission from Food, Family and Tradition by Lynn Kirsche Shapiro

The esrog, a beautifully aromatic citrus fruit, is grown primarily in Israel for use on the Jewish holiday of Succos, the holiday of the harvest, taking place in the fall. After Succos the question always arises: what to do with the esrog? Many people stud it all over with whole cloves to use it for Besamim, the blessing on spices during Havdalah at the end of  Shabbos. The esrog fruit, a variety of citron, is yellow, small to medium in size, ellipsoid or lemon shaped, with a long neck, and a rough and bumpy surface. Unlike a lemon, an esrog is quite seedy, not juicy, and inedible when raw. However, cooking transforms it into wonderful preserves, candy or compote.

1 esrog
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

For the candy:

Slice the esrog thinly and place in bowl covered with water. Cover and set aside for 1
day. The next day drain the water, and refill, cover and repeat soaking and draining for a total of 7 days. On the final day drain the esrog.

Seed the esrog, reserving seeds. Tie the seeds in cheesecloth.

In a 2-quart pot, add the esrog and the cheesecloth-wrapped seeds, the sugar and water. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil. Decrease heat and simmer, covered, stirring for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the esrog is cooked through. The consistency should
be very thick and syrupy so, if needed, cook uncovered for the last 15 minutes.
Remove the esrog slice by slice with tongs and transfer to a platter. Pour the cooking syrup over the esrog slices. Let cool. When the slices are hardened and somewhat dry, transfer to
an airtight container. It is similar to candied orange peel.

For the preserves:

Cut the esrog into small pieces before cooking. Follow recipe directions. Immediately after cooking transfer esrog with syrup to a jar, cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate.

Rakott Krumpli, Potato-Egg Casserole
Makes 1 8×8” casserole, 8 main dish servings
Reprinted with permission from Food, Family and Tradition by Lynn Kirsche Shapiro

This potato casserole is traditionally Hungarian, and the non-kosher version is made with both sour cream and sausage. The sauteed onions add a rich, moist flavor. Rakott Krumpli was traditionally served as a main course at the main meal of the day. Today you can serve it for breakfast, brunch or a light meal. Add a salad and you have a complete meal. Use russet potatoes, not red or waxy potatoes.

Water as needed with 2 teaspoons salt
1 ½ pounds peel-on russet potatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 cups sour cream
½ cup cream or half-and-half
6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced ¼” thick
4 tablespoons butter melted
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
salt, as needed
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika, plus as needed for garnish
Chopped fresh parsley, as needed, for garnish

Fill a 6-quart pot halfway with water and 2 teaspoons of salt. Add whole potatoes. Add water as necessary to cover completely. Bring to a boil. Decrease heat to medium and cook, with lid ajar, until the potatoes are just cooked, but not overcooked, about 20 to 30 minutes. Test with a fork for doneness. Gently remove the potatoes and rinse in cold water until cool enough to handle. Peel the potatoes, the skins slip off easily. Slice the potatoes into ¼” thick rounds.

Meanwhile in a large saute pan over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and saute until golden, stirring, about 15 minutes. Reserve.

In a medium bowl, mix together the sour cream and the half and half until smooth and creamy. Reserve.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the bottom and sides of an 8×8” or 2 quart casserole with butter. Place half the potatoes on the bottom. Layer half the onions. Next layer half the eggs and half the melted butter. Sprinkle with half the pepper, salt and paprika. Pour half of the sour cream mixture on top.

Repeat the layers, ending with the sour cream mixture. Sprinkle the top lightly with additional paprika. Bake, covered with aluminum foil sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, until casserole is golden and bubbling, about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley before serving. Cut 2×4 for 8 servings.

VARIATIONS:
Before baking and topping with last half of the paprika, you can mix ¼ cup dry breadcrumbs with 1 tablespoon melted butter, sprinkle on top, add paprika and bake. Do not garnish with parsley.

A modern variation is to top the casserole with 2-4 oz.. shredded cheddar cheese. Then sprinkle top with paprika and bake.

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Harissa Roasted Chicken

For the longest time, spicy foods didn’t interest me. I grew up eating so much of the sweet stuff, I thought chicken was best loaded with sugary sauce. My bubby always doused her dishes in sugar, the more the better, and my mother did the same. Fish, chicken, salad, pasta, potatoes – everything was prepared sweet.

When I first got married, I followed suit, prepping my dishes with the holy trinity of spices: salt, pepper, and sugar! Lots of sweet BBQ sauces, sticky duck sauce and natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup. Sometimes I paired them with mustard for a little kick, but hot peppers never made it into my kitchen, and spicy was off the map.

My husband grew up similarly, even though he has sephardic roots. My South American mother in law loaded her keftes (meatballs) with sugar, and her Syrian mechshie was almost always sweet too. Sweet beet and carrot salads were often on the menu as well, always with added sugar.

But then I became a foodie. It evolved slowly – starting with simple family recipes on my blog, my interest in food evolved into passion and curiosity for different flavors and International cuisine. Slowly but surely, I broadened my culinary horizons by exploring the many flavors and textures of different foods. My husband was not as quick to embrace my food journey, but he eventually came around and started to appreciate flavors that he didn’t grow up eating.

I’ve grown (quite literally) to love spicy foods like Pad Thai, curries and salsas, and ingredients like harissa, sriracha and chili peppers are mainstays in my kitchen. I now save the sweets for the desserts, and do my best to keep my dishes savory, or at least to add an element of spice, to keep the flavors balanced.

One of the best parts about eating spicy and savory foods like this harissa roasted chicken, is that it’s lighter on the waistline but doesn’t compromise on flavor. Zoodles (zucchini noodles) make this dish Paleo and Whole30 compliant, so if you’ve joined the popular diet trend (which I wrote an ebook on!), this makes for a delicious and filling dinner, and you can save leftovers for lunch the next day. You gotta love that!

Harissa Roasted Chicken

3-4 boneless chicken breasts (skin on preferably)
salt and pepper, taste
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 small onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup harissa (North African chili paste)
1 pint grape tomatoes
sliced preserved lemons or 1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 large zucchini, julienned with a julienne peeler or spiralized

Method:

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear in olive oil in an oven-safe pan until browned. Remove from pan. Add diced onion and garlic and saute until golden. Pour in the stock and scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pan. Add grape tomatoes and nestle the chicken between them. Brush the chicken with harissa and top with lemon slices. Sprinkle everything with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil .

Roast, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. If the chicken/lemon/tomatoes aren’t browned enough, broil for 5 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pan and add in the zucchini noodles. Mix the noodles into the sauce and stir until tender. Serve with chicken.

VARIATION: if you’re not watching your carbs, feel free to use pasta instead of zucchini noodles.

Other spicy recipes:

spicy tuna melt twice baked potatoes
quinoa pad thai
spicy roasted edamame
kani salad
cauliflower nachos with harissa cheddar sauce

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