Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

One of my favorite summer appetizers, though I could make it at any time:

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 large tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup Arborio rice
• 6 fresh basil leaves, torn
• 2 tbsp extra virgin oil, plus extra for oiling and drizzling
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Cut a slice of the stalk end of each tomato and set aside to use as lids. Scoop the pulp out of the tomatoes and chop.
2. Transfer to a large bowl, carefully so as to minimize any loss of tomato juices; add the garlic, rice and basil. Season with salt and pepper and stir in 1 tbsp of the oil. Cover and let stand – at room temperature – for one hour, for the rice to absorb the juices.
3. Stuff the tomatoes with the rice mixture and transfer to an oiled baking pan. Top each tomato with the reserved lids and drizzle with remaining oil. Bake in a preheated 350 F. oven for 35 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and the rice is cooked through. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If available (usually in gourmet fruit and vegetable stores, use Brandywine tomatoes which have a perfect balance of acidity and sweetness, for more sweetness use Spanish Montserrat tomatoes which have low acidity, but any large tomato will do. Arborio rice kernels are high in starch, shorter and fatter than any other short grown rice. They are great for risotto because the extra starch lends the dish a perfect creamy texture.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy

CS

Recipes We’ve Enjoyed During the Holy Days – Part 2

During the chagim I prepared quite a few dishes I had not made before, as well as some favorites. It was hard to choose which ones to feature here but these two were simple, delicious and the family absolutely loved them.

Photo from: The Big Book of One Pot

Spiced Bismatu Pilau

(From: The Big Book of One Pot – published by Parragon Books 2008)

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups basmati rice
• 6 oz broccoli trimmed
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 5 cardamon pods, split
• 6 whole cloves
• 8 black peppercorns
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 5 cups boiling vegetable stock or water
• 1/2 cup seedless raisins
• 1/2 cup unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Place the rice in the strainer and wash well under cold running water. Drain. Trim off the broccoli stalk, then quarter the stalk lengthwise and cut diagonally into 1/2″ pieces. Cut the remaining broccoli into small florets.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and broccoli stalks, cook over low heat stirring frequently for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, rice, garlic, and spices for 1 minute while stirring until rice is coated in oil.
3. Add the boiling stock and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the broccoli florets and return the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and cook over low heat for 15 without uncovering the pan.
4. Remove the pan from from the heat and let the pilau stand for 5 minutes without uncovering. Remove the whole spices, add the raisins and pistachios. Gently fork through to fluff up the grains. Serve the pilau hot.

We like rice dishes and this one certainly did not disappoint!

For dessert, I turned to Jeff Nathan’s Family Suppers, (Published by Clarkson Potter, 2005) I’ve made it before and everyone asked for it again:

Photo by: Alan Richardson from Jeff Nathan's Family Suppers

Poached Apricots with Lemon and Thyme

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 3-inch cinnamon stick
• 1 pound dried apricots
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• a few gratings of fresh nutmeg
• vanilla ice cream for serving

Directions

1. Grate the lemon zest from 1 lemon. Juice this lemon and strain the juice. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest from the second lemon and cut the zest lengthwise into thin strips (julienne) Reserve the second lemon for another use.
2. Mix 2 cups water, the orange juice, honey, sugar, grated lemon zest, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Add the apricots and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Partially cover the saucepan with the lid, and simmer until the apricots are tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and add the thyme and nutmeg. Cool until warm (or cool, cover, and refrigerate until chilled). Serve spooned over ice cream and topped with julienned lemon zest.

Variation: Poached Apricots with Amaretto

In step 3, add 1/4 cup almond flavored liqueur, such as Amaretto di Saronno, to the poaching liquid with the thyme.

As Jeff Nathan says you can serve the apricots without the ice cream as a compote. With everyone having seconds this dessert was gone in no time!

SYR

 

Internet Radio Broadcast and a Recipe

Last week we were plagued by some faulty equipment and technical problems during our live broadcast from Nargila Grill (1599 York Avenue – between 84 and 85th Streets on Manahattan’s Upper East Side). Today I did a makeup broadcast where I summarized what everyone said during the discussion we had on the Jewish cuisine, as a record of our history, dispersion and culture.

Our group consisted of Alessandra Rovati (dinnerinvenice.com), Geila Hocherman (kosherrevolution.com), Kim Amzallag (Kosher Inspired/Mishpacha Magazine) Levana Kirschenbaum (levanacooks.com), Marlene Mamiye (thejewishhostess.com) and Suzannah Raff (koshershopaholic.wordpress.com/)

Palov - Photo by: Kim Amzallag

After some mild and spicy salads, hummus, and more we were served palov – a Bukharian rice and beef dish. It was delicious but I couldn’t get the restaurant to share its recipe, so I was forced to go online to search for it. Here’s what I found on about.com:

Bukharian Rice – Plov

My 12-year-old son, who is by far our family’s pickiest eater, came home from his friend’s house singing praises about this amazing rice dish. The song went something like this, “It was the most delicious dinner I have ever eaten in my whole life!” Of course I immediately called Ilanit for the recipe. I was happy to discover he was talking about a rice, chicken, vegetable combination prepared in one pot. Without further ado, enjoy Ilanit’s Bukharian Rice recipe.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 onions, chopped
• 6 carrots, grated thick
• 5 Tablespoons oil (enough to cover bottom of pot)
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2-3 pounds (1-1.5 kilo) boneless chicken breast, cut into small bite-size squares
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 1/2 cups rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt rice
• 3 1/2 cups boiling water (enough to cover the rice by 1/2 inch or 1 cm)

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pot. Add onions, and then carrots. Stir in the sugar. Cook until the onions are translucent.
2. Lay the chicken on top of the onions and carrots. Don’t stir in order to maintain a layer of vegetables and a distinct layer of meat. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken. Cook the chicken, gently turning the pieces over in the middle, until the chicken turns white.
3. Add rice on top of the chicken. Don’t stir because the layers of vegetables and chicken should remain undisturbed, but distribute the rice evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add boiling water. Turn the heat down to low and cover.
4. After about 15 minutes, scrap down the sides and poke a few holes through the rice to the bottom of the pot with the handle of a wooden spoon. Cover and cook for another 15-25 minutes, until the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender.
5. Serve in reverse order of the layers. Put the rice, then the chicken, then the vegetables onto the plates.Yields: 6-8 servings.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy. We did!

CS