Category: Side Dish

Tu B’Shvat Tahdig

I’ve been wanting to nail tahdig for the longest time. That crispy-crusted rice studded with dried fruit and nuts…. it’s everything I want in a dish – crispy, fragrant, comforting…. the perfect show stopper! When I thought about what to make for Tu B’shvat to incorporate the Sheva Minim (the seven species from the Land of Israel), it came down to THIS! How else to celebrate the fruit of the tree than with a beautiful mound of fruit-studded golden rice, amiright??

So we got 5 out of 7 minim: olives (oil+olives!), figs, dates (silan), grapes (raisins), and pomegranate! And if you want to incorporate all 7, you can make this recipe with a mix of wheat berries and barley and serve as a pilaf instead of a tahdig!

Happy Tu B’shvat

Tu B’shvat Tahdig

1/3 cup olive
1 large onion, thinly sliced into half moons
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sliced dried figs
1/2 cups sliced olives (I used Castelveltrano)
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 cups rinsed basmati rice
Zest and juice of 1 orange
2 tsp kosher salt
3 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp silan
For garnish: chopped parsley, pomegranate seeds, toasted sliced almonds

Method:

In a nonstick skillet (this is important!!), heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until golden. Add the turmeric, cardamom and cinnamon and stir until fragrant. Add the figs, olives and raisins and stir to incorporate. Add in rice, orange zest and juice, salt, water and silan and mix until combined. Cook the rice, uncovered, until the rice is level with the water. reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover the pot. Cook for 45 minutes.

Cool for a few minutes and then flip onto a serving platter. Garnish with parsley, pomegranate and almonds.

Related Recipes:

pecan pie date bark
turkey wrapped beef stuffed dates
feta stuffed dates with crispy kataifi
honey roasted zaatar chicken
dried fruit brie bites
Tu Bshvat truffles

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Chestnut Confit

Just call me the confit queen! It all started with the hawaij garlic confit in my first cookbook, Millennial Kosher, a recipe that stained many a Shabbat table – but was absolutely worth it. From there, the jalapeno date confit that my friend Chana Blumes shared with me (and I shared in “confit three ways” in my cookbook Totally Kosher) became a viral sensation. The apple confit from this past Rosh Hashanah stole the show, and now, NOW! I give you: CHESTNUT CONFIT. And why is that so revolutionary? Because chestnuts are usually dry and chalky and cooking them low and slow in oil turns them into the most moist, melt-in-your-mouth bite of heaven, plus you’re house will smell otherworldly! Just make it, trust me!

 

Chestnut Confit

9oz peeled, roasted chestnuts
1/4 cup peeled garlic cloves
1/4 cup mixed chopped herbs (I used thyme, rosemary and sage)
1 tbsp maple syrup
salt and pepper, to taste
extra virgin olive oil, enough to just barely cover the chestnuts

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add all the ingredients to a non-reactive dish and stir to combine. Cook, uncovered for 45 minutes, or until the garlic starts to brown.

Eat the chestnuts as they are, mash the garlic onto sourdough or turkey, and dip your bread or turkey into the delicious herb oil, or drizzle it over your mashed potatoes!

 

apple confit
jalapeno date confit
bone marrow confit

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Bone Marrow Cabbage Boil

I’ve been seeing cabbage boils pop up on my feed for a while now and they always looks SO SO good. Except… they’re stuffed with butter, and lets just say butter isn’t really my thing. So I did what any good Jewish girl would do… I stuffed it with bone marrow instead! Yes, bone marrow! The cabbage gets melt-in-your-mouth soft and it’s a super fun way to serve! Give it a try!

 

Bone Marrow Cabbage Boil

1 small head cabbage
1/3 cup olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
1 heaping tbsp shawarma spice
2 tsp paprika
kosher salt, to taste
2 small pieces bone marrow

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove a few outer leaves of the cabbage and rinse. Core the cabbage so you have a deep cavity to fill. Add the minced garlic and olive oil and generously season with shawarma spice and paprika. Season with salt and more olive oil and rub all over the cabbage. Stuff the cavity with bone marrow and place the head of cabbage into 2 pieces of foiled. Add a few tbsp of water and cover tightly.

Bake for 2 hours. Seve hot with the juice for dipping.

 

Related Recipes:

hot honey roasted cabbage
sweet and sour braised cabbage
roasted cabbage pizza

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Chili Crisp Broccoli Salad with Miso Tahini Dressing

I love me some broccoli salad but the one we all grew up with – you know the “broccoli craisin salad” as they called it, was smothered in sugar and mayo, and just not as healthy as I’d like. In my cookbook Totally Kosher, I revisited the old favorite recipe in with raisins and a curry tahini dressing, and this time we’re leaning Asian, with crunchy chili crisp, and miso + soy spiked tahini for a lipsmacking umami dressing that you’re going to want to put on everthing!

Never heard of chili crisp before? There’s a incredible homemade version in my cookbook but Roland and Mr. Bing both makes great kosher options.

As for miso paste, if you’re not adding it to your soups, chocolate chips cookies, mashed potatoes or salad dressings, you don’t know what you’re missing! It’s a fermented soybean paste, with “white” miso being the youngest and sweetest variety (the color darkens and the flavor deepens as it ages). This is my favorite kosher brand, while the Marukome is available at HMart and other gourmet markets.

Chili Crisp Broccoli Salad

15oz. raw broccoli, cut into small chunks
1 small red onion, diced small
6 medjool dates, pitted and diced small
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
2 tbsp chili crisp (see above for kosher options)

Miso Tahini Dressing

1/4 cup tahini paste
1 tbsp white miso paste
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp pure maple syrup
juice of 1 lemon
2-3 tbsp water

Method:

Add the salad ingredients to a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients. Mix the dressing into the salad and toss to combine.

Related Recipes:

crack broccolini
sweet chili broccoli salmon
broccoli slaw
chili crisp cucumber salad

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Chestnut Puree

When it comes to the holidays, I’ll be the first to say, nix the mashed potatoes and serve something DIFFERENT with your brisket! There are so many delicious root vegetables you can puree – to name just a few: parnips, sweet potato, turnip, celery root, butternut squash and carrot! Cruciferous veg like cauliflower and cabbage also make a great puree! And SO MUCH YES to chestnuts – they’ve got lots of starch that blend into the creamiest mash once mixed with some vegetable stock (or heavy cream for dairy puree!). So give this recipe a try. Pairs well with this pomegranate glazed roast and this braised version as well.

Chestnut Puree
YIELD: 2 cups puree

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
14oz roasted chestnuts (4 3.5oz bags)
2 1/4 cups vegetable stock
Pinch nutmeg
2 bay leaves
Kosher salt, to taste

In a deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add shallots and garlic and sweat over low heat until translucent. Add the chestnuts,  stock, nutmeg, bay leaves and salt and simmer until the chestnuts soften, about 15 minutes. 

Remove the bay leaves and Transfer to a food processor or Vitamix and blend until creamy. If the mixture is too thick, add more vegetable stock until desired consistency is reached. 

Related Recipes

Chestnut Hummus with Herb Chestnut Oil
Stuffed Dates with Chestnut Cream
How to Roast Chestnuts

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