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Healthy Cooking for the Jewish Home
200 Recipes for Eating Well on Holidays and Every Day
By Faye Levy HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Copyright © 2008
Faye Levy
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780060787844
Quick Broccoli-Vegetable Soup with Garlic and Rice
Makes 4 servings
With a variety of vegetables, this soup fits in nicely with the Sukkot harvest theme. For the soup base, I make use of the broccoli's cooking liquid, with the flavor reinforced by leeks, onions, carrots, and vegetable broth. Instead of rice, you can add other cooked grains, such as barley, wheat berries, bulgur, or whole wheat couscous. To turn the soup into a main course, add 1½ to 2 cups bite-sized pieces of cooked chicken or turkey or 12 ounces cubed tofu or seitan (wheat gluten) and heat through.
Ingredients:
3 cups small broccoli florets and sliced tender stems
Salt
1 large leek (optional), white and light green parts only, quartered lengthwise
1 large onion, chopped (or 2 onions, if omitting leek)
1 large carrot, sliced
3½ cups vegetable or chicken broth
4 large garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups hot cooked brown or white rice
Instructions:
Bring 2½ cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add broccoli florets and stems with a small pinch of salt. Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes, or until florets are crisp-tender. Transfer florets with a slotted spoon to a bowl, leaving stem slices in pot.
Rinse leek (if using) well to remove sand between layers. Cut into thin slices. Add leek, onion, carrot, and broth to pot. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Add garlic and pepper flakes. Cover and cook over low heat for 2 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Return broccoli florets to pan. Stir in thyme, black pepper, and salt if needed. Ladle into bowls and top each with a few spoonfuls of rice.
Braised Calabaza Squash with Chiles and Ginger
Makes 3 to 4 servings
The slight spiciness of ginger and mild chiles complements the sweetness of hard-shelled orange squash. I use a vegetable braising technique, popular among Sephardi and Indian cooks, of cooking the vegetable with very little water so the taste remains concentrated.
Meaty calabaza squash, which can be purchased by the piece in Latin American markets, is a good choice, and so are butternut squash and Japanese kabocha squash. I like to use heart-shaped poblano chiles, which are labeled pasilla chiles in California. They are sometimes mild and sometimes hot, and give the dish a pleasing aroma.
Ingredients:
One 2-pound piece calabaza squash
1 tablespoon canola oil or other vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
1½ tablespoons chopped peeled ginger
1 or 2 poblano chiles (called pasilla in California), seeds discarded, cut into strips
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Instructions:
Cut squash into pieces and cut off peel with a heavy, sharp knife. Remove any seeds or stringy flesh. Cut flesh into about 1-inch cubes.
Heat oil in a stew pan. Add onions, cover, and sauté over medium-low heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add ginger and chile strips and sauté for 5 more minutes. Add squash pieces and a little salt and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons water, cover, and cook for 15 more minutes or until tender, stirring from time to time and adding water by tablespoons if necessary. Stir in coriander. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot or warm.
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Excerpted from Healthy Cooking for the Jewish Home by Faye Levy Copyright © 2008 by Faye Levy. Excerpted by permission.
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