Tag: sukkot recipes

Old Bay Fish Tacos

Yom Kippur is thankfully behind us, and Thank God I survived the most brutal of all fasts, fasting while nursing. Just barely. But I’m here and I’m thinking about food. Again. We’ve got an 8-day holiday ahead, and I love the idea of serving up different cuisines throughout the Chag to break up the monotony of it all, and to give us something to look forward to! I served up these amazing fish tacos for my Mexican Fiesta meal last year and I’m happy to share the recipe with you, plus 8 International menus for the 8 days of the Chag, including kid food! Enjoy and Chag Sameach!

MEXICAN
appetizer: fish tacos, tropical guacamole with plantain chips
entree: chorizo chocolate chili with pareve cornbread
for the kids: tortilla crusted chicken fingers with creamy salsa dipping sauce
dessert: mexican hot chocolate brownies

ISRAELI
appetizer: hummus with pita chips, stuffed eggplant, falafel cauliflower poppers
entree: pomegranate roast or za’atar chicken with dried fruit with rice vermicelli
for the kids: shnitzel and potato bourekas (fill with mashed potatoes)
dessert: halva krembos

ITALIAN
Dairy:
appetizer: salmon cakes with lemon caper yogurt, panzanella salad
entree: spinach pappardelle with feta or linguini lasagna and zucchini parmesan chips
for the kids: roasted tomato soup with muenster breadsticks (or grilled cheese)
dessert: torah cannoli

Meat:
appetizer: pesto salmon or corn beef arancini, spinach matzo ball minestrone soup
entree: chicken cacciatore or veal marsala bolognese or short rib ravioli
for the kids: lazy meatballs
dessert: tartufo (any colors work!)

ASIAN
appetizer: sushi salad or sushi burritos or sweet chili salmon, asian big bowl soup
entree: pepper steak with plum sauce, fried rice, teriyaki portobello mushrooms
for the kids: sweet and sour pineapple chicken
dessert: nutella banana wontons

AMERICAN
appetizer: gefilte crab cakes and BBQ potato salad
entree: burger bar or beer braised brisket with mashed potatoes and green beans or brussel sprouts
for the kids: hot dog eggrolls or corndog hamantaschen
dessert: oreo cheesecake

INDIAN
appetizer: tandoori fish, mulligatawny soup with naan
entree: peanut chicken curry with coconut rice
for the kids: potato pea samosas
dessert: chai chocolate pots de creme

FRENCH
appetizer: salad nicoise, french onion soup
entree: boeuf Bourguignon or coq au vin, herb-roasted potatoes
for the kids: salami quiche
dessert: fig tarte tatin or apple tart

MOROCCAN
appetizer: Morrocan gefilte fish, carrot salad, matbucha, marinated olives, charmoula eggplant
entree: harrisa chicken or lamb chops and 6 spice morrocan stew with couscous
for the kids: lamb kebobs
dessert: apricot baklava or makroud

I’m not native to all these countries so feel free to share some of your favorites in the comments below!

Shout out to some of my family favorite Sukkot recipes not included above:

Bubby’s cabbage soup with flanken
mushroom barley stoup
cream of chicken soup in bread bowls
smoky split pea soup with thyme dumplings
pumpkin pot pie
meat and rice stuffed vegetables 
zucchini mechshie with tamarind and prunes
meat and rice stuffed baby eggplants
Levana’s chocolate espresso mousse (freezes great!)

Beer Battered Fish (fried)
2 fillets firm white fish such as cod, nile perch, mahi mahi or halibut, cut into chunks
1 cup flour
1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
salt & pepper, to taste
1 cup beer
peanut or canola oil, for frying

In a bowl, whisk the dry ingredients until the spices are incorporated. Slowly pour in the beer, whisking as you go until a lump-free batter forms. Heat a few inches of oil in a skillet. Dip the fish chunks into the batter and fry in hot oil until golden on both sides. Drain on paper towels and place on a rack until ready to serve.

Blackened Fish (baked), as pictured
2 fillets flounder or tilapia
1-2 tbsp blackened seasoning (I like Chef Paul Prudhomme’s or Old Bay blackened seasoning)
1-2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the fish and pat dry. Rub the blackened seasoning over the fish until well coated and place in a greased baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice and bake for approximately 15 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

NOTE: If you don’t like it spicy, just use Chef Paul Prudhomme’s seafish magic or traditional Old Bay seasoning.

Cabbage Slaw
red cabbage, shredded
light olive oil
fresh squeezed lemon juice
kosher salt, to taste

Drizzle the cabbage with olive oil and season, to taste, with lemon and salt.

Herbed Lime Crema
1 cup sour cream
handful of fresh parsley or cilantro
1 clove garlic
1 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice
kosher salt, to taste

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.

Quick Pickled Onions (optional)
1 small red onion, sliced into thin half rings
1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt

Bring the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add onions and set aside to cool.

To assemble fish tacos, warm soft corn tortillas in a dry skillet. Fill with the fish of your choice and top with cabbage slaw, avocado, pickled onions and crema. Serve with lime wedges.

Related Recipes:

red snapper fish tacos with broccoli slaw
coconut crusted fish tacos with savory plantain tortillas

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Sous-Vide Stuffed Eggplant
with Pistachio Dukkah & Tamarind Tahini

So I’m sitting on board a Jetblue flight en route to Florida, noshing on my Terra Blues, drinking a diet coke, and working on my blog post via (free!) Fly-Fi. We were lucky enough to score an empty seat, so my very active 23-month old (who’s on the last free flight of his life) is all buckled in and on his way to a white-noise nap. You gotta love Jetblue!

I really wanted to get in this last post before Sukkot because I started a trend a couple of years back where I post a STUFFED recipe in honor of Sukkot and the harvest festival. Traditionally, holipches/holishkes (stuffed cabbage) is served up on Sukkot because we want to celebrate the abundance of the harvest season. Fall is when farmers harvest their wheat in Israel, and stuffing vegetables with filling symbolizes their desire for a year of overflowing harvest. Any stuffed recipe is well suited to honor this custom, including my “ratatouille” mechshie, savory eggplant mechshie, globe zucchini mechshie and of course, stuffed cabbage!

This year, I really wanted to take it up a notch, and since stuffing eggplant is one of my favorite things, I decided to give stuffed sous vide eggplant a try. I recently met a talented chef who was touting the benefits of sous-vide vegetables, and when he told me that sous-vide eggplant is literally soft as butter, I just had to give it a try! I had just got my new Sous Vide Supreme and what better way to use it than to test this technique!

Truth be told, my first try at sous-vide eggplant was an #epicfail. The eggplant was tough and not altogether cooked and after some research, I learned that since veggies tend to float in the water bath, you need to weigh them down to ensure proper cooking. My second try was successful and the results were soft-as-butter-delicious!

Now if you’re going to sous-vide eggplant, you have to have a sophisticated stuffing to match the modernist cooking technique. Roasted eggplants stuffed with Israeli salad is a regular in my house, as well as my
roasted eggplant parmesan, but as delicious as those recipes are, they are still homey comfort foods that wouldn’t do justice to my sous vide eggplant. I really wanted the eggplant to be the star, so I wanted to accessorize it, but not fully outfit it, to borrow some fashion terms :)

If we’re talking food fashion, there’s nothing more fashionable than nut and seed blends right now, so pistachio dukkah was just the thing! I recently did a #myspicerack spice roundup on my Instagram feed, and when I posted about the pistachio dukkah that my sister sends me all the way from Aussie, I got lots of recipe requests! I decided to make my own version from scratch with fresh cumin and coriander seeds from Holon, my favorite Middle Eastern market in Brooklyn. The results were incomparable to the blend my sister had been sending me. It was just so amazingly fresh, crunchy and and nutty, I don’t know why it took me so long to make my own! And you don’t even need a fancy spice grinder, a simple food processor works just fine!

Now that my pistachio dukkah was done, I needed a creamy sauce to bring it all together, but just plain old tahini wouldn’t do the trick. After visiting the amazing tahini store in Shuk Machneh Yehudah in Jersualem, I knew that you could mix so many things into tahini – both savory and sweet, so I decided to go with tamarind. Tamarind paste is both sweet and sour, so it’s a great balance to the salty dukkah spice and sweet pomegranate seeds. Top it off with some chopped parsley and you’ve got it all – color, texture, and balance, just the way food should be. Happy Stuffing!

Sous Vide Roasted Eggplant

1 eggplant, cut in half lengthwise
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

For serving: pistachio dukkah (recipe follows), tamarind tahini (recipe follows), pomegranate seeds and fresh chopped parsley.

Method:

Set the water bath of your sous-vide machine to 185 degrees.

Season the eggplant with salt and pepper. Fold the top of the vacuum-bag over itself to form a cuff. Slide the eggplant halves into the bag and add olive oil. Unfold the edge of the bag and vacuum seal.

Place the eggplant into the water bath and use the rack or a heavy dish to keep the eggplant from floating. For best results, make sure that the eggplant is fully submerged in the waterbath. Cook for 90 minutes.

OPTIONAL: For added smoky flavor, pat the eggplant dry and place flesh-side-down on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and broil until the skin is charred.

To serve, place the eggplant on a serving dish and sprinkle generously with pistachio dukkah. Drizzle with tamarind tahini and garnish with pomegranate seeds and parsley.

ROASTING (NON-SOUS-VIDE) OPTION: Place the eggplant flesh-side down a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season, to taste, with salt and pepper, Broil on high for 20 minutes, until skin is charred and the flesh is soft.

QUICK & EASY OPTION: roast the eggplants, sprinkle with pistachios and za’atar, drizzle with store-bought tahini and garnish with pomegranate and parsley.

Pistachio Dukkah
Dukkah is an Egyptian spice blend made up of nuts, sesame seeds, cumin and coriander. You can add your own mix of spices to customize and make it your own.

1/2 cup raw pistachios
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup coriander seeds
1/8 cup cumin seeds
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp kosher salt

Method:

In a dry pan, toast the seeds and set aside. Toast the pistachios and add to the seed mixture. Pulse the spice blend in a food processor until desired consistency is reached (I like it with a bit of texture). Add the thyme, oregano and salt. Store in an airtight container.

TIP: For long term storage, I recommend storing in the freezer as this keeps the nuts from going rancid.

Tamarind Tahini

1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup water
1-2 tbsp tamarind paste, or, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.



This post was sponsored by Sous Vide Supreme. All opinions are my own. 

Other Eggplant Recipes:

Roasted eggplants stuffed with Israeli salad
roasted eggplant parmesan
roasted eggplant parmesan with feta
za’atar eggplant chips with harissa whipped feta
miso-glazed eggplant

Other Stuffed Recipes:

“ratatouille” mechshie
savory eggplant mechshie
globe zucchini mechshie
stuffed cabbage!

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Savory Pomegranate Roast
with Garlic & Cipollini Onions

I’m not really one of those people that goes into the butcher knowing what type of roast I want to make for the holidays. I just look for what’s on sale, or which roast is going to give me the most bang for my buck and I take it home. Once you understand the basics to purchasing and preparing kosher meat, you don’t have to feel stuck on a certain cut and you can feel free to choose.

It was a few days before Rosh Hashanah when I unwrapped my square roast, wondering how I would prepare it. I had so many sweet side dishes that I wanted to go for something savory – but I also wanted to play on the Jewish New Year concept. I decided to work with pomegranate molasses – a tangy condiment that’s made by reducing pomegranate juice, and pair it with savory ingredients like garlic, onions and rosemary.

When you’re preparing a new recipe and testing it on a roast, it’s always a guessing game on just how tender it’s going to turn out. I usually like to use wine or tomatoes to help tenderize my meats, but I was shocked to see how soft and buttery this roast came out without it. It was so tender, you could eat it with a spoon! And the gravy – oh my! It was thick and delicious, with a hint of tang, filled with creamy pieces of garlic and cipollini onions that practically melted into the sauce. I’d definitely call this a winner, and that’s why I’m posting it! Chag Sameach!

Savory Pomegranate Roast with Garlic & Cipollini Onions

3-4 lb. Square Roast (a cut from the Chuck – you may substitute with French, Brick or Chuck Roast)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
8 large cipollini onions, peeled (use more if they are small)
10 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 sprigs rosemary
1 1/4 cups beef or chicken stock
1/2 cup pomegranate molasses (I use Sadaf Pomegranate Concentrate)

Method:

Season the meat generously with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or oven-safe pot and sear the roast on all sides. Remove from the pot. Add additional oil, if needed, and saute the cipollini onions, until browned and caramelized in spots. Return the roast to the pot and deglaze with stock. Add garlic, rosemary and pomegranate molasses and season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover the pot, and bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours. Turn the roast over and bake for an additional hour.

NOTE: You’ll have plenty of gravy, so feel free to serve this alongside mashed potatoes.

FREEZING: This roast freezes beautifully. To freeze, wait until the roast is completely cool and cut into slices. Double wrap the sliced roast in foil, label and freeze. Pour the gravy into a large container, label and freeze. The night before you’re ready to serve, place the roast and gravy in the refrigerator. Before serving, place the sliced roast in a pot or pan and pour gravy over it. Cook on the stovetop, or in the oven, until heated through.

Other Roast Recipes:

tzimmes roast
Rosh Hashanah roast
beer braised brisket with onion gravy
crockpot pulled BBQ brisket

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Zucchini Mechshie with Tamarind & Prunes

I’ve talked a lot about mechshie (a Syrian dish of stuffed vegetables) on my blog, especially around the holidays. I decided to keep up the tradition, and for the third year in a row, I’m sharing a stuffed vegetable recipe in honor of Sukkot. The tradition of eating stuffed foods on Succot is symbolic of an abundant harvest season. Since the wheat is harvested in Israel during the fall, we stuff foods to symbolize our desire for an overflowing harvest. This is popularly done with stuffed cabbage, or holipches, which some say are also made to resemble the scrolls of a Torah.


Ever since I married into a Sephardic family, I can’t get enough of my mother-in-laws delicious mechshie dishes! I’m slowly learning to cook different variations, adapting my favorite recipe with the additions of tamarind, pomegranate molasses and different types of vegetables and dried fruit.

When I spotted beautiful globe zucchini in the market, I just knew I had to turn it into some kind of mechshie. The small, round zucchini were perfect for filling, and I decided to work in some tamarind paste, an ingredient essential to Sephardic cooking. It adds a hint of sourness to the sweet dish, a perfect pairing with the plump dried prunes.

So let’s get stuffin’!

Stuffed Zucchini Mechshie with Tamarind & Prunes

8 globe zucchini or 2-3 large zucchini cut in thirds

Filling:

1 lb ground beef
1/3 cup basmati rice
3/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp water

Sauce:

1 15oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 can water
1/4 cup tamarind paste (available in Middle Eastern markets)
1/4 cup brown sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
1 10oz. container dried prunes

Method:

To prepare the filling, combine the meat, rice, allspice, salt and water in a bowl and mix well to combine (I like to do this by hand, using gloves). Try to handle the meat gently, don’t squeeze it too much as this tends to toughen it up.

Cut the tops off the zucchinis and scoop out some of the pulp with a spoon, leaving a thick border. Place all the pulp in the bottom of a greased wide saucepan.

If using regular zucchini, use a paring knife (or a long vegetable corer, known as a ma’vdeh), to core them.

Stuff the zucchini with the meat filling, taking care not to fill them too tightly as the rice will expand during cooking. Place the stuffed zucchini’s in the pot, and place prunes all around.

In a bowl, combine the sauce ingredients. Pour the sauce over the zucchini. Cover the pot and bring the liquid up to a boil over high heat. Lower the flame and simmer for 1-2 hours.

NOTE: If you have leftover meat filling, roll it into small meatballs and place in the pot alongside the zucchini.

More Mechshie Recipes:

stuffed baby eggplant mechshie
zucchini and tomato mechshie “ratatouille”

More “Stuffed” Recipes:

corned beef arancini
Passover stuffed cabbage (replace potatoes with rice)
collard stuffed sweet potatoes
sausage and apple stuffed butternut squash
spinach stuffed mushrooms
stuffed chicken roulade
Israeli stuffed eggplants

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Meat & Rice Stuffed Baby Eggplants

As we approach the last days of the holiday of Sukkot, I wanted to share a nontraditional “stuffed” recipe, for those looking for a change from traditional holipches/holishkes (stuffed cabbage). If you’ve always wondered why Hungarian style stuffed cabbage is served up on Sukkot, it’s because we want to celebrate the abundance of the harvest season. Fall is when farmers harvest their wheat in Israel, and stuffing vegetables with filling symbolizes their desire for a year of overflowing harvest. Although it is customary for many to eat stuffed cabbage, any stuffed recipe is well suited to honor this custom. You can stuff grape leaves, zucchini, peppers, or even fruit for dessert!

As I mentioned in this post, I was first introduced to the idea of mechshie when I married into a sephardic family. My mother in law taught me to prepare various dishes of meat & rice filled vegetables – each with it’s own unique flavor. Having grown up with these traditional Syrian dishes, my husband loves when I surprise him by making them. Although my twist on tomato & zucchini mechshie (which I’ve dubbed “mechshie ratatouille”) is my all time favorite, this lighter stuffed eggplant version is a close second.

If you want to go the traditional route, but you’re overwhelmed by the idea of making stuffed cabbage, try my Bubby’s cabbage soup with flanken. It tastes just like stuffed cabbage, without all the work! You can even leave out the flanken and make mini meat & rice balls instead.

Meat & Rice Stuffed Baby Eggplants

6-8 baby eggplants

Filling:
1 1/2 lb ground meat
2/3 c rice (I prefer basmati)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp allspice
kosher salt, to taste

Sauce:
3 cups water
juice of 1 lemon
1 head garlic, peeled
2 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt, to taste

Method:

To prepare the filling, combine the meat, rice, allspice, salt and water in a bowl and mix well to combine (I like to do this by hand, using gloves). Try to handle the meat gently, don’t squeeze it too much as this tends to toughen it up.

Slice the eggplants at both ends and core them using a paring knife (or a long vegetable corer, known as a ma’vdeh). Place all the pulp from the insides of the eggplants into a strainer and sprinkle generously with salt. Allow the pulp to rest for 20-30 minutes (this draws out the bitter liquid). Rinse the pulp with water to remove salt and add to the bottom of a wide saucepan.

Stuff the eggplants with the meat filling, taking care not to fill them too tightly as the rice will expand during cooking. Place them in the pot, sprinkling the garlic cloves all around. Drizzle the eggplants with olive oil, lemon juice and sprinkle with salt. Pour water into the pan, cover the pot and bring the liquid up to a boil over high heat. Lower the flame and simmer for 1-2 hours. For the last 30 minutes, uncover the pot and cook until the liquid reduces to a thick sauce.

NOTE: If you have leftover meat filling, roll it into small meatballs and place in the pot alongside the eggplant.

Related Recipes:

zucchini and tomato mechshie “ratatouille”
globe zucchini mechshie with tamarind and prunes

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