Good Shabbos, Shabbat Shalom, Happy Canada Day! The weather will be extremely hot this weekend, so my plan is to keep my kitchen cool, eat lighter foods, and expend as little energy as possible. Paula Shoyer, author of The Healthy Jewish Kitchen (Sterling Epicure) to the rescue! Her Salmon and Avocado Tartare (below), and Watermelon, Peach, and Mint Gazpacho (below) require no cooking, and her Baked Schnitzel with Nut Crust tastes great served cold after the first day!
Too often, Jewish cookbooks still feature many recipes that lack whole grains and include too much salt, fat, sugar, and processed foods. But Paula Shoyer’s delicious take on Jewish cooking is different: she uses only natural ingredients and offers a fresh, nutrient-dense spin on every dish. Here you’ll find very little frying, and no margarine, frozen puff pastry, soup stocks and powders, and most jarred sauces. Paula’s creative collection of American and international dishes extend beyond the Jewish culinary world.
The Healthy Jewish Kitchen features more than 60 recipes, with beautiful colour photos, and includes both Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewish classics. You’ll find recipes for Israeli Herb and Almond Salad; Tzatziki Soup; Gluten-Free Challah; Feijoada: Brazilian Cholent with Collard Greens and Farofa; Grilled Steak with Everything Marinade; Dry-Rubbed Roasted Salmon; Charred Cauliflower with Orange Vinaigrette; Potato and Scallion Latkes; Israeli Chocolate Rugelach; and Aquafaba Chocolate Mousse.
Paula Shoyer is a graduate of the Ritz Escoffier pastry program in Paris and teaches French and Jewish baking classes in the Washington, DC, area. She also conducts large-scale baking demonstrations across the United States and Canada. Shoyer is the author of several excellent cookbooks, including The New Passover Menu, The Holiday Kosher Baker (both from Sterling Epicure), and The Kosher Baker (Brandeis) and is a contributing editor to kosherscoop.com, as well Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller, Whisk, and Hadassah. Paula has appeared on major TV cooking shows, is a frequent TV news guest, and edited the popular cookbooks Kosher by Design Entertains and Kosher by Design Kids in the Kitchen (both from Mesorah Publications). She lives in Chevy Chase, MD, with her husband and four children. To learn more about Paula Shoyer and check out her cooking videos and recipes, visit www.thekosherbaker.com.
Dippity-Doo-Dah! For some cool dips, see Summertime: Time for a Dip!
SALMON AND AVOCADO TARTARE
Adapted from The Healthy Jewish Kitchen by Paula Shoyer
Parve, Gluten-free, Fish, Passover
Serves 8 (1/3-cup servings)
Paula shares: “Tartare is the French version of poke, ceviche, and sashimi. I was working on a gefilte fish recipe when I got a call from my friend Chana Kaplan, who runs Friendship Circle at Chabad in Potomac, Maryland. I told her that I was agonizing over a gefilte fish recipe idea that just wasn’t panning out. When Chana said that there were enough gefilte fish recipes out there in the world, I mentioned an idea for salmon tartare as a lighter alternative. Chana convinced me to abandon my plan to include a gefilte fish recipe in this book. This tartare is infinitely easier to prepare and can be doubled and tripled for a crowd.”
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Advanced Prep: Must be made and served on the same day
1 pound (450 g) of the freshest salmon or sashimi you can buy
3 scallions, ends trimmed, sliced
1 radish, finely chopped
Zest of 1/2 lime
1 tsp lime juice, from zested lime
1 Tbsp avocado oil
1 ripe avocado, cut into 1/2-inch (12-mm) cubes
1 basil leaf, cut into ribbons, about 1 Tbsp
1 or 2 Tbsp micro greens, for garnish (optional)
Slice the salmon into 1/2-inch (12-mm) cubes. Place them in a large bowl. Add the scallions, radishes, and lime zest and mix. Cover the mixture and refrigerate until just before serving.
When you’re ready to serve the tartare, add the lime juice, avocado oil, avocado cubes, and basil and mix well. Garnish with a sprinkle of micro greens, if you like.
WATERMELON, PEACH, AND MINT GAZPACHO
Adapted from The Healthy Jewish Kitchen by Paula Shoyer
Parve, Gluten-free, Passover
Serves 10
Paula writes: “This refreshing summer soup is best served with a watermelon, scallion, and avocado garnish, so don’t skimp on that. For adult guests, I sometimes add a few teaspoons of ice-cold vodka or tequila to the soup.”
Prep Time: 8 minutes; 4 hours to chill
Advance Prep: May be made 2 days in advance
8 cups (1.3 kg) watermelon, cubed and divided
2 large ripe yellow peaches, unpeeled, pitted, and cut into 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) cubes, about 4 cups
1 English cucumber, unpeeled, and cut into chunks
1/3 cup (20 g) fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup (35 g) chopped red onions
1 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 scallions, ends trimmed, sliced, for garnish (optional)
1 ripe avocado, cubed, for garnish (optional)
Separate 1 heaping cup of cubed watermelon from the 8 cups total and chop it into 1/4-inch (6-mm) cubes. Set them aside in a small bowl and chill until ready to serve.
In batches, place the peaches, cucumbers, remaining 7 cups watermelon, mint leaves, red onions, and ginger into a blender or food processor and purée until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl or container. Add the lime juice, honey, and pepper and stir. Chill the gazpacho for 4 hours or overnight.
Garnish with the reserved cup of watermelon cubes, scallions, and avocados. You could also add sliced peaches, small-cubed cucumbers, and diced red onion in whatever combination you prefer.
BAKED SCHNITZEL WITH NUT CRUST
Adapted from The Healthy Jewish Kitchen by Paula Shoyer
Meat; Gluten-free; Passover
Serves 4 to 6 (8–10 slices)
Paula wrote: “My goal with this recipe was to bake it first, rather than frying it, and then see if I could come up with a gluten-free coating that everyone would love. This schnitzel is great cold after the first day. It should be made after Passover when, if you’re anything like me, you’ll have leftover ground nuts in your pantry. You can also use the same baking method with your favorite schnitzel breadcrumbs.”
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Advance Prep: May be made 3 days in advance or frozen
2 to 2 1/2 pounds (910 to 1.2 kg) chicken scaloppini, (thin slices), about 10 pieces
3 Tbsp sunflower oil, divided
1 cup (120 g) shelled pistachios
1 cup (120 g) slivered almonds
1/2 cup (45 g) ground hazelnuts (filberts)
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2–3 large eggs, as needed to coat all the pieces
1 cup (110 g) chickpea flour (or potato starch)
Sprigs of Italian parsley, for garnish (optional)
Preheat the oven to 475– 480°F (245– 250°C).
Place 1 1/2 Tbsp of oil on each of 2 jelly roll pans and spread to coat. Place the pistachios, almonds, and ground hazelnuts into the bowl of a food processor. Add the turmeric, cumin, paprika, ginger, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Process until the nuts have been reduced to very small pieces, but not ground into a powder. Place them in a shallow bowl.
Crack two of the eggs into a shallow bowl and beat them well. Place the chickpea flour into a gallon-size freezer bag or a shallow bowl (the freezer bag works well). Cut the chicken into as many pieces as you like and, using your fingers, dip each into the chickpea flour to coat it completely, shaking off any excess. Then dip the pieces into the beaten eggs and press them into the nut mixture to completely coat the chicken. Place the chicken on a large plate and set it aside. Wash your hands with warm soapy water.
When the oven is preheated, place the oil-coated pans into the oven and heat for 5 minutes. When the jelly roll pans are hot, very carefully remove one pan at a time and add the chicken, leaving a little room between each piece so that they don’t touch each other. Put the pans back in the oven and bake the chicken for 10 minutes. Using tongs, turn over the pieces and bake them for another 5 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through the cooking time so that each pan has a turn on the bottom rack to ensure maximum crunchiness.
Serve immediately.
