Good Shabbos, Shabbat Shalom! It seems that many people are suffering from the winter blues and are feeling uninspired when it comes to being creative when it comes to cooking for Shabbat, or anytime, for that matter. In Canada, January is one of the coldest months of the year.
Gitta Bixenspanner, ND, author of Kosher Classics: Menus and Customs Around the Jewish Year, writes: “As a native of Brazil, where there was never winter, I still find it difficult to enjoy this time of year. I prefer to snuggle up with a good book in front of a fireplace or heater.”
Gitta continues: “One way to ward off winter is to imagine that you are in Israel in a more temperature climate. For January, I therefore present some recipes inspired by the Mediterranean-style dishes found in Israeli hotels and resorts.”
Gitta grew up in Sao Paolo, Brazil, where she was introduced to every fruit and vegetable abundantly available in that part of the world. Marriage brought her to Montreal, where she spent 30 years teaching and raising her family.
In her creative new cookbook, Kosher Classics, Gitta Bixenspanner will take you through the Jewish year, offering a selection of delicious dishes. You’ll discover many Shabbos-worthy delicacies, everything from cholent and dafina, potato kugel and latkes of all kinds, as well as cheesecake and chocolate-dipped almond biscotti. Gitta shows her readers how to take advantage of each season’s bounty, all with an eye towards nutrition. The 300+ recipes in Kosher Classics will expand your repertoire and introduce you to new family favorites.
Gitta’s tantalizing menus for January feature such delights as “A Sumptuous Buffet Spread with Mediterranean Flair,” including her Hungarian Stuffed Peppers (below). She makes excellent use of her slow cooker throughout the book, along with tips on how to adapt recipes to the crock-pot. She includes a variety of “Convenient, Stress-Free Meals,” such as Chickpea, Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Stew, Moroccan Beef Stew, as well as Chicken with Jasmine Rice.
READ: THE SHABBAT TABLE: SLOW COOKER FAMILY FAVOURITES
She includes healthier twists on many of her recipes, and there are color photos throughout. Her unique cookbook follows the Jewish calendar, emphasizing the specialties that each month of the Jewish year has to offer. Gitta explains, “Although these recipes are divided by month, they can be adapted for any time of the year. Feel free to browse through the pages and mix and match menus to fit your particular needs. To your health!”
HUNGARIAN STUFFED PEPPERS
Preparation: 30 minutes
Serves 6 – 8
Everyone loves stuffed peppers! Whether you’re cooking for a group or just for the family, these stuffed peppers make a delicious meal, and with a little effort, you can make them nutritious as well. This dish is not too difficult to prepare and can be cooked in a crock-pot. Stuffed peppers are a great dish for cold winter nights.
1 bread roll (I use whole wheat for the fiber content)
6 – 8 green, orange, or yellow peppers
1 – 2 lb ground beef (to make it healthier, use ground turkey instead)
1 medium white onion, chopped
Garlic powder, to taste
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 large eggs (1 egg per pound ground meat)
1 large can marinara sauce
Soak bread in a bowl of water. Meanwhile, cut the tops of the peppers and remove all the seeds.
Mix together ground beef, onion, spices, and the eggs (beaten). Squeeze water out of the bread and add to the mixture. Mix very well and stuff the mixture into the hollowed-out peppers. Mold any leftover meat into meatballs.
Place peppers, face-side up, into a pot. Add any meatballs to the pot. Cover stuffed peppers with marinara sauce. Add water until peppers are covered. Bring to a boil.
Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.
MOROCCAN BEEF STEW
Preparation: 15 minutes
Serves 8 – 12
This stew, with its variety of flavors, is tasty and easy, bringing an exotic Mediterranean flair to your palate.
2 Tbsp oil
2 lb lean beef, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
4 carrots, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chickpeas, washed and soaked overnight
2 cups low-sodium beef broth or water
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro, leaves only
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
Pat the meat dry with a paper towel. Warm a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil to the hot pan. Add meat, searing on all sides. Remove the meat and set aside. While the pan is still hot, add the carrots, onions, and garlic. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the turmeric powder and tomato puree and stir to combine. (These steps can be done the night before.)
Place the beef, vegetables, chickpeas, and stock or water into the crock-pot. Cook on low for 6 hours. Stir in the chopped fruit and cook for 1 more hour.
Sprinkle on cilantro and almonds before serving. Serve with whole-wheat couscous, prepared according to package directions.
Tip: Cut the dried apricots with kitchen shears rather than a knife.
HEARTY QUINOA SALAD WITH AVOCADO AND BLACK BEANS
Preparation: 20 minutes + cooking time
Serves 4 (or double the recipe for a crowd)
Even during cold winter days, a well-combined grain/bean salad served at room temperature is very filling for all ages. Quinoa is light and tasty and very good for you! (This grain-based salad would be an excellent choice for Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the trees, which will take place in February.)
1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
1 1/4 cups water
1 tsp chili powder (optional)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground coriander (optional)
1/2 tsp cumin (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
Dressing:
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp maple syrup or honey
1 Tbsp mustard or to taste
Salad:
1 cup cooked black beans, cooked, drained, and rinsed
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup chopped red onions (optional: marinate in red wine vinegar; see below)
2 scallions, chopped
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup pine nuts
In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa, water, chili powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, coriander, cumin, and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit covered for an additional 5 minutes.
Dressing: Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine lime juice, olive oil, maple syrup or honey, and mustard. Whisk until well combined.
Salad: In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa, black beans, grape tomatoes red onions, scallions, and avocado. (If you will not be serving immediately, wait until you are read to serve to add the avocado.) Toss with dressing and top with pine nuts.
* Optional: Make marinated onions by bringing 1/2 cup red wine vinegar to a boil. Remove from heat and add red onions. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes.
DELICIOUS CROCK-POT APPLE CRISP
Preparation: 20 minutes
Serves 6
This is a delicious dessert that can be made in a number of ways, but the tastiest results come out of a crock-pot, as it cooks slowly and evenly, allowing the flavors to blend to perfection. It is delectable for an occasional treat!
6 cups peeled and thinly sliced Granny Smith apples
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup apple cider
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup trans fat-free margarine
Start cooking your apples in the crock-pot on low.
In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour, apple cider/juice, oats, and cinnamon. With a hand mixer or two knives, cut in the margarine until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle all ingredients over the apples.
Cover and cook for 3 hours or until apples are tender. Decorate with a dollop of whipped cream (for a dairy meal) and a sprig of mint.
Norene Gilletz is the leading author of kosher cookbooks in Canada. She is the author of 12 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 at www.gourmania.com or email her at [email protected]