Tastes Like Chicken Soup
Occasionally, I go through a phase during which I try to cook everything “from scratch,” with pure, fresh, natural ingredients. The first ingredient to be villianized during such phases is parve chicken soup mix, or, as Carmel calls it, “Tastes Like Chicken Soup.”
On my saner days, however, I tend to regard such mixes as valuable additions to the pantry. As long as they are not overused, phony chicken soup mixes can add a needed dimension of flavor to meatless soups and certain other recipes. Last Rosh HaShanah, I discovered that, with the right additions, they can even provide the base for a very tasty vegetarian matsa ball soup.
The broth can be prepared in tandem with real chicken soup, using the same vegetables, herbs, and spices. (For me, that means carrots, celery, onions, fresh dill and parsley, dried tarragon, and freshly ground pepper.) The key to a genuinely flavorful vegetarian broth is to caramelize the onions. This can be done by cooking the onions in margarine or vegetable oil over high heat for 10 minutes, and then over medium-low heat for an additional 30-45 minutes. The vegetables should be cut into spoon-sized pieces and sauteed, and the herbs should be finely chopped.
Sound like stone soup? Well, it’s not. The mix is vital. Don’t exceed the proportion of mix to water recommended on the package, though, at least at the outset. You can add more at any point if the soup seems to bland.
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French’s Worcestershire no longer kosher
So, as long as we’re talking about sauces… I just spied the label of my fresh, as yet unopened bottle of French’s Worcestershire Sauce. The label proclaims proudly, “NOW EVEN RICHER!” Apparently, “even richer” also means “less kosher.” No more OU heksher to be found.
No big deal, right? Well, to my knowledge, French’s Worcestershire was the sole pareve sauce of its kind [update: luckily not true, see comments]. Lea & Perrins, the brand synonymous with W-shire, contains enough anchovy to be designed “OU-Fish” and thus unacceptable for use with meat. French’s, however, with markedly less anchovy puree, worked well in kosher burgers and marinades.
I’ve sent a brief note to French’s hoping to find an explanation for the change. Will post a response when it arrives.
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Pareve Shortcakes / Biscuits
In these parts, we have a reliable supply of dairy biscuits in the nearby supermarket bakeries for enjoying as part of a breakfast sandwich or a strawberry shortcake.
But what about when that breakfast sandwich nixes the cheese and piles on the beef fry? Or when that delicious dessert comes after a meat meal?
The answer is a pareve biscuit, of course (and, in the latter case, non-dairy whipped topping). So, I cracked open my recently-purchased copy of Cook’s Illustrated’s The New Best Recipe to resequence their tried-and-true shortcake recipe. Switching butter with margarine (Earth Balance sticks, in fact) was an easy choice, but what of the half-and-half? In today’s experiment, I went with soy milk and two tablespoons of vegetable oil as my cream replacement. I don’t know if it’s related, but my dough seemed much stickier than it ought to have been, so I added more flour (than the 2 cups listed) to compensate.
Long story short, they turned out well for a first try: a bit crustier than a typical buttermilk biscuit, and not as thick (probably pressed the dough out too thin). They’re great warm, but we also enjoyed them after being refrigerated. In the future, I might try making them without sugar and instead with savory flavorings, like garlic and rosemary, as a main course accompaniment.
PAREVE SHORTCAKES / BISCUITS
Adjusted from The New Best Recipe, page 950
Makes 6 shortcakes
• 2 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more to dust work surface and biscuit cutter
• 5 Tbsp. (about 2 1/4 oz.) sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt (omit if margarine is salted)
• 8 Tbsp. (one stick) cold unsalted pareve margarine, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. pareve soy milk
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a food processor, pulse the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, and the salt (if required) to combine. Scatter the margarine pieces over and process until the mixture resembles coars meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Mix the beaten egg with the soy milk and vegetable oil, and pour mixture into the flour mixture. Combine with a rubber spatula until large clumps form. Turn the mixture onto a floured work surface and lightly knead until it comes together.
Use your fingertips to pat the dough into a 9 by 6-inch rectangle about 3/4-inch thick, being careful not to overwork the dough. Flour a 2 3/4-inch biscuit cutter and cut out 6 dough rounds (KB note: used a 2-inch cutter and cut 12 rounds total, after combining scraps). Place the rounds 1 inch apart on a baking sheet, brush the tops with the beaten egg white, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. (Dough rounds can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 hours before baking).
Bake until the shortcakes are golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and let cakes cool.
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Best pareve cookies, EVER. Ever!!!
My favorite kosher Thanksgiving guest is an easy mouth to please — she has open-minded taste buds and is just so happy to get out of NYC and take a nice field trip to good old Randolph, Massachusetts! ;) My mother bought a box of these pareve cookies — Paskesz’s Mint Creme — and we could not believe they were pareve. They are better than any cookie we’ve ever had. PERFECT FOR SHABBAT! Warning: The box will be gone before you know it.
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Hain Vegetarian Chicken-Flavor Gravy Mix
My mother can’t get enough of Ina Garten’s homemade gravy. The recipe does look good, but I don’t usually have cognac lying around and I can’t put heavy cream into my gravies. I chanced upon an unlikely alternative at a recent trip to Whole Foods — Hain Pure Foods “Vegetarian Chicken-Flavor Gravy Mix.” It’s an unassuming packet of powder, to which one simply adds a cup of cold water and thickens by bringing to a boil. Surprisingly, the gravy tastes good without any adulteration. But, truth be told, it’s even better when you pour in some delicious turkey grease from the bottom of your roasting pan, stirring vigorously. I’m sure cognac wouldn’t hurt either!
(The “Brown Gravy Mix,” unfortunately, tastes like concentrated vegetable broth with caramel coloring. Maybe a good candidate for fleishig enhancements, but weak on its own.)
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Balsamic Windfall
From the Condiments & Dressings Department: KBlog reader Joshua and some friends recently bought a case of Manicardi kosher balasmic vinegar (sold online), and were gracious enough to dispatch a bottle of it my way. Manicardi actually has a decent product. The bottle is substantial and pleasant-looking, which is a big deal if you keep your oft-used cooking bottles out on the counter. Naturally, flavor is what it really comes down to, and this vinegar certainly stands above the Bartenura, Manischewitz, and Kedem balsamics. It’s not stellar by universal standards (ranking relatively low on the industry’s quality scale), but its plesant tang, slight sweetness, and absence of harsh aftertaste makes it the best kosher balsamic I’ve tried.
I chanced upon another kosher balsamic product at Cirelli Foods — Cindy’s Kitchen Balsamic Vinaigrette. It’s a great, all-purpose dressing (OU-certified) and even better, it’s locally produced by Custom Blends, Inc. of Brockton, MA.
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Boston Globe: Renaissance Chocolates
Making chocolates a rabbi can love
The latest addition to Sweet Satisfaction’s shelves makes an appearance on the Globe’s food page: Christine Buhr’s pareve “Renaissance Chocolates” (Va’ad Harabonim-certified). Just in time for Rosh Hashana, $15 1/2-pound and $30 1-pound boxes make great gifts. We bought a couple boxes today, so post-chag, I’ll give my critique.
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Double Rainbow Very Cherry Chocolate Chip
This is what the “Pareve Magic” category is all about. If you enjoy Ben & Jerry’s “Cherry Garcia” or J.P. Licks’s “Cherry Garciaparra,” you’ll love Double Rainbow’s “Very Cherry Chocolate Chip.” And even better, you can love it after your favorite fleishig meal — it’s a “Soy Cream.” Big cherries and chunks of chocolate permeate this delicious dairy-free dessert — if you weren’t told it was pareve, you wouldn’t know. Available (if you’re lucky) at area Trader Joe’s.
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Pareve Cornbread
WANTED: A recipe for exceptionally moist pareve cornbread. Please note that the cornbread recipe in The Kosher Palette falls into the “bone dry” category.
E-mailed or commented recipes greatly appreciated.
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Chocolate Raspberry Hamentashen
Here it is folks, the recipe for the best hamentashen I’ve ever had. Three notes: use “Dutch process” cocoa powder (e.g. Droste) — it has a stronger flavor and richer color. The pareve butter flavor is made by McCormick — if you don’t like using “imitation” ingredients, skip it. Find the best preserves you can for the raspberry filling; I like the “778″ brand preserves from Israel.
Chocolate-Raspberry Hamentashen
1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. pareve butter flavor
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 jar raspberry preserves
In an electric mixer, combine margarine, sugar, egg, vanilla, and butter flavor until well mixed. In a separate bowl, combine cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to mixer and blend together until well mixed. Divide dough into four pieces and chill for one hour. When chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough out on a lightly-floured surface to approx. 1/4 thickness. Cut 3-inch rounds. Re-roll scraps. Place 1 teaspoon raspberry preserves in center of round and fold three sides up to form a triangle, leaving some preserves visible in the center. Pinch the corners and place on greased cookie sheet, two inches apart (hamentashen will expand). Bake for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
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