The Shabbat Table is the latest CJN column from noted chef and food blogger Norene Gilletz. Click here for last week’s recipes.
Good Shabbos, Shabbat Shalom! I can’t believe it’s June and summer is right around the corner. For me, this means focusing on preparing fast and easy dishes for everyday meals, as well as for Shabbat. If you’re looking for inspiration for your Shabbat menu, I think you’ll like the recipes I’ve chosen for this week’s column.
Kim Kushner, author of The New Kosher: Simple Recipes to Savor & Share (Weldon Owen Inc.), was born in Montreal. She grew up in an Orthodox home and learned to cook from her Moroccan-born mother. A graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan, Kim has developed recipes for Food & Wine and Chile Pepper magazines. She has appeared on the Today Show and has been featured in The Huffington Post and the Chicago Tribune. Her first self-published cookbook, The Modern Menu, is now in its 3rd printing.
Kim’s recipes are simple and family-friendly, and the photos are spectacular. She believes anyone can cook, and everyone should cook. Her culinary style, much like her life, is a study in Modern Orthodoxy: her kitchen is kosher, and very much in line with her upbringing and heritage, yet, she is young, and her perspective is fresh and new. She’s become known for her healthy, seasonal, and hearty salads made from locally-grown produce – not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of kosher cuisine. Kim’s easy Marinated Vegetable Salad from The Modern Menu is a perfect summertime salad. It can be prepared in advance and lasts for a week in the refrigerator.
For more about Kim Kushner’s cookbooks and recipes, click here. You’ll find her yummy recipe for her versatile One Pot Chicken Soup with Seasonal Vegetables here.
Here are three delicious main dishes to choose from for your Shabbat menu, so whether you are cooking for meat eaters or those who prefer chicken or fish, Kim Kushner offers up scrumptious choices. The recipes all multiply well if you’re having a crowd. Enjoy!
RED ROAST CHICKEN WITH LEMON, WHOLE GARLIC & VEGETABLES
There’s never a bite left when Kim makes this simple yet spectacular roast chicken.
She cooks it on a chicken stand (an empty soda or beer can works, too), which holds the bird upright while it roasts. The result is crisp, golden skin and moist meat. It’s the best cooking invention ever. She stuffs the cavity with lemon halves and fresh thyme, then surrounds the chicken with vegetables on a parchment-lined baking dish, so cleanup is fast and easy. It cooks perfectly, and the vegetables turn into caramelized goodness. Look for a chicken stand at cookware stores and online.
1 head garlic
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 lemon
1 chicken, about 3 1/2 lbs (1.75 kg)
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 tablespoon sweet paprika or sumac
1 teaspoon dried basil
5 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and thinly sliced
1 handful of pearl onions, peeled
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Have a large roasting pan handy and line it with parchment paper.
2. Cut 1 inch (2.5 cm) off the top of the garlic head; do not discard. Place both garlic pieces on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with the 1 teaspoon oil. Wrap the foil over the garlic, enclosing it completely. Set aside.
3. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the cavity and over the outside of the chicken. Reserve the lemon halves. Generously season the cavity and the outside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Stuff the lemon halves and thyme inside the chicken, then place the chicken on a chicken stand (or on an empty soda can). Sprinkle the paprika and basil over the outside of the chicken, using your hands to spread them all over.
4. Place the stand with the chicken in the roasting pan. Surround with the carrots, zucchini, fennel, and onions. Place the foil-wrapped garlic in the pan. Drizzle a little bit of oil over the vegetables.
5. Roast for 1 hour. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F (165 C) and roast until the chicken is golden brown and the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, about 1 hour longer. (If you would like to keep the chicken and vegetables warm, turn off the oven, then keep them in the warm oven for up to 1 hour longer.)
6. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, take it off the stand and discard the lemon halves and thyme. Cut the chicken into serving pieces. Unwrap the garlic and squeeze the cloves over the chicken to release the golden, roasted deliciousness. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a serving platter. Now, devour.
Serves 4 to 6
LONDON BROIL WITH MAPLE & SOY
Kim is a steak and potatoes kind of girl. She will never turn away a good steak! But, let’s get real, when it comes to dinner parties and barbecues for a large crowd, how can you serve each person a rib eye without breaking the bank?
There’s a better way to serve steak, and the answer is London broil, which is a cooking method rather than a cut. It calls for marinating a flank steak or a top round steak, grilling or broiling it, and then thinly slicing it. The maple and soy combination here is tangy, salty, and sweet. Kim likes using this cooking method because when she slices the meat after taking it off the grill, she can take half of the medium-rare slices and cook them a little longer in the oven until they are medium-well. This way, everyone in her family is satisfied.
1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) soy sauce
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
1 teaspoon orange zest
freshly ground pepper
1 flank or top round steak or London broil, about 2 1/2 lb (1.25 kg)
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1. In a bowl, whisk together the oil, soy sauce, maple syrup, rosemary, orange zest, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
2. Place the meat and onion in a large lock-top plastic bag, pour the marinade into the bag, and seal the bag. Marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
3. Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal or gas grill, or preheat a stove-top grill pan over high heat. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).
4. Remove the meat from the bag and shake off the excess marinade. Reserve the marinade.
5. Grill the meat, turning once, until nicely charred on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. The meat will be medium-rare.
6. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for about 10 minutes.
7. Cut the meat against the grain into slices 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick.
8. To cook some of the meat medium-well, place the slices in a baking dish and pour the reserved marinade over the top. Cover with aluminum foil, transfer to the oven, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Serves 4 to 6
TAMARI SALMON WITH EDAMAME
When Kim Kushner’s friends are coming over for dinner, this is the recipe they often request. It’s easy to make: simply cook the salmon at high temperature, pour the garlic-tamari sauce over the fillet, and sprinkle the crunchy, bright edamame on top. Kushner’s kids fight for the edamame smothered in the zesty sauce. Tamari is traditionally a by-product of miso production and, unlike soy sauce, contains little or no wheat. It is also darker, thicker, and less salty than soy sauce. You’ll find it in most supermarkets.
1 skinless salmon fillet, about 2 pounds (1 kg)
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) tamari sauce
juice of half an orange
3 tablespoons honey (Kim likes to use pure raw honey)
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 oz/235 g) frozen shelled edamame, thawed and brought to room temperature
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1. Preheat the oven to 450 F (230 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place the salmon on the prepared baking sheet and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with aluminum foil; place in the oven, and cook until the flesh flakes when prodded with a knife but is still moist or to your liking, 10-15 minutes.
3. Remove from oven, uncover, let cool for 15 minutes, and then transfer to a serving platter.
4. Meanwhile, in a glass jar, combine the garlic, tamari, orange juice, honey, and sesame oil and shake until well blended.
5. Rinse edamame under running warm water.
6. Pour the sauce over the cooled fish and sprinkle the edamame and sesame seeds evenly over the top. Serve right away. (That’s right, the edamame don’t need to be cooked. They were cooked before they were packaged and need only to be thawed.)
Serves 4 to 6
Norene Gilletz is the leading author of kosher cookbooks in Canada. She is the author of eleven cookbooks and divides her time between work as a food writer, food manufacturer, consultant, spokesperson, cooking instructor, lecturer, and cookbook editor.
Norene lives in Toronto, Canada and her motto is “Food that’s good for you should taste good!” For more information, visit her website or email her at [email protected].