Spring Quinoa with Pesto & Greens

A beautiful spring salad; perfect year-round.

By Elisheva Margulies for The Nosher

You might have heard rumors that there's a grain-like food that's kosher for Passover. Better than a new flavor of matzah, quinoa (pronounced keen-wha) is a seed that resembles and tastes like a grain, and can be found at your local grocery store.

While it's a relative newcomer to the American kitchen, having only been introduced to the States in the past 20 years, this ancient Andean seed has been an important food in South America for over 6000 years. A member of the goosefoot family, which is also the family of beets, swiss chard, lamb's quarters, spinach, and amaranth, quinoa is not technically a grain, but can be used as one in cooking.Year-round, quinoa is perfect for vegans, those with celiac, and anyone looking for a change from rice. It's gluten-free and contains all of the essential amino acids, making it a complete protein.

You might be wondering why quinoa is allowed on Passover, when your favorite rice and lentils are not (if you are an Ashkenazic Jew). Ashkenazic rabbis ruled that kitniyot--products made from corn, rice, millet, and legumes--are prohibited on Passover because they are too similar to grains that are already forbidden on Passover. But quinoa didn't make the kitniyot list, because it is a new world crop, and medieval Ashkenazic rabbis were not aware of its existence.

Furthermore, because quinoa grows in the high altitude of the Andes, where hametz does not grow, there is no chance of cross-contamination with the grains on the do-not-eat list. As long as quinoa is processed in a factory that does not also process grains, it's kosher for Passover and ready for your holiday table. Some approved certifications include the Half-Moon K (KOAOA), found on the Trader Joe's and Ancient Harvest brands of quinoa.

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Nutella Babka

By Shannon Sarna for The Nosher

I didn’t grow up baking or even eating babka. Coffee cake, definitely. Banana bread was a staple. But babka just wasn’t something around. When I did finally taste babka as a teenager, I was like: where have you been all my life!? Chocolatey, chewy and slightly gooey – it was a perfect Shabbat morning breakfast treat with a cup of tea or coffee.

Recently I’ve been itching to recreate babka at home. I mean, I bake challah every week – why shouldn’t I tackle babka? But, it was harder than I thought. I tried the recipe from Jerusalem. And it was great. But not quite what I was hoping to create.

And then I came across two other recipes: one from Orly Ziv’s Cook in Israel and one from a blog I came across on Instagram: Ba-Li cravings.

My recipe is really a combination of Orly’s genius idea to stuff a babka with nutella, Ba-li’s tried-and-true dough which I have updated only slightly and a technique from Jerusalem that ensures that ooey gooey babka taste and texture we all crave.

This recipe is easily pareve-erized. (Yes, you can make this nondairy.) You can either buy a nondairy hazelnut spread or you can also make your own using a recipe like this one.

It’s perfect to enjoy with a cup of tea of coffee. Or if you’re like my daughter, you will just dig right in.

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Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Dip

By Yosef Silver for The Nosher

No matter how much I plan or prep, I find myself in a pre-dinner panic almost every time we host. I’m opening and closing the fridge, wondering if I’ll actually have enough food. No one has ever gone hungry at my table and there’s always plenty of variety so surprise allergies or unannounced vegetarians are never a concern.

That said, I’ve built an arsenal of “quick extras” that I can add to almost any menu. Anything from roasted chickpeas, grilled polenta or this eggplant dip which reassure me there will be enough food.

This roasted eggplant and garlic dip is quick, and when you serve it in the skin of the eggplant, it looks beautiful and impressive on the table. All of the ingredients are things that I typically have in the fridge, so when I get a last minute “can we bring two friends to dinner?” phone call, I never have to say no.

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A Love for Flavor, Straight from the IDF

by Tamar Fox for Jewniverse

During his stint in the Israeli Defense Forces Lior Lev Sercarz was once responsible for frying 200 pieces of schnitzel on a propane stove while Lebanese rockets flew overhead. Perhaps because he got his start cooking while under fire, Sercarz developed a fascination with spices. Not the powders you buy in the grocery store: searches the globe for the most pure and intense flavors, and at La Boîte, his New York City shop on an industrial strip, he combines them into spice mixes that trigger the deepest and most mysterious places in your brain.

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Double Chocolate Chip Challah

By Shannon Sarna for The Nosher

I always say that I loathe Passover, but there is a part of me that also enjoys it. Or at the very least, appreciates its value. It’s a week where we are challenged to be even more thoughtful about the food we eat and where it comes from. And it’s almost like our own version of a Spring cleanse. Bye-bye carbs, hello vegetables and creative use of potatoes. I do feel lighter after a week without bread and pasta, despite my bitching and moaning all the way through. And believe me, my husband can vouch for my constant kvetching.

But the time has come to indulge in some carbs once again, and I can’t wait to get back to my Friday routine of baking challah with my daughter.

And do you know what’s better than challah? Chocolate chip challah. And perhaps even better than chocolate chip challah? Double chocolate chip challah laced with cinnamon, vanilla and dark cocoa powder.

I swear by Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder and highly recommend you keep it stocked for cookies, cakes and sometimes even challah.

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How To Make Salyanka, a Hearty Georgian Stew With Beef and Red Peppers

Video: The former Soviet republic’s Jewish history dates back millennia. This simple recipe is one of the community’s treasures.

By Joan Nathan for Tablet Magazine

Ever since I first visited Georgia (then part of the Soviet Union) in the late 1980s, I have loved its cuisine, in particular a bright beef and red pepper stew called Salyanka. So, I was delighted when, on a recent trip to Israel with Mike Solomonov from Zahav Restaurant in Philadelphia, we decided to eat at Racha, a Georgian restaurant in downtown Jerusalem. As we entered the stone British Mandate office building where the restaurant is located, right across from the original office of the Jerusalem Post, I felt transported to a home in Racha, the western province in Georgia, whose Jewish community dates back 2,600 years.

Today most of the Jews from Georgia have immigrated to Israel. Two of them who came as children in the 1970s were Lily Ben Shalom, who became a post office employee, and her brother Israel Shahar, an electrical engineer. They had a dream of opening a restaurant, so they saved their money and mementos of Racha. A few years ago they opened this charming restaurant filled with family pictures on the walls, white lace curtains on the windows, Georgian music, and recipes passed down through generations in the kitchen. “We cook how they cooked at home,” said Israel, the chef. “We don’t have any cookbooks. The recipes come from the head and the hand.”

What intrigued me as I bit into this delicious beef stew (recipe here) is that, like many early Jewish recipes I have found around the world, the beef, often a tough inexpensive cut, is first boiled in water until it is almost tender and then layered with flavor from onions, spices, and in this case bright red peppers, so easy to obtain today. After slowly simmering for a few hours, you are rewarded with a melt-in-your-mouth, silky stew. As they say in Georgia, ghmert`ma shegargos—bon appetit!

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Kibbe Mushroom

From thekosherfoodies.com 

Kibbes are our version of little meatballs, and are a staple in the Syrian household. We cook them with peas, cherries, sour soup and many other savory dishes. Let’s just say it’s not Friday night without a kibbe (or many) at the table. Now don’t confuse these little kibbe meatballs with the bulgur-shelled and meat-stuffed kibbe torpedoes. They’re completely different. If that made no sense to you, continue reading this blog, we’ll definitely explain more about these middle-eastern staples soon!

Anyway, kibbes. They’re tiny meat stuffed meatballs! The outer shell is a mixture of ground rice and chopped meat, and they’re stuffed with meat mixed with parsley and spices. Though they’re available at any butcher in my neighborhood, they’re a cinch to make. Shaping them takes a little bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it, you can do it while watching TV, which is how we always do it. You make a whole bunch and freeze them. These I got from my freezer, but next time I make a batch, I’ll show you how to make them.

This kibbe mushroom recipe is adapted from a whole bunch of sources and years of making them at home. The garlic is not traditional, but adds a deeper flavor. Cooking this covered over low heat allows for all the juices to come out.

Ingredients:

1/2 white onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, whole
pound mushrooms (I used white button mushrooms), quartered if large, and halved if small.
About 15 kibbes
1 teaspoon ground allspice
Salt and pepper

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