Homemade Scallion Pancakes
This past Sunday, we were treated to a visit by one of Sarah’s classmates, who taught us her family’s recipes for scallion pancakes and egg rolls. Both were delicious and fun to make, and far better (not to mention less greasy) than their restaurant counterparts.
The scallion pancake is essentially a simplified version of a puff pastry dough — several thin layers of dough separated by layers of fat. In this case, the dough is merely flour and hot water, and the fat is vegetable oil. Add sliced scallions and salt, give it a quick pan-fry, and there you have it.
I have altered the recipe-as-taught to have exact measurements, plus this version introduces the option of using the food processor.SCALLION PANCAKES
* 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
* 1/2 C hot water
* 1 Tbsp. cold water
* 1/2 C scallions, sliced diagonally very thin
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, plus additional for pan-frying
1. Gradually add the hot water to the flour. Add the cold water and form a sticky ball. This may be done by hand, adding a few tablespoons of water at a time, or it may be done in the food processor. (While pulsing the flour, slowly pour in the water; it will look like coarse sand. Scoop out the mixture and press together into a ball.)
2. Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Roll each piece out on a floured surface to 1/8″ thickness.
3. Brush dough with vegetable oil to coat, sprinkle with scallions and salt.
4. Like a jelly roll, roll each flattened, seasoned dough piece into a tight cylinder. Twist the cylinder around itself to make a coil, and tuck the outer end back into the pancake. Using your rolling pin, flatten the coil to 1/4″ thickness.
5. Heat a large, non-stick pan over medium-high heat and coat the pan liberally with vegetable oil. Cook one or two pancakes at a time until brown, flipping once.
6. Remove from pan when done. Serve immediately, cut into four pieces, or let cool and refridgerate/freeze — pancakes may be reheated in the oven until hot.
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Neshama’s “Breakfast Delight” Sausages
While we’re waiting for Mr. Slutzman to post on SausageFest (nudge, nudge), I thought I’d share my reaction to one variety we didn’t sample last week due to nut allergies on the tasting panel.
Neshama Gourmet’s “Breakfast Delight” — a sweet, chicken/turkey-based sausage — really ranks among my personal favorites of all the Kosher sausages I’ve been priviliged to try lately, Jeff’s included. It has the basic underlying flavor of a typical treif breakfast link (I believe sage is the predominant spice), which gave me a pleasant initial experience. Neshama’s use of discernable chunks of apple, walnut, and cranberry, though, take the breakfast sausage to a new level. Jimmy Dean & company are kid stuff compared to this mature link.
Breakfast Delight is delightful on its own, but was a real treat for me when coupled with some maple syrup. Plus, it’s far better nutritionally than the traditional alternative, and consumers — Kosher and non-Kosher alike — can be sure of the wholesome quality of the ingredients (no nitrates or preservatives).
To boot, my wife (the treifaphobic) who shudders at the thought of even Kosher products that taste like treif, enjoyed it.
Neshama products are currently available in Southern & Northern California, the greater New York area, the Southeast and the Southwest. They’re talking to a potential distributor in the Boston area, so it may not be long until we see them in these parts.
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SausageFest 5764!
After two transcontinental flights (mmm…first class good) and a week in (rainy) Southern California, I have successfully imported to New England a special treat, or should I say bag full of treats — gourmet sausages!
So, coming soon to KosherBlog, a full review of Jeff’s Gourmet Sausage Factory of Los Angeles. Keep your eyes peeled and posted to the blog for the complete report by TeamKosher’s crack taste-testers, including a couple of special guests who bring a real Treif Eye for the Kosher Guy.
Although I can’t say I imported them myself, samples have arrived at our leader’s office from Neshama Gourmet Kosher Sausage, so we’ll be reviewing them too. As a third comparison, we’ll be picking some sausages up from the local butcher to include in our taste-testing extravaganza!
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Jew-balaya
The last time the Pats were in the Super Bowl, New Orleans hosted the battle and “Jambalaya!” was the rallying call in New England. In that spirit, I created a kosher-friendly version of the creole masterpiece, which traditionally features such sacrelicious ingredients as prawns/shrimp and pork sausage.
“Jew-balaya” omits the shellfish, and replaces pork sausage with spicy beef sausage. Before you commit to a particular brand of sausage, do some sampling and find the one with the best taste and texture. In a pinch, you can substitute jumbo hot dogs and chopped Smart Bacon for the sausage.
The recipe below is a little vague in some places; just go with the flow and develop your own habits.
JEW-BALAYA
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 lb. diced, boneless chicken breasts
3 polish beef sausages/kielbasa, cut on the bias
1 large onion, chopped
1 roasted red pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Small can tomato paste
Large can diced tomatoes
3-4 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. celery salt
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 bay leaves
2 cups white long-grain rice
In a big, heavy pot (think cast-iron), brown diced chicken in oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Remove and reserve. Add sausage to pan; brown shortly, remove from pan and reserve with chicken.
In same pan, saute onions and garlic. When onions are translucent, add tomato paste and cook until paste gets a darker, burgundy color. Stir in chopped tomatoes and half of chicken stock. Return chicken and sausage to pan.
Cook until thick and bubbly.
Add all remaining seasonings and rest of stock. Stir in uncooked rice.
Now, don’t stir anymore. Let it cook several minutes and then “turn”: bring the sunken rice back up to the top to redistribute the ingredients. Since we’re using a heavy pot, it shouldn’t burn. “Turn” two or three more times, and cook with rice a total of 20-30 minutes until liquid is absorbed and rice is palatable.
Serve with salad and french bread. Add some Tabasco for a little kick.
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Orecchiette with Smoked Trout
Recently, my boss and I were discussing smoked trout, and he suggested a simple recipe — which I’ve evolved into the dish below after discovering Echo Falls smoked trout in my supermarket.
The dish provides some nice contrasts by partnering the light smokiness of the fish with the sweetness of the red pepper, and the smooth white sauce with the crisp sugar snap peas. It also serves as an example that, besides lox, smokey flavors aren’t solely in the realm of the non-kosher.
Note: Don’t bother roasting the red peppers yourself. There are plenty of jarred, roasted reds available in the supermarket which are delicious (and great for sandwiches, too). I buy the small jars (approx. two whole peppers) because, once openned, they don’t keep much longer than a week.Orechhiette with Smoked Trout
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves 4
1 2-3 oz. smoked trout filet, flaked
12 ounces dry orecchiette
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups hot low-fat milk
1 roasted red pepper, julienne-sliced
1 cup sugar-snap peas, cut in thirds on the bias
kosher salt
white pepper
grated asiago cheese (or parmesan)
1. Boil orecchiette in plenty of salted water.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter or margarine and add flour, making a roux. Cook, stirring, until light brown.
3. Whisk in the hot milk.
4. Add sugar snap peas and red pepper strips.
5. Cook until sauce reaches desired thickness and peas are to your taste.
6. Stir in flaked trout.
7. Drain cooked orecchiette, leaving the pasta hot and moist, and toss with sauce. Season with kosher salt and white pepper to taste. Serve with plenty of freshly grated asiago.
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Kosher Artisan Sausages
Jon Klein, who’s working hard to keep kosher in Kentucky, just wrote in to tell TeamKosher about Jeff’s Gourmet in Los Angeles:
Jeff makes a wide variety of gourmet artisanal glatt sausages. These include: Smoked Chicken Apple, Chicken Cilantro, Mergez, Turkey Italian, Veal Bratwurst, Polish Thai Chicken, Borewores (South African!), Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemons & Olives (my favorite), Jalapeno Kosher Dogs, Sweet Italian, and Cajun Chicken.
As best I can tell, he’s the only person out there doing this kind of work. The products are terrific. He ships nationwide and I can vouch for the fact that the products arrive in excellent condition. This last matter is no small thing in kosher on-line shopping. I once received an order of meat from a website called AviGlatt that came with no ice. Oh, yes, they refused to refund my money.
Thanks for the tip, Jon. Here’s an article from the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles about Jeff and his sausages. FYI, kashrut supervision is provided by Rabbi Avraham Teichman of the Kehilla of Los Angeles. I’ll be making an order shortly! Mmm, sausage…
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“Lobster” Sauce
From the Kosher Conversions Dept.:
Lobster sauce was my Chinese dish of choice as youngster. For the unfamiliar, it is a thick, dark sauce of ground meat often served with shellfish. There is, however, no lobster even in the treyf lobster sauce served at your local Chinese restaurant. Pork, however, is an ingredient, which is why this “conversion” is necessary.
This recipe is the closest I’ve come so far to the lobster sauce of my youth. It’s a bit thinner and lighter of a sauce, but I still enjoy it quite a bit. Feel free to vary the amount of soy sauce you use, to omit the egg altogether, or to add vegetables (like peas or green beans) for a healthier result. Serve over rice (my favorite is Nishiki).
There’s-No-Lobster Sauce
1 lb. ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
8 green onions, thinly sliced, white parts only
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 cup cold water
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
Saute turkey and garlic. Dissolve boullion cubs in boiling water. When meat is brown, add the vegetable oil, green onions, and bouillon mixture; bring to a boil. Mix remaining ingredients (except for the egg) and add to the mixture in the pan. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Stir beaten egg briskly into the mixture.
Yield: 4 dinner servings.
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Fish Chowder, Take 1
A favorite pre-Kosher dining spot of mine was Legal Sea Foods, now with locations along the eastern seaboard. Since I missed their fish chowder so much, I found their recipe, which is entirely kosher without alteration. The fish stock it requires, though, made it a bit too difficult, so I’ve substituted vegetable broth (try Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth) and water. I also added some potatoes (peeled, pre-cut Yukon Gold) and sage. It’s not as thick as I remember, but it is delicious.
New England Fish Chowder
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 1.5 quarts
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups diced onions
1/8 cup finely grated carrots
1 teaspoon minced/crushed garlic
1/4 cup flour
3 cups vegetable broth
2 cups diced Yukon Gold potatoes
1 pinch ground sage
3 cups water
2 pounds white fish (e.g. cod)
1 cup light cream
1/4 cup finely grated Monterey Jack cheese
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper
- Heat the butter in a large pot, and saute the onions, carrots, and garlic in it, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and slowly stir in the flour. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, for about 4 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the vegetable broth and the water, and heat in a large pot or in the microwave.
- Whisk the stock into the flour mixture. Add the potatoes and sage.
- Bring the stock to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the fish, whole or in chunks, and simmer about 10 minutes longer.
- Stir in the cream and the cheese, and simmer until the cheese melts, about 5 to 8 minutes. (You won’t distinguish the cheese as such, it is incorporated into the chowder.) Reheat the chowder slowly so the cream doesn’t boil.
- Season with plenty of kosher salt and black pepper. Serve with crusty bread, or in a bread bowl. Can be refrigerated for a few days, or frozen indefinitely.
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Sweet Potato Pudding
This recipe “conversion” rose out of my desire to duplicate the Sweet Potato Pudding served at my cousin’s (unfortunately non-kosher) restaurant, Firefly’s. I found the original recipe by Emeril Lagasse at FoodTV.com. It has been altered slightly to be pareve, and thus makes a great shabbos dish. If you’d like it to be more of a kugel, use a shallower baking dish and adjust the baking time appropriately.Sweet Potato Pudding
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds sweet potatoes, roasted in oven or microwave
3 eggs
1 cup pareve soy milk
1 pinch grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup pecan pieces
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons pure cane syrup
1 pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons bourbon, optional
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup flaked coconut
4 tablespoons pareve margarine, softened
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel and mash the potatoes in a mixing bowl, until smooth.
3. Stir in the eggs and soy milk.
4. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, 1/2 cup of the pecans, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, syrup, salt, vanilla, and bourbon. Mix well.
5. Pour the mixture into a 1 1/2 quart greased round baking dish.
6. Combine the remaining pecans, remaining brown sugar, flour, coconut and margarine. Using your hands, quickly mix the ingredients only until the mixture resembles a coarse texture.
7.Spread the mixture over the pudding and place in the oven.
8. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until bubbly. Serve hot.
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Morningstar Farms “Breakfast Strips”
Seven years of keeping kosher may have numbed my taste for treyf, but it hasn’t eliminated it. Thankfully, Morningstar Farms can keep me on the right track with their Veggie Breakfast Bacon Strips product. In terms of taste and texture, it’s leaps and bounds above Litelife’s Smart Bacon. Smart Bacon, however, is pareve (Breakfast Strips are dairy), so they still have a place in my pantry.
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