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

Crispy Roasted Potato Wedges

[Reader Sarah Rosenberg, from Los Angeles, sent in this recipe and photo. I made it last evening and it actually was every bit as good as she said it would be! Why not send us your favorite recipes with an accompanying photo? We will print them if they are good. If you send in a recipe from a cookbook, please give us the title, the author’s name and – unless you took the photo – the photographer’s name as well. CS]

I often serve these potato wedges as a side dish  for Shabbat evening and everyone loves them; in fact, they can’t get enough of them. They go great with beef or poultry, but I’ve been known to have them as a main dish sometimes during the week.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin oil
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 7 or 8 small unpeeled Yukon Gold or red potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• Juice from 1 lemon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Chop the garlic finely and put in a large bowl. Add the oil, parsley and rosemary.
2. Cut the potatoes into 1 inch wide wedges.
3. Add the potatoes to the bowl and sprinkle with salt.
4. Toss to coat the potatoes with the oil mixture.
5. Spread the potatoes on a large baking sheet scraping the bowl of any extra oil and herbs. Arrange the potatoes with a flat side down. Roast until bottom is golden – about 25 minutes – turn with a metal spatula (some potatoes may stick, scrape them loose). Continue roasting until golden and crisp outside, but tender inside, about 15 minutes longer. Sprinkle with the lemon zest.
6. Put the potatoes in a serving bowl, make sure to scrape up all the herbs and zest. Add several squeezes of the juice over the top. Toss gently to distribute and serve hot.

You’ll like the aroma and you’ll love the taste!

Sarah Rosenberg

A Cookbook For All Seasons

When I’m doing some serious cooking for a group of family or friends, with a limited amount of time to get the job done, I take a pass on my more fluff-and-glitz cookbooks and gravitate towards the ones that I can rely on to provide me with clear concise foolproof instructions, guaranteed reliable delicious results delivered with relative ease.

And that’s precisely what you can expect from Lévana Kirschenbaum’s new cookbook The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen – Glorious Meals Pure and Simple.

Though aesthetically the book’s layout is rather ordinary looking, the content is superb. It’s jam-packed with healthy mains, soups, salads, pastas, beads and desserts; aside from the general index, the cookbook includes a Passover index and a gluten-free index, with recipe notations indicating gluten free or gluten free adaptable. The recipes and text reflect a seasoned master chef who poured her culinary heart and soul into this cookbook. All content is meticulously organized and the format though visually lackluster nonetheless delivers the author’s usual witty humor and éclat in a most lively entertaining way.

Truly a hitchhiker’s guide to all things good-for-you and delicious, you’ll get never-ending use out of this comprehensive culinary work. The variations that accompany the recipes are awesome as are the tips and running commentary that weave through the pages. It’s like having a master chef or super balabusta mom right there with you preparing your best. Meir Pliskin’s photographs are tastefully done though the publisher’s cropping and cheap printing is somewhat disappointing. Lisa Young’s nutritional info though not revolutionary in content, serves as a useful reminder of healthy choices.

From the book, on page 171:

Roasted Vegetables GF P

Everyone likes a plate of grilled veggies, to eat as is or to use as a filling for sandwiches. I have chosen to share the most ridiculously simple way. First of all, my “grilled” vegies are roasted, requiring no turning over and no maintenance. Second, the trick is endives, radishes, brussel sprouts and fennel; but you will roast carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, potatoes separately because they have a longer cooking time. Roast beets all by themselves so they don’t bleed into your other veggies, or use the wonderful golden beets now available at all good produce stores. For all roasting, remember, one layer, no piling! Lining the baking sheet with foil reduces, or sometimes eliminates, cleaning.

When the vegetables are roasted, go ahead and get a little fancier, if you wish, toss in a little olive oil, chopped fresh basil, a few drops of balsamic vinegar and a little ground pepper. Most often I add nothing at all!

2 large zucchini, cut in sticks
2 large red onions, sliced thick
3 large red peppers, cut in large sections
1 large eggplant, cut in sticks
2 large portobello mushrooms, cups and stems separated, stems cut in half
Sea salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Line a large cookie sheet (you might need 2) with foil. Spray heavily with vegetable spray. Place the vegetables snuggly and in one layer on the cookie sheet.

Spray heavily again with vegetable spray. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables look slightly charred. The mushrooms (or string beans or asparagus) might be ready first. Slice the mushrooms on a bias when they are cool enough to handle.

The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen cookbook is all about eating right without missing out on taste or style. The key is using healthy, wholesome, fresh ingredients combining flavors with such mastery your palate will think there is magic at play. It’s really the years of trial and error honing skills that have truly reached their apex of expertise. Lévana epitomizes her own quoting of Antoine de Saint Exupery’s words (at the bottom of page 17): “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Don’t miss this essential kitchen tool!

SYR

Vegan Desserts – Healthy, Delicious!

Talented, great photographer, passionate baker, all these refer to Hannah Kaminsky and every single one is an understatement when referring to the very young Hanna Kaminsky.

With over 100 recipes and corresponding photos, spread over 239 pages, her new book – Vegan Desserts – is filled with succulent, easy to make confections. Hanna describes her common sense baking philosophy, in the Introduction, this way:

There’s no question about it – food made with ingredients at their prime and in season tastes best. Deceptively simple in concept, but remarkably more complicated than most would like to admit, there’s so much more to take into consideration than just the range of produce available at the nearest grocery store….

[..]Irresistible recipes are about more than fresh fruit – food always tastes better when made with joy, care, and just a pinch of good humor.

A few months ago I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Kaminsky, at a photo shoot where she served as the food stylist. At the time it was obvious she had a photographer’s eye for color, shape, positioning. When I picked up her book it became obvious that, though very young, she has also mastered the subtle nuances of flavors and their interaction.

The book is beautifully laid out, with the recipe pages matching or contrasting the colors of the accompanying photos. With sections like Ingredients Summary, Kitchen Tools and Toys, Troubleshooting, Components and Accompaniments, Food Allergy Index, most of the recipes are divided by season, here’s one from the Summer section that’s sure to become a favorite.

Roasted Apricot Ice Cream with Almond Praline Ripple

Roasting fruits and toasting nuts intensifies their flavors, allowing their unique characteristics to shine through, even mixed into a chilly application that can otherwise dull flavors. If you are in a hurry or can’t wait to tame your ice cream appetite, you could leave the apricots as they are and substitute 1 cup of almond butter for the praline ripple, but in my opinion the incredible caramel essence you’ll get with this recipe as written is more than worth the extra effort.

Almond Praline Ripple

• 1/2 Cup Whole Almonds
• 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1 Teaspoon Light corn Syrup
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Roasted Apricot Ice Cream

• 1 Pound Fresh Apricots
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 3/4 Cup Coconut Milk
• 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar Firmly Packed
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon Amaretto

First, you’ll want to make the almond praline ripple. Start by combining the sugar, water and salt into a small saucepan and placing it on the stove over medium heat. Cook the mixture for 10-12 minutes until it caramelizes and turns a deep amber color. Quickly stir in the almonds to coat and pour everything into a Silpat. Let it cook completely before breaking it into pieces and processing it into a smooth paste. Drizzle in the oil, and it should become the consistency of somewhat runny peanut butter.  Cover and let rest in the fridge while you make the ice cream.

Preheat the oven to 400 F and lightly grease a sheet pan.

Wash and thoroughly dry the apricots before cutting them in half and removing the pits. Place the halves with the cut sides up on your prepared pan, and drizzle them all with the oil. Roast them for about 20 minutes, until they are so tender they can barely hold themselves together anymore.

Let the apricots cool a bit before scooping them all into your food processor and pureeing  them. Once smooth, add in the coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, and amaretto processing to combine. Chill the mixture thoroughly in your fridge before freezing it in your ice cream maker per the manufacturer’s directions.

After freezing in the machine, pour the ice cream out into a plastic tub and drizzle the almond praline paste on top. Use a spatula to marble it in, cover, and quickly move it into your freezer so it can solidify.

Even the most cursory flipping through the pages soon makes it all too apparent that Ms. Kaminsky indeed authored this book with joy, care and more than just a dash of love. Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS