Such a Tzimmes!

You need to say the title with the appropriate accent. See, now it makes sense.

One of the traditional side dishes my mom always makes for Rosh Hashanah is Tzimmes. It’s also part of an expression she liked using when I was growing up, “what are you making such a tzimmes out of it!” In other words, what are you making such a fuss/project/big deal out of whatever “it” was at the time. I’m sure it was just me being overly dramatic…it’s a girl thing.

Basically tzimmes is a stew made from sweet root vegetables and dried fruit that is cooked down slowly in a sweet liquid until everything is tender and juicy. Traditionally (at least in my family), it is mostly of carrots, with some parsnip, prunes, raisins and dried apricots. The carrots, cut into rounds like coins, are supposed to represent good fortune.

Me, not that I wouldn’t like some good fortune, I minimize the carrots because frankly I don’t care for them cooked. Blasphemy!

Raw yes, cooked, not so much. I’ve tweaked the recipe over the years and will no doubt continue to do so but for the most part I have subbed out most of the carrots with sweet potato, added apples, figs sautéed onions and some spices.

The veggies and fruit cook in a sweet syrup made of brown sugar and honey. What could be bad? And like my honey cake, I use buckwheat honey in my tzimmes. You can use whatever you have on hand but trust me, this honey adds a richness to the flavor that only the dark rich maltiness of buckwheat honey can provide.

One of the best parts of this recipe is it can be made a day or two ahead and reheated. Just make sure you take it our of the refrigerator at least an hour before you plan to reheat it.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil of choice (I use either canola or safflower)
1 large onion cut into thin half rounds
3 not too thick parsnips, cut into rounds
2 large carrots, cut into rounds
1 large sweet potato cut into chunks
1 3/4 cups water, vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of salt
1/4 cup buckwheat honey (or whatever you have on hand)
1 granny smith apple, pealed, cored and cut into chunks
2 1/2 ounces apricots
4 ounces prunes
4 ounces figs

Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat one tablespoon oil in a large skillet, add the onions and sauté until they are translucent but not browned – approximately 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the carrots and parsnips and sauté about 3- 5 minutes.
4. Add the sweet potato and sauté for another 5 minutes.
5. Pour in the water or broth and bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
6. Remove the veggies to the prepared casserole with a slotted spoon.
7. Add the brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, ginger and salt to the skillet and return to a boil.
8. Add the apple, apricots, prunes, figs and simmer until the liquid becomes slightly syrupy about 5 minutes.
9. Pour the fruit and liquid carefully over the veggies. Cover with foil and place in the over for about 1 – 1 1/2 hours or until the the veggies are soft.

NOTE: To Reheat, cover with foil and place in a 350 degree oven. if you would like to brown the top, for the last 10 minutes of cooking uncover it and sprinkle with a little additional brown sugar.

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Not-Chopped Liver

Chopped Liver is one of those indulgences that I absolutely love but it’s a heart attack in a bowl: chicken livers, hard boiled eggs, schmaltz, OY! Given the heart and cholesterol issues that are scattered throughout my family, I’ve stopped making it (sob). Instead I’ve toyed with a variety of alternative versions.

To replace the chicken livers, I’m substituting nice meaty portobello mushrooms and sautéing them up with the onions. Rather than using schmaltz I’m using a combination of butter and oil which adds back some of the richness of the chicken fat. This mock liver is probably the first version I’ve made that contains nuts and I find that I do like the texture they add.

I’ll admit though flavor-wise it kinda tastes more mushroom pate-like than liver, but it’s tasty all the same so I thought I’d share. I’ll be bringing this to my in-laws for our Passover Seder this evening so I hope they like it.

For all those who celebrate, Zissen Pesach!

Not-Chopped Liver
Adapted from “The NY Times Passover Cookbook”

Note: To make this pareve, simply replace the butter with all safflower or another Kosher for Passover oil.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon safflower oil (or other Kosher for Passover oil)
1 medium yellow onion, cut into half moons
2 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
6 portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed, coarsely chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, cut into quarters
1/3 cup toasted, coarsley chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Instructions
1. Heat the butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until bubbly.
2. Add the onions and saute until they begin to wilt.
3. Add the garlic cloves and mushrooms; continue to saute until all of the liquid the mushrooms have given off has evaporated (see all of that liquid), about 7 to 10 minutes.

4. Allow the mixture to cool a bit.
5. Place the mushroom and onions into a food processor along with the eggs and process until chunky.
6. Add the walnuts and process until just shy of smooth.
7. Add the thyme, salt and pepper and pulse 3-4 times or until you are happy with the consistency.
8. Allow to cool in the refrigerator (overnight is best) and then taste and re-season as desired.

Serve cold sprinkled with chopped parsley if desired.

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Apple Bloghop: Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

I love Autumn! Why? Because it’s not too cold, not too warm; great sweater, scarf, slouchy hat weather (hmm… better figure out some knitting projects before Rhinebeck!). It’s my favorite knitting and cooking season. Apples are probably my favorite fall/winter fruit. There are so many varieties to choose from and they are so versatile, you can cook them, bake them, roast them, puree them, or eat them out of hand, to name a few. One of my favorite ways to use apples is alongside another favorite of mine: butternut squash. Every year I look forward to coming up with news ways to cook with it.

I picked up a few butternut squash and some beautiful apples at the farmer’s market recently and decided to make some soup. I’ve made butternut squash soup dozens of times before and in many different ways but I decided that since gourds and apples are two of the symbolic foods eaten on Rosh Hashanah, I would add it to my menu.

And, since October is #applelove month, I thought this would also be a great recipe, for my contribution, to share with you.

Oh, so why do we eat these foods? Well we eat apples, traditionally dipped in honey, for a sweet new year. Gourds are symbolic because of the similarity in sound to the Hebrew word for proclaim. We eat gourds so that our merits/good deeds may be proclaimed.

Since there will be twelve people at my table this year, I made a large batch. It freezes very well but you can easily cut this recipe in half if you would like.

October is #applelove month!

Do you have a favorite apple recipe? Let me know I’d love to hear about it.

Please join in on the #applelove fun by linking up any apple recipe from the month of October 2011.  Don’t forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #applelove event. The twitter hashtag is #applelove .

Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Ingredients
6 lbs butternut squash, cubed
3 large Rome apples, cubed (I like to keep the skin on)
1 large onion, cut in to chunks
1 teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons canola or mild olive oil, divided
½ cup diced onion
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
½ cup white wine
6 cups stock, water or a combination of both
Salt and white pepper to taste
Toasted butternut squash seeds (optional)

Instructions
1. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.
2. Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray and distribute the squash, apples and chunks of onion onto both sheets.
3. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil over the squash mix; sprinkle with allspice, cumin, salt and white pepper. Toss to combine.
4. Roast until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes, tossing about halfway through.
5. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven and add diced onion and garlic. Sprinkle with salt. Sweat until translucent.
6. Add the white wine and reduce to half.
7. Add squash mixture and stock bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Puree soup in batches in a blender, or use an immersion blender.
9. Add additional stock or water to thin if needed.
10. Serve garnished with toasted butternut squash seeds if desired.

Cook’s Notes

• You can make this soup in phases. Roast the squash, apples and onions. Allow to cool and store in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, begin with step five above. The cooking time in step seven should be increased until the vegetables are warmed through.
• This soup freezes well. I usually store it in batches in plastic containers.

Co-Hosted by:
Baker Street – Anuradha
Bloc de recetas – Salomé
Bon a croquer – Valerie
CafeTerraBlog – Terra
Cake Duchess – Lora
Elephant Eats – Amy
Hobby And More – Richa
Knitstamatic – Deb – That would be me!
Mike’s Baking – Mike
Mis Pensamientos – Junia
My Twisted Recipes – Dudut
Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives – Lisa
Queen’s Notebook – Elizabeth
Simply Reem – Reem
Skip to Malou – Malou
Teaspoon of Spice – Deanna & Serena
The Daily Palette – Annapet
The Spicy RD – EA
Vegan Miam – Rika
Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen – Champa

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Nut-Free Haroset for Passover

Have you ever had a Larabar? Well if not, first of all, you must try them. They are 100% natural goodness. If you have, then you may know where I’m going with this. Larabars are very simply made of pureed fruit, nuts and spices that are pressed into bar shape. Simple, elegant, delicious. I absolutely love them; they are one of my favorite snacks. Oh, and they’re gluten-free.

Well guess what, haroset is made from pureed or chopped fruit, nuts and spices sweetened with a little honey and, in my case, some fruit juice rather than the traditional super sweet Kosher for Passover wine. So for those who may think you would never like such a concoction, give it a second look, you may just surprise yourself.

Anyway, haroset is part of the Passover Seder plate. It symbolizes the mortar used by the enslaved Jews in ancient Egypt to construct buildings for the Pharaoh (think “The Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston). It is traditionally made from assorted chopped fruit and nuts which may include apples, walnuts, honey and sweet wine. The fruit used varies by family tradition and region. Learned from my mom, I made this type of haroset for many a Seder.

In more recent years, since I met my husband and we started our own Passover traditions, I have made quite a number of changes. Okay, so my haroset is COMPLETELY different from my mom’s but there is good reason for that: I have a nephew who is highly allergic to tree nuts. It is therefore important that everything served at Passover is “safe” for him. This of course provides an added challenge to the Passover meal, particularly dessert because ground almonds are a very common substitute for flour… but I digress.

So I have been on a quest for a nut-free haroset that mimics the texture I like so much, provided by the nuts. I’ve been experimenting with the recipe ever since. Finally, last year I came up with a fruit combo that I really like. I’ve also replaced the sweet wine with apple juice (actually I did this many haroset versions ago) mostly because I’m not a fan of sweet wine and because by a day or two later the haroset seems to get this funky exposed-to-the-air-for-too-long-wine-taste…blaach.

I enjoy haroset on a piece of matzoh throughout Passover. Here is my nut-free, gluten-free recipe for Passover haroset. I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients
15 pitted dates
5 figs, coarsley chopped
Handful of raisins (about 1/4 cup or so)
2 – 3 prunes
1 small apple peeled and chopped
1 tbs honey
1 tsp allspice
½ tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Apple juice for consistency if needed

Instructions
1. Place the dates, figs, raisins and prunes into a food processor and pulse until coarsley chopped.
2. Add the apple, honey and spices and process until combined but still chunky.
3. If the mixture is too dry, add a little bit of apple juice and pulse once or twice just to combine.

Note: I didn’t happen to need the apple juice this time as the fruit was very moist.

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