The Shabbat Table: Summer living, having a blast!

FLICKR PHOTO

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! The weather continues to be hot and no one feels like spending long hours slaving over a hot stove, preparing greasy, fat-laden meals. It’s time to have fun in the sun, spend time around the swimming pool, or just relaxing with friends, family, or a good book.

When it comes to preparing meals for Shabbos, there’s nothing better than serving some simple salads. They’re perfect for Shabbat dinner or can be served for lunch the next day. The recipes I’ve chosen are vegetarian but they make great sides to serve with grilled meats or roast chicken for the meat eaters in your family. And since you’re eating so healthy, it’s perfectly okay to enjoy dessert!

jdfsSecrets from Lori Rapp’s Kitchen: Tales and Recipes from Jerusalem’s Popular Cuisine, written by Lori Slutzki Rapp with Marvin Rapp, is more than just a cookbook. It is a “Foodoir (noun): a written description of someone’s experiences which includes recipes or focuses on food…foodoir is a blend of food and memory.”

Lori is the Canadian born daughter of Holocaust survivor food-loving parents. Lori and her husband Marvin moved with their five sons to Israel in 1986. In 1991, they launched La Cuisine, a popular kosher catering company and bakery in Jerusalem, from their modest three-bedroom apartment. They ran their Israeli catering business for twenty-one years and people often asked her to share some of her favourite recipes.

Lori replied: “You do realize that this is how I earn my living. Just be patient. As soon as I part ways with La Cuisine, I will gladly share my recipes with everyone.” Lori followed up on her promise, sharing her cooking secrets in her charming cookbook/memoir: Secrets from Lori Rapp’s Kitchen, available here.

For more of Lori’s delicious dessert recipes such as Lemon Bombe, Concorde Cake, and her Trademark La Cuisine Muffins (which are perfect for breakfast for Shabbat or anytime), click here.

Have a wonderful, delicious, relaxing Shabbat!!


QUINOA AND FRUIT SALAD (Non-dairy)

5582558301_df2c0dd60dLori writes: “I fell in love with quinoa as soon as it became available in this neck of the woods. Not so all my catering customers – many of them made a face when I suggested quinoa salad for a party, but they were easily won over as soon as they tasted this one. You can vary the fruits with the season. Be sure to try it with strawberries, kiwi, mango, nectarines, fresh apricots, or pineapple.”

Salad:

250 g (9 ounces) quinoa, rinsed well

240 ml (1 cup) dried cranberries, raisins, currants, or dried blueberries

480 ml (2 cups) seeded grapes, halved

120 ml (1/2 cup) pomegranate seeds

3 green onions, chopped

Dressing:

75 ml (1/3 cup) olive oil

30 ml (2 Tbsp) mayonnaise

25 ml (1 1/2 Tbsp) lemon juice

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 heaping Tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Salad: Cook the quinoa in 3 cups of boiling, salted water for 15 minutes, until you can see the ring clearly on each grain. Drain it if necessary. Allow the quinoa to cool completely. Add the fruits and onions, and toss gently with all of the dressing.

Dressing: Put all the ingredients into a processor and blend until it’s smooth.

Serves 10


GREEN SALAD WITH SOY DRESSING (Non-dairy)

This salad is good with or without the greens.

Salad:

2 litres (8 cups) torn lettuce or mixed baby greens

1/2 litre (2 cups) bean sprouts

240 ml (1 cup) canned baby corn, sliced

4 green onions, washed and chopped

50 g (2 ounces) sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Soy Dressing:

120 ml (1/2 cup) cider vinegar

80 ml (1/3 cup) soy sauce

12 g (3 tsp) dried mustard

3 g (1 1/2 tsp) pepper

8 ml (1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

5 g (1 tsp) salt

5 g (1 tsp) garlic powder

360 ml (1 1/2 cups) canola oil

Salad: Toss all the salad ingredients in a big salad bowl, with enough dressing to coat the greens and sprouts.

Soy Dressing: Whisk together everything but the oil. Whisk in the oil.

Serves 8. Makes 600 ml (2 1/2 cups) dressing.


CHOCOLATE PECAN CAKE (Non-dairy)

Lori Rapp writes: “I always found non-dairy baking to be particularly challenging. This recipe made life easier for me in the bakery, but at home you should really try it sometime using only dairy ingredients. This cake has a rich, brownie-like texture and is topped with an intense chocolate-coffee glaze. And, as we always told the customers, you absolutely must eat this cake at room temperature to really have it at its best.”

Cake:

215 g (7 1/2 ounces) chocolate, chopped

215 g (7 1/2 ounces) butter-flavoured margarine

140 g (5 oz) pecans, finely ground

22 g (3 Tbsp) flour

5 egg yolks

134 g (2/3 cup) sugar

5 egg whites

67 g (1/3 cup) sugar

Glaze:

160 g (5 1/2 ounces) chocolate, chopped

90 ml (1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp) non-dairy heavy whipping cream

4 g (2 tsp) instant espresso granules

Decoration:

85 g (3 ounces) pecans, chopped and toasted

Cake:

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Line a 24 cm (9 inch) spring form pan with parchment paper for easy removal of the cake later.

Melt the chocolate together with the margarine in a large glass heatproof bowl in the microwave for 5 minutes at half power. Stir until smooth. Whisk in the pecans and flour.

Whip the egg yolks with the 134 g (2/3 cup) sugar in a mixer until they’re pale and fluffy. Then fold them gently into the chocolate mixture.

Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form in a clean mixer bowl. Then slowly sprinkle in the 67 g (1/3 cup) sugar and whip them until they’re stiff but not dry.

WIKI COMMONS PHOTO
WIKI COMMONS PHOTO

Fold half the egg whites into the chocolate mixture lightly but not thoroughly. Scrape in the rest of the egg whites and fold them in gently but thoroughly. Scrape the mixture into the pan.

Bake the cake for 40 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then press down the top of the cake evenly with a flat cake bottom or with your fingers. Cool completely.

Cut the cake around the sides with a regular kitchen knife, loosening it from the outside ring. Refrigerate it for at least 1 hour.

Remove the cake carefully from the pan and peel off the parchment paper. Place it upside down on a cardboard cake round or directly on a serving plate.

Glaze: Melt all the ingredients together in the microwave in a small glass heatproof bowl for 5 minutes at half power; stir it until smooth. Cool the glaze almost to room temperature. Take a bit of the glaze and with a small knife, spread it around the sides of the cake so the chopped decorated nuts will stick.

Decoration: Press the nuts onto the sides of the cake. Pour the rest of the glaze onto the top of the cake, coaxing it to the edges evenly with the help of a long flexible spatula or a knife. This cake, like all cakes made with nuts, tastes better the next day.

Makes one 24 cm (9 inch) cake.


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].