Almost Grandmother's Challah
Chicken Soup With Loads Of Vegetables
Paprikas Weiss' Hungarian Cucumber Salad
Beef Brisket Braised With Dried Fruit, Yams And Carrots
Roast Chicken With Orange, Lemon, And Ginger
Spiced Braised Lamb With Carrots And Spinach
Sweet-And-Sour Stuffed Mustard Cabbage
Veal Shoulder With Porcini Mushrooms, Garlic And Rosemary
Honey Ginger-Glazed Carrots
Kugel Yerushalmi


Almost Grandmother's Challah

To make this bread easier to prepare, shape the dough into two loaves
after the second rising instead of forming braided loaves, as is
traditional. Place each loaf in a buttered 9x5x3-inch loaf pan and
continue as per recipe.

1/2 cup plus 2/3 cup warm water (105 F. to 115 F.)
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1 tablespoons plus 3/4 cup sugar
5 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
7 1/2 cups (about) all-purpose flour
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Combine 1/2 cup warm water, yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in large glass
measuring cup and stir until yeast dissolves. Let yeast mixture stand
at room temperature until foamy, about 10 minutes.
In large bowl of heavy-duty mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat 5
eggs until blended. Add oil, salt and 3/4 cup sugar and beat until pale
yellow and slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Beat in 2/3 cup warm
water. Add yeast mixture and beat until blended. Remove whisk and fit
mixer with dough hook. Add enough flour 1 cup at a time to form smooth
dough, beating well after each addition. Beat on medium speed until
smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, adding flour by tablespoonfuls if
sticky. Turn out onto floured surface and knead 2 minutes.

Lightly oil large bowl. Add dough, turning to coat with oil. Cover with
plastic wrap, then with clean kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm
draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Cover with plastic and clean kitchen towel and let
rise 30 minutes.

Grease 2 large baking sheets. Turn out dough onto lightly floured
surface. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Divide each portion into 3
equal pieces. Roll each piece into 9-inch-long rope. Braid 3 ropes
together; pinch ends together to seal. Repeat with remaining dough
pieces, forming 2 braids. Place each braid on baking sheet. Cover with
towel . Let rise in warm area until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Whisk yolk with 1 tablespoon water to blend.
Brush dough with egg mixture. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature
to 350 F. Bake until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when
tapped on bottom, about 35 minutes. Transfer loaves to rack and cool
completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic and
store at room temperature.)

Makes 2 loaves.



Chicken Soup With Loads Of Vegetables

Jewish chicken soup is usually served with thin egg noodles or with
matzah balls. The zucchini is my, not MGM's addition.

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 cup 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 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
6 tablespoons snipped dill
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 zucchini

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

Tip: Make a chicken salad with the remaining chicken pieces. If you
want a lighter-colored soup, peel the onions and remove the chicken as
soon as the water boils. Throw out the water, put in new water, add the
chicken again with the remaining ingredients, and proceed as above.

Yield: about 10 servings (M).



Paprikas Weiss' Hungarian Cucumber Salad

Hungarian Jewish food is a perfect example of acculturation. Take this
piquant cucumber salad, which can be made with one of the three
different kinds of paprika - mild, sharp, or sweet. Taken there by
the Turks who discovered it in the New World, paprika has been
cultivated in Hungary since the sixteenth century.

3 cucumbers
Salt to taste
1 onion
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons water (about)
Fresh sweet paprika to taste

1. Peel the cucumbers and slice into very thin rounds. Sprinkle with
salt and let stand for 15 minutes. Squeeze out the liquid from the
cucumbers.
2. Slice the onion very thin and mix with cucumbers. Add the salt,
pepper, white vinegar, and water to cover the vegetables. Sprinkle
paprika generously on top.



Beef Brisket Braised With Dried Fruit, Yams And Carrots

This can be prepared one day ahead, making the seder day much easier.
Serve steamed broccoli on the side.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 medium onions, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
3 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned broth
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
3 bay leaves

1 4-pound boneless first-cut beef brisket
Paprika
1 6-ounce package dried apricots
1 1/2 cups pitted prunes


3 pounds yams, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
6 large carrots, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Minced fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 325 F. Heat oil in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over
medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until beginning to
brown, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon paprika,
allspice and crushed red pepper and stir 20 seconds. Add chicken stock,
wine and bay leaves. Boil 10 minutes to blend flavors.
Sprinkle brisket with paprika and rub in. Add brisket to pot, fat side
up. Add dried apricots and pitted prunes. Cover and bake 1 1/2 hours.

Add yams and carrots to pot. Cover and cook until brisket is very
tender, about 2 1/2 hours longer. Remove from oven and let stand 20
minutes. Remove brisket from pot and slice thinly across grain. Arrange
on platter. Degrease pan juices. Spoon pan juices over meat. Arrange
fruit and vegetables around meat. Garnish with minced fresh parsley and
serve. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate before
slicing meat. To serve, remove meat from pot and slice thinly across
grain. Remove any solid fat from sauce. Return sliced meat to pot.
Place pot in 325 F oven and bake until brisket is heated through,
about 30 minutes.)

Serves 8.



Roast Chicken With Orange, Lemon, And Ginger

(Pollo Arrosto All'Arancia, Limone, e Zenzero)
Ginger arrived in Italy with Arabic traders or North African Jewish
immigrants, so it's likely that this is a Sicilian or Livornese recipe.
Most Italians would use ground ginger, but since fresh ginger is so
plentiful at our markets, why not use it?

1 lemon
1 roasting chicken, about 5 pounds
Grated zest of 1 lemon, then lemon cut into quarters
Grated zest of 1 orange, then orange cut into quarters
3 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger root
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons margarine, melted, or olive oil
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons honey
Orange sections for garnish

Preheat an oven to 350 F.
Cut the lemon into quarters. Rub the outside of the chicken with one of
the lemon quarters, then discard. In a small bowl, stir together the
lemon and orange zests and 1 tablespoon of the grated ginger. Rub this
mixture evenly in the cavity. Put the lemon and orange quarters inside
the bird. Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan. Sprinkle it
with salt and pepper. In the now-empty small bowl, combine the melted
margarine or olive oil, lemon and orange juices, honey, and the
remaining 2 tablespoons ginger. Mix well.
Place the chicken in the oven and roast, basting with the citrus juice
mixture at least 4 times during cooking, until the juices run clear
when the thigh is pierced with a knife, about 1 hour.
Transfer to a serving platter and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Carve
the chicken. Garnish with orange sections.

Variation: Use 4 tablespoons pomegranate juice in place of the lemon
juice.

Makes 4 servings.



Spiced Braised Lamb With Carrots And Spinach

Sephardim (Jews of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean extraction) eat
coriander seeds during Passover; if you do not because you are from an
eastern European Jewish background, you can simply leave the coriander
out of this recipe.
Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 3 hr

3 1/2 lb boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 cups water
1 (14- to 16-oz) can whole tomatoes in juice
6 medium carrots, cut crosswise into 2 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 lb spinach, coarse stems discarded

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Pat lamb dry and sprinkle with pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Heat 1
tablespoon oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet (preferably cast-iron) over
moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown lamb in 5
batches, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes per batch, adding more
oil as needed. Transfer as browned to an ovenproof 6- to 7-quart wide
heavy pot.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then cook onion and
celery in remaining fat over moderate heat, stirring occasionally,
until golden, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and coriander and
cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add 1 cup water and deglaze skillet by
boiling, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, 1 minute, then pour
mixture over lamb in pot.
Pour juice from can of tomatoes into stew, then coarsely chop tomatoes
and add to stew along with remaining cup water and remaining 1/2
teaspoon salt and bring to a boil (liquid should almost cover meat).

Cover pot and braise lamb in middle of oven 1 1/2 hours. Stir in
carrots and continue to braise until carrots and lamb are tender, 20 to
30 minutes. Transfer pot to top of stove and, working over moderately
high heat, stir in spinach by handfuls to soften it. Cook, uncovered,
stirring occasionally, until spinach is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Season
with salt and pepper.

Cooks' note:
.. Braised lamb improves in flavor when made 1 day ahead. Prepare
without spinach and cool, uncovered, then chill, covered. Remove any
solidified fat before reheating and add spinach once stew is hot.

Makes 8 servings.



Sweet-And-Sour Stuffed Mustard Cabbage

There are several varieties of mustard cabbage; for this recipe we used
wrapped-heart mustard cabbage, also called swatow or dai gai choy.
Sharp and pungent when raw, mustard cabbage sweetens and mellows with
wilting and slow cooking. Try serving this dish with mashed potatoes,
which go very well with the gravylike tomato sauce the stuffed cabbage
is cooked in.
Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 2 3/4 hr

For sauce
1 large onion (1 lb), halved and thinly sliced crosswise
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (28- to 32-oz) can whole tomatoes including juice
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup dried sour cherries
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For stuffed cabbage
2 lb wrapped-heart mustard cabbage (2 heads)
1 lb ground chuck (preferably not lean)
3 tablespoons long-grain rice
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup grated onion
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Make sauce:
Cook onion in oil in a 12-inch deep heavy skillet over moderate heat,
stirring occasionally, until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Add tomatoes
with juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, cherries, salt, and pepper and
simmer, uncovered, breaking up tomatoes into smaller pieces with a
wooden spoon and stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.
Stuff cabbage while sauce simmers:
Immerse whole heads of cabbage, 1 at a time if necessary, in a large
pot of boiling salted water and cook until leaves are tender but still
hold their shape, about 5 minutes. Transfer cabbages with a large
slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking,
then drain in a colander. Separate leaves, then cut off and reserve
tough stem ends. Discard core. Pat leaves dry with paper towels.

Stir together beef, rice, water, onion, salt, and pepper. Spread out 1
large cabbage leaf on a work surface and put 2 tablespoons filling in
center. Fold both sides of leaf toward center (over filling), then fold
stem over filling and roll tightly into a cylinder. Stuff remaining
cabbage leaves in same manner, using less filling for smaller leaves.
Chop any unused leaves and reserved stem ends and stir into simmering
sauce.

Arrange stuffed cabbage rolls, seam sides down, in 1 layer over sauce
and simmer, covered, 1 1/2 hours.

Cooks' note:
.. Stuffed cabbage rolls can be cooked 2 days ahead and cooled,
uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat before serving.

Makes 6 main-course servings.



Veal Shoulder With Porcini Mushrooms, Garlic And Rosemary

Start making this at least one day ahead.

1 3/4-ounce package dried porcini mushrooms
8 large garlic cloves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 5-pound veal shoulder clod roast, tied to hold shape
1/4 cup olive oil
2 pounds meaty veal neck bones
4 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup drained chopped canned tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grind mushrooms to powder in coffee or spice
mill. Coarsely chop garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper in
processor. Set aside 1 tablespoon garlic mixture; press remainder, 1/2
teaspoon at a time, into center of veal through openings of string (or
poke holes in veal and push garlic mixture in). Coat outside of veal
with mushroom powder.
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add bones and brown
well, about 8 minutes. Transfer bones to bowl. Add veal to pot. Brown
on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add reserved 1 tablespoon garlic mixture
and any remaining mushroom powder to pot around veal and stir 1 minute.
Arrange bones around veal. Add broth, wine, tomatoes, tomato paste and
vinegar. Bring to boil. Cover; place in oven and roast until veal is
tender, turning veal every 30 minutes, about 2 hours. Cool veal
uncovered 1 hour. Discard bones. Refrigerate until cold, then cover and
keep refrigerated 1 day. Scrape off fat from surface of sauce. Transfer
veal to work surface, scraping any sauce back into pot. Remove strings.
Cut veal crosswise into scant 1/2-inch-thick slices. Overlap slices in
large baking dish. Boil sauce until reduced to 3 1/2 cups, about 20
minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over veal.
(Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover with foil and chill.)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake veal covered until heated, about 35
minutes.

Makes 8 servings.



Honey Ginger-Glazed Carrots

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

3 pounds carrots, cut into 3- by 1/2-inch sticks
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh gingerroot

In a kettle cover carrots with salted water by 2 inches and boil,
uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes.
While carrots are cooking, cook honey, butter, and gingerroot over
moderate heat, stirring, until butter is melted.

Drain carrots well and in a bowl toss with honey glaze and salt and
pepper to taste.

Serves 8.



KUGEL YERUSHALMI

(Hasidic Caramelized Noodle Pudding)

The Chmielnicki massacres in Poland in 1648, the apostasy of the false
messiah Shabbetai Tzvi in 1666, the subsequent partition of Poland, and
other problems shook the Jewish communities of eastern Europe. Some
Jews found an answer in the freedom offered by the Enlightenment
(Haskala in Yiddish). Others turned to Kabbalistic healers and miracle
workers. One of these holy men was Israel ben Eliezer, commonly called
the Ba'al Shem Tov (Master of the Good Name). By the time of his death
in 1760, he had created a full-fledged religious movement known as
Hasidism and, within a generation, the bulk of the Jews in central
Poland, Galicia, and the Ukraine were Hasidim.

Beginning in the late 1700s, groups of Hasidim began moving to the Holy
Land in order to live a more fully religious life. They brought with
them the traditions of eastern Europe, including their manner of dress
and foods. It was among the Hasidim of Jerusalem that this distinctive
noodle kugel, which features a tantalizing contrast of pepper and
caramelized sugar, was popularized.

1 pound thin noodles or vermicelli
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
about 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
6 large eggs, lightly beaten

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the noodles
and cook until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking dish or a
large tube pan.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar and stir
until dissolved. Stop stirring and cook until dark brown but not
burned, about 10 minutes.
Immediately add the noodles, stirring to coat evenly. Remove from the
heat and season with salt and pepper. Let cool until lukewarm, at least
15 minutes, then add the eggs. Adjust the seasonings.
Spoon the noodle mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake until
golden brown and crispy - about 1 hour for the baking dish, about 1
1/2 hours for the tube pan. Serve warm or at room temperature with
roast chicken, meat, or cholent.

Serves 10.

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