Passover Cooking with Susie Fishbein at Pomegranate – Part 2

Susie Fishbein demonstrated two more superb dishes:

Tershi in Pessach Couscous

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups prepared Passover couscous, set aside
• 4 lbs kabocha squash
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Pomegranate pickled lemon (3 – 4 slices)
• Olive oil
• eggplant
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper
• 8 cloves fresh garlic

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.
2. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place the squash chunks skin-side-down. Drizzle and rub with olive oil. Roast until soft, time will differ based on size of chunks (25-40 minutes). Allow to cool.
3. Cover two gas grates with foil. Place the eggplant right over each grate. Use tongs to turn as each side gets charred. After each eggplant is completely charred, place into a colander over a bowl and allow to cool.
4. Spoon the pumpkin off the skin, discard skin. Mash with a fork and place into a bowl.
5. Remove the charred skin from the eggplant and discard. Mash the flesh on a cutting board, chopping and scraping it with the side of your knife. Add to the pumpkin. Sprinkle smoked paprika, sweet paprika, salt, cayenne, and pickled lemon. In a food processor with the metal “s” blade, pulse the jalapeño and garlic. Add to mixture. Mix well to distribute spices. Spoon over the couscous.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Baby Spinach Salad with Roasted Strawberries

While looking for easy to prepare,  nice summer salads, we came across this one in Williams Sonoma‘s New Flavors for Salads – Classic Flavors Redefined:

From book, page 37 – Photo by: Kate Sears

The flavor of this salad sparkles with the bright acidity of red wine vinegar, its tartness tempered by the sweetness of fresh orange juice. Roasting strawberries with a bit of sugar intensifies their fruitiness and softens their texture, creating a nice counterpoint to the salty cheese and crunchy toasted almonds.

Ingredients

• large strawberries, 2 pints (1 pound total weight)
• extra-virgin olive oil, 8 tablespoons
• sugar, 1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• fresh orange juice, 1/4 cup
• fresh tarragon leaves, 4 teaspoons finely chopped
• blanched whole almonds, 1 cup toasted *
• baby spinach, 9 cups
• pecorino romano cheese, 9 ounces shredded

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Using a pairing knife, hull the strawberries** and cut them in half lengthwise. Spread the berries on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle with with 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and several grinds of pepper. Toss to coat the berries evenly, then spread them out again. Roast until softened, about 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

In a small nonreactive bowl, whisk together the vinegar, or orange juice, tarragon, the 3 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and several grinds of pepper until the sugar dissolves. Slowly whisk in the remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil until well blended to make a vinaigrette. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

In a small bowl, stir together the almonds and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, combine the spinach, 3/4 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. Whisk the vinaigrette to recombine, drizzle about one-third of it over the spinach and toss well (reserve the remaining vinaigrette for another use). Taste and adjust the seasonings. Divide the dressed spinach evenly among individual plates, top each serving with an equal amount of the roasted strawberries, and sprinkle with the almonds and cheese. Serve right away.

Makes 6 servings

* toasting nuts and seeds

Toasting nuts and seeds crisps their texture and lightly browns them, giving them a rich full flavor. Be sure to let toasted nuts and seeds cool to room temperature before use.

in the oven Scatter the nuts or seeds in an even layer in a baking dish or on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in a 325 F. oven stirring once or twice, until fragrant and slightly darkened in color , 5-10 minutes, depending on the size and quantity of the nuts or seeds.

on the stove top Place the nuts or seeds in an even layer in a frying pan. Toast over medium heat , stirring or shaking the pan often, until fragrant and slightly darkened in color, 2-5 minutes, depending on the size and quantity of the nuts or seeds.

** hulling strawberries

Hull fresh strawberries after washing them and just before use.

1. Insert the tip of a pairing knife – Insert the sharp tip of a pairing knife at a slight angle just below the stem areauntil the tip of the knife reaches the center of the berry.
2. Trim and pull off the top – Cut around the stem area, rotating the berry to make a circular cut. Gently pull or pry off the top.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Briami – Vegetable Casserole

This is a Greek dish, a prime example of healthy, natural, Mediterranean cuisine:

Serves 6
Ingredients

• 2 pounds zucchini
• 1 pound potatoes
• 2 sweet green peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 cups chopped peeled tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 onions, sliced
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 teaspoons fennel
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• fennel, for garnishing

Directions

1. Cut zucchini and potatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Remove seeds and white membranes from peppers and slice. Mix together crushed garlic, tomatoes and sugar.
2. Oil an oven dish and arrange some sliced onion on the bottom. Add a layer of zucchini, potatoes and peppers combined and top with part of the tomato mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle on some of the herbs and oil. Repeat until all ingredients are used, about 3 to 4 layers depending on the size of the dish, finish with herbs and oil.
3. Cover and put in a preheated 350 F. oven for 90 minutes, until vegetables become tender. Remove cover for the last 15 minutes.
4. Garnish with additional chopped herbs and serve immediately.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Roasted Tomato Soup with Israeli Couscous

It’s winter and we need something hearty as we come in from a cold day. Soups have that marvelous quality of warming us up and make us feel good again.

From Sarah Lasry‘s The At Home Gourmet (page 66):

Photo by: Joshua Shaub on page 67

There is nothing like a great tomato soup when I’m feeling blue and tired after a hard day’s work to perk me up. I usually take a big bowl of this soup, put on my pj’s, cuddle up in a bed and call it an early night. It makes a great, easy, quick supper when you are in a rush and want to serve something hearty.

NOTE: DO NOT REFRIGERATE your tomatoes! Cold temperatures ruin tomatoes. hurting their flavor and their texture. You can cut the acidity of your tomato soup by adding just a tablespoon of granulated sugar at the end of cooking.

For the Roasted Tomatoes:

• 8 large tomatoes, halved and seeded
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

For the Soup:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• pinch kosher salt
• pinch black pepper
• 1 tsp cilantro (optional)
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (or juice)
• 5 cups vegetable stock 9or water)
• 1 cup Israeli couscous

Preheat oven to 375-400 degrees

On a large baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, lay your halved tomatoes face down. Drizzle olive oil lightly over the tomatoes and sprinkle a little kosher salt and pepper over them. Place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.

Remove from oven and set aside to cool. when the cooked, chop up up the tomatoes into small chunks.

In a large soup pot heat the olive oil and saute the onions for a few minutes. Add all the spices to the onions and mix them well, making sure the onions are well cooked. Saute for another minute or two. Add the carrots to the onions and mix wel,; cook gently for 5 minutes and then add the chopped tomatoes and tomato juice. Bring the soup to a simmer and then add the vegetable stock and the couscous. Bring the soup to a full boil and cook until the couscous is soft and tender (about 20 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste before serving.

NOTE: If you are short on time, substitute the roasted tomatoes with 3 cups of canned diced tomatoes (about 28 oz.)

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS