Golabki

• 1 head Savoy cabbage
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 parsnip or small potato, shredded
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1/2 C uncooked rice (not brown)
• 2 T tomato paste
• 4 C tomato or other sauce

Cut the core out of the cabbage but leave it whole. Place it, with the empty core area facing up, in a large bowl. Boil a pot of water and pour the water over the cabbage and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Cook the onions until they are soft.  Add the carrot, celery and parsnip and saute them for a couple extra minutes, until they are also soft. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, transfer it to a bowl and let it cool a bit. Mix in the meat, rice and tomato paste and season again with salt and pepper.

Drain the head of cabbage. Pull off large leaves, cut out the large vein, and pat dry.  To roll: pull the sides to overlap before filling with about 1/4 C filling (a little more for larger leaves).  Arrange in the pot used to saute the vegetables.  Pour in enough sauce to cover the rolls. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, letting simmer covered over low heat for about 45 minutes. Serve immediately. If sauce has thinned a bit, you can heat up any additional sauce you didn’t use and pour it over as you serve the rolls.

Kale and White Bean Stew

from February 2009 issue of Bon Appetit (via epicurious)

1 1/2 pounds kale leaves, center ribs and stems removed

3 T olive oil

1 C chopped peeled carrots

1 C chopped celery

1 C chopped shallots (about 4)

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 C dry white wine

2 15-ounce cans white beans (preferably organic), drained

4 C (or more) vegetable broth (I used low sodium vegetable broth cubes and ended up adding sea salt to taste.)

3 fresh thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

1 T Sherry wine vinegar

2 T assorted chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley.)

Cook kale in large pot of boiling salted water 1 minute. Drain. Transfer to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain. Squeeze out excess water. Coarsely chop kale.

Heat olive oil in medium pot over medium heat. Add chopped carrots, celery, shallots, and garlic; cook until soft, stirring, about 15 minutes. (Do not brown vegetables.) Add white wine and simmer until liquid is slightly reduced, about 7 minutes. Add white beans, 4 cups broth, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes. Add kale and simmer 5 minutes longer. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Add more broth by 1/2 cupfuls to thin stew, if desired. Mix in Sherry wine vinegar and chopped fresh herbs. Season with salt and pepper.

 

Roasted Butternut and Rosemary Lasagne

from the December 1995 issue of Gourmet (via epicurious.com)

3 pounds butternut squash, quartered, seeded, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 9 1/2 C)

3 T vegetable oil

4 C milk

2 T dried rosemary, crumbled

1 T minced garlic

1/2 stick (1/4 C) unsalted butter

4 T all-purpose flour

(9) 7- by 3 1/2-inch sheets dry no-boil lasagne pasta

1 1/3 C freshly grated Parmesan (about 5 ounces)

1 C heavy cream

1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 450°F. and oil 2 large shallow baking pans.

In a large bowl toss squash with oil until coated well and spread in one layer in pans. Roast squash in oven 10 minutes and season with salt. Stir squash and roast 10 to 15 minutes more, or until tender and beginning to turn golden.

While squash is roasting, in a saucepan bring milk to a simmer with rosemary. Heat milk mixture over low heat 10 minutes and pour through a sieve into a large pitcher or measuring cup.

In a large heavy saucepan cook garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Stir in flour and cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in milk mixture in a stream until smooth. Return pan to heat and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, about 10 minutes, or until thick. Stir in squash and salt and pepper to taste. Sauce may be made 3 days ahead and chilled, its surface covered with plastic wrap.

Reduce temperature to 375°F. and butter a baking dish, 13 by 9 by 2 inches.

Pour 1 cup sauce into baking dish (sauce will not cover bottom completely) and cover with 3 lasagne sheets, making sure they do not touch each other. Spread half of remaining sauce over pasta and sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan. Make 1 more layer in same manner, beginning and ending with pasta.

In a bowl with an electric mixer beat cream with salt until it holds soft peaks and spread evenly over top pasta layer, making sure pasta is completely covered. Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan over cream. Cover dish tightly with foil, tenting slightly to prevent foil from touching top layer, and bake in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake lasagne 10 minutes more, or until top is bubbling and golden. Let lasagne stand 5 minutes.

Garnish each serving with rosemary.

Split Pea Soup

2 T (1/4 stick) butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 C chopped celery

1 C chopped peeled carrots

1 1/2 pounds smoked pork hocks (I used half this amount plus chicken broth; was good.)

2 t dried leaf marjoram

1 1/2 C green split peas

8 C water (or chicken broth)

Melt butter in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add pork and marjoram; stir 1 minute. Add peas, then water, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover pot; simmer soup until pork and vegetables are tender peas are falling apart, stirring often, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Transfer hocks to bowl. Puree 5 cups soup in batches in blender. Return to pot. Cut pork off bones. Dice pork; return pork to soup. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate until cold, then cover. Rewarm before serving.)

 

Dorothy’s Spanish Pork

5 lbs. pork butt (pulled pork)
garlic
oregano
1-2 sour oranges (If not available, use lemons.)
2 lemons
salt
pepper

1. Place pork in roasting pan.
2. Puncture pork and insert chopped garlic.
3. Squeeze citrus over pork.
4. Sprinkle pork with salt, pepper, and oregano.
5. Marinate for 2 to 3 days before cooking.
6. Cook, covered loosely with foil, at 350 for 30 minutes per pound.  One hour before done, remove foil; crust will form.

 

Chicken Soup with Loads of Vegetables

from Joan Nathan’s Jewish Cooking in America

4 quarts water

1 large cut-up chicken, preferably stewing or large roaster

Marrow bones (optional)

2 whole onions, unpeeled

4 parsnips, peeled and left whole

1/2 C chopped celery leaves plus 2 stalks celery and their leaves

1 rutabaga, peeled and quartered

1 large turnip, peeled and quartered

1 kohlrabi, quartered (optional)

6 carrots, peeled and left whole

6 T chopped fresh parsley

6 T snipped dill

1 T salt

1/4 t pepper

1 zucchini

1. Put the water and the chicken in a large pot and bring the water to a boil. Skim off the froth.

2. Add the marrow bones, onions, parsnips, celery, 3/4 of the rutabaga, turnip, kohlrabi, 4 of the carrots, the parsley, 4 tablespoons of the dill, and the salt and pepper. Cover and simmer of 2 1/2 hours, adjusting the seasoning to taste.

3. Strain, remove the chicken, discard the vegetables and refrigerate the liquid to solidify. Remove the skin and bones from the chicken and cut the meat into bite-size chunks. Refrigerate. Remove the fat from the soup.

4. Just before serving, reheat the soup. Bring to a boil. Cut the zucchini and the remaining 2 carrots into thin strips and add to the soup along with the remaining rutabaga cut into thin strips as well as a few pieces of chicken. Simmer about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked, but still firm. Serve with the remaining snipped dill. You can also add noodles, marrow, or clos (matzah) balls.

Russian Vegetable Soup

from The Jewish Holiday Kitchen by Joan Nathan

• 3 carrots
• 2 medium white potatos
• 1 sweet potato
• 2 lbs top rib beef (or a higher-fat cut?), cut into stewing pieces
• 1 package dried mushroom
• 1/2 cup lima beans
• 1/2 cup green split peas
• 1/2 cup large whole barley
• 1/2 lb fresh green beans, diced
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Grate carrots, white potatoes and sweet potato on the large holes of a grater, or use the grating or steel blade of a food processor.
2. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil and add all ingredients.
3. Cover and simmer about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. If, when finished, you prefer a thinner soup, add more water.

 

Thanksgiving Cranberry-Cherry Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• sugar to taste (UP TO 1 C per 12-oz package cranberries)
• 1 C water
• 2 cinnamon sticks per 12-oz package cranberries
• (1) 12-oz package) cranberries
• frozen unsweetened black cherries

METHOD

1. Wash and pick over cranberries. In a saucepan boil water and sugar with cinnamon sticks, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries burst. Add cherries and simmer a few more minutes.

2. Remove from heat. Cool completely at room temperature and then chill in refrigerator. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

 

Deceptively Non-Dairy Pumpkin Pie

from a post on Care2’s “Healthy & Green Living”

Better than the dairy version!

• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 C mashed cooked pumpkin, or (1) 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin
• 3/4 C sweetener (I used 1/2 cup organic natural brown sugar and 1/4 cup maple syrup.)
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1/2 t ginger
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 T molasses
• 3/4 C coconut milk, shaken well to combine solids and liquid
• 1 prepared pie crust (I used a store-bought whole wheat.)

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Add pumpkin, sweetener, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and molasses and blend thoroughly. Add coconut milk and stir to combine.

3. Pour filling into pie crust. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until set.

4. Serve cooled, with topping of choice.

Chicken Congee

from a post on NIBBLEDISH

Stock:

• 5 chicken thighs, bone in & with skin
• (1) 2-inch knob fresh ginger, peeled & halved lengthwise
• 5 whole cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 onion, peeled & quartered
• 10 peppercorns

Congee:

• 2 T olive oil
• 3/4 C jasmine rice, rinsed & drained
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 shallots, diced
• 1 T fresh, minced ginger
• 4 stalks scallion, thinly sliced (white for soup, green for garnish)
• 2 T fish sauce
• fine sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper totaste
• handful fresh Vietnamese coriander leaves, chopped
• handful fresh Thai basil leaves, chopped
• handful fresh spearmint leaves, chopped
• lime wedges (optional)

To make stock, put first set of ingredients into a 6-qt stock pot and fill up with cold water. Bring to a boil and immediately lower heat to let stock gently simmer. Allow chicken to poach for about 25 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken and cool. Carefully take meat off the bones, trying to keep the meat in large pieces. Return skins and bones to stock pot to continue simmering. The chicken meat can then be shredded for use in congee or salad. Continue to add hot water to stock pot to keep ingredients submerged for the remainder of cooking time. Simmer for at least 2 hours, but ideally 6 hours or longer. Once done, pour stock through a fine mesh strainer into another stock pot. Discard solids.

Rinse and drain rice. Heat a skillet with olive oil, shallot, ginger, garlic and rice and toss until rice is fragrant and fully coated with oil. Transfer rice to pot of simmering stock. Cook for another 30 minutes or until rice is tender. Add white part of scallions, fish sauce and salt & pepper. Serve in soup bowl, topped with shredded chicken and chopped herbs. Squeeze a bit of fresh lime juice in for a burst of freshness. Mix all ingredients before eating.