Curried Pumpkin Soup

Something sweet, new, different for an autumn meal or Thanksgiving.

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon, rounded, curry powder

small pinch red pepper flakes

2 large apples, peeled, cored, and diced

15-ounce can pumpkin

juice of 1 orange

3 cups milk

kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste

8 small toasts or crackers

Special equipment:  immersion or standard blender, or a food processor

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil and half of the onions. Sauté until the onions are very soft and lightly browned, approx. 5 minutes.
2. Add the maple syrup and ginger. Reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking, stirring often, for 10 minutes, until the onions are thick and caramelized. Set aside caramelized onions for a garnish.
3. While the maple-onion mixture is cooking, prepare the soup. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, over medium-high heat, add the two remaining tablespoons of olive oil, the remaining onion, curry powder, red pepper flakes, and the apples. Sauté until the onion is tender, approx. 5 minutes.
4. Stir the pumpkin and the orange juice into the onion-apple mixture. Using an immersion blender (or you may transfer everything to a blender), add the milk and purée until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and reheat to a gentle simmer. Season with kosher salt and black pepper, to taste.
5. To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl. Top each serving with two crackers or toasts and arrange some of the maple-onions over the toasts.

Serves 4.

Spinach Salad with Marinated Red Onions

Thanksgiving is next week, and I’ve been trying to create a new salad for my second course. (Turkey dinner is a 5-6 course affair at TNTF.) Since my first course will be a sweet and savory soup, I was looking for a salad with a little more zing. This should do the trick.

4 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar

8 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 red onions, halved and sliced thin

14-16 oz. baby spinach, washed and dried

3 cans mandarin oranges, rinsed and thoroughly drained

1 cup pine nuts, toasted

Extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large, glass mixing bowl, stir the sugar into the vinegar until fully dissolved. Add the sliced onions and mix well. Let the onions marinate for 20-30 minutes. Reserve the marinade.
2. In a jumbo-sized salad bowl, toss the spinach with the toasted pine nuts and mandarin oranges.
3. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions from the marinade. Add the onions to the salad.
4. Make a vinaigrette, starting with a 1:1 ratio of olive oil to the vinegar marinade. Measure the remaining marinade and place in a container that has a tight-fitting lid. Add an equal amount of olive oil; cover the container tightly and shake to blend. Add a small amount of freshly ground black pepper to taste. Pour the dressing over the salad and finish with a generous sprinkling of sea salt.

Serves 16.

Roasted Kale

This recipe comes from a cooking class I took earlier this year. Use one bunch of kale to feed 1-2 people. Use 2-3 bunches of kale for the family.

2-3 bunches of kale

olive oil

sea salt or kosher salt to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
2. In one hand, hold the base of the kale by the stem. With the other hand push the leaves off the stem. Break or cut the leaves into small pieces and place in a roasting pan.
3. Toss the kale with 1-3 tablespoons of olive oil, depending on quantity.
4. Roast, uncovered, in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until the leaves start to turn crispy, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove the kale from the oven and immediately season with salt to taste.

Note:  You can roast many other vegetables this way, including asparagus, green beans, and mushrooms.

Lazy Lasagna

I’ve made countless pans of lasagna in my cooking career. The last pan I made was such a spectacular flop  — literally flopped all over and didn’t hold together — that I deleted lasagna from my libretto. My kids have been begging me to make some, but I didn’t want to fuss with boiling all those noodles which ultimately stuck together in some starchy conspiracy. So, I came up with another recipe in which you don’t have to boil those noodles.

1 lb. uncooked lasagna noodles

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground veal

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tbsp. tomato paste

15 oz. ricotta cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese (or Italian 6-cheese mixture), divided

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 eggs, slightly beaten

28-oz. can crushed tomatoes

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

24-oz. jar of your favorite pasta sauce

1 tbsp. chopped fresh curly parsley

Kosher salt

Sugar

Special accessories: I prefer to make lasagna in a 9″x13″ aluminum foil pan so I can throw the whole mess away when it’s all finished.

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. In a large skilllet, brown the ground beef and ground veal until no longer pink. Add the tomato paste and garlic while the meat is cooking. Season all with kosher salt.
3. While the meat is cooking, in a medium bowl combine ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and slightly beaten eggs. Mix well and set aside.
4. When the meat is fully cooked, drain off the fat and excess juices. Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano,  and a pinch of sugar to the meat mixture. Mix well and then stir in the pasta sauce.
5. Spread 1 cup of the meat mixture in the bottom of a 9″x13″ pan. Place 4-5 lasagna noodles over the meat sauce, laying them the long way, and fit in one in the other direction. [Hint: if you break off the corners of the end noodles, they'll fit more tightly in the pan.]
6. Spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture evenly over the noodles. Top that with 1/3 of the remaining meat sauce. Lay down another layer of noodles as previously directed. Cover the next layer of noodles with the remaining cheese mixture. Spread another 1/3 of the meat sauce over that layer of cheese mixture. Top off the dish with a third layer of noodles and spread the remaining meat sauce on top of that.
7. Cover the baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 55 minutes at 350ºF.
8. Uncover the pan, sprinkle with the reserved Mozzarella cheese and parsley. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

IMPORTANT! Let the lasagna stand for 15-20 minutes before cutting and serving. Otherwise, the whole thing will fall apart.

Serves 8-10

Noodle Kugel

Sweet noodle (lokshen) kugel is traditionally served during the High Holidays and, occasionally, on Chanukah. It’s good for a Shabbat kiddush or anytime. The original recipe was my grandmother’s and mother’s. I’ve improved the recipe and made it my own.

2 cups white raisins

16 oz. egg noodles (medium)

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon plus more for sprinkling

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 lb. unsalted butter

1/2 lb. cream cheese (reduced fat OK)

16 oz. cottage cheese (reduced fat OK)

1 pint sour cream (reduced fat OK)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 3-quart (13″x9″) baking dish with butter and then dust with granulated sugar.
2. Boil 2 cups of water, in the microwave or on the stove, and soak the white raisins in the hot water while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
3. Boil the egg noodles for 8-9 minutes or until they are just done but not mushy. Drain well.
4. While the noodles are cooking, beat the eggs together with the vanilla and cinnamon; add the sugar to this mixture. In another bowl, mix together the softened butter, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, and salt.
5. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the hot noodles and mix. Drain the raisins and add them to the noodles. Add the egg mixture and mix everything together well.
6. Pour the noodle mixture into the baking dish; spread evenly. Sprinkle some more cinnamon on top. Bake at 350º for one hour.

Serve warm.

Roasted Red Pepper Tart

Here’s my recipe for the Roasted Red Pepper and Wild Mushroom Tart I often make for Thanksgiving. The tart dough is actually an herb pastry. For once, I can post my own picture of my own creation.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 cup sliced fresh crimini mushrooms
1 cup sliced fresh chanterelle or button mushrooms
1 cup coarsely chopped sweet onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 recipe Herb Pastry
1 cup shredded Fontina cheese
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup light cream
1 12-oz. jar roasted sweet red peppers, drained well and chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil OR 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Special equipment: fluted French tart pan (11×8x1″ rectangle or 11×1″ round); pie weights

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF. In a large sauté pan, heat oil and butter together. Cook mushrooms, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out Herb Pastry into a 14″x11″ rectangle. Ease pastry into a fluted French tart pan with removable bottom. Press pastry into fluted sides of pan and trim edges. Freeze pastry shell for 15 minutes. Line pastry with heavy-duty aluminum foil and place pie weights on foil. Bake pastry for 8 minutes, then remove foil. Bake for another 5-6 minutes more until the pastry is golden brown. Remove tart pan from oven and let cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF.
3. In a mixing bowl, toss together Fontina cheese, goat cheese and flour. Spread mixture evenly over the bake pastry. In a separate bowl, combine egg and light cream. Stir in mushroom mixture, chopped roasted red peppers, basil, black pepper, and salt. Pour mushroom-pepper mixture evely over cheese-flour mixture in the pastry crust.
4. Bake mushroom-pepper tart in 350ºF oven for approx. 30 minutes or until the custard is set. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing to serve. Serve warm.

Makes 12 appetizer or side-dish servings.

Herb Pastry

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon snipped fresh basil OR 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon snipped fresh rosemary OR 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold butter
1 egg yolk
1 – 3 tablespoons cold water

Special equipment:  pastry blender or food processor, zip-top bag

1.  In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, herbs, and salt. Using either a pastry blender or the food processor, cut in cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal:  the pieces of fat and flour should be the size of small peas.
2. In a small dish, combine beaten egg yolk and 1 tablespoon cold water. Add egg mixture to the flour and combine until the dough just comes together. If the dough is too crumbly and dry, add more cold water, one tablespoon at a time and process until the dough just comes together. Do not overprocess the dough.
3. Gather the dough together and roll it into a ball. Put the ball into a zip-top bag and flatten ball into a disk. Chill the dough a minimum of 30 minutes; can be chilled overnight.

Makes enough pastry for one tart shell. This dough can be baked into a tart shell and stored, sealed, up to a day in advance.

Chicken with Artichokes and Garlic

I had an extra whole chicken that I did not use to make chicken stock the other day. Here’s what I came up with for dinner that night.

One whole roasting chicken, cut in half; rinsed and patted dry

6 tablespoons of minced garlic

2 cans of artichoke hearts

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon dried parsley

2 whole sprigs fresh rosemary

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Arrange the two halves of the chicken in a roasting pan and season them with salt and pepper.
2. Spread the chicken with the garlic. Surround the chicken with the artichokes, onion, and rosemary. Sprinkle the parsley over the top. Pour the broth into the roasting pan, distributing evenly.
3. Cover the roasting pan tightly with foil and bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the foild and bake for another 30-40 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated.  You can baste every 10-15 minutes, if you like.

Serves 6.

Serve with couscous, rice, or mashed potatoes.

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Fajitas

These are really easy to make and are always a hit. Make more than you think your family or guests will eat because people will gobble them up! Give yourself an hour to get these on the table, unless you have chopped the vegetables in advance.

4 lbs. skirt steak, cut to fit your grill pan or grill
2 green peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4″ strips
1/2 large white or sweet onion, cut into 1/4″ strips
1/2 lime
1 large tomato, diced
15-16 flour tortillas, soft taco size
1 pint sour cream, for garnish
Chimichurri Sauce, for garnish
Guacamole, for garnish
kosher salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Special equipment: grill pan or grill, non-stick frying pan

I use a round Le Creuset grill pan because I’ve had it for years. Le Creuset now makes square and rectangular grill pans, either of which would be a great investment. Le Creuset cookware conducts heat beautifully, but it is very heavy!

1. Preheat the grill pan over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the skirt steaks with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a little lime juice.
2. When the pan is hot, but not smoking, place two or three skirt steaks on the grill. Grill for 3 minutes on one side, flip the steaks and grill for 3 minutes on the other side. This meat will be medium-rare to medium. When the steaks are cooked, remove them to a warm, covered tray to stand for a few minutes; a warming oven works well also. Repeat this step for the rest of the skirt steaks.
3. While the steaks are cooking, preheat the non-stick pan over medium heat. Warm one tortilla at a time, for approx. 10 seconds a side. Remove the warm tortilla to a warm plate and cover with foil. Repeat this step until all the tortillas are warm.
4. While the steaks are resting, grill the onions until they are nearly caramelized and the green peppers until they are soft. You can even cover the grill pan to speed up this process. Toss occasionally while cooking to avoid scorching. Remove to a serving bowl.
5. When the cooked steaks have rested for a few minutes, slice each steak across the grain into very thin (1/8″) slices. Place the sliced steak back on the warm try while you set out the meal.

Serves 4 adults or 2 adults and three children.

Serve the meat on a tray. Serve the Chimichurri Sauce and Guacamole in bowls. Serve the tortillas on the warm, covered plate. Serve the diced tomatoes in a bowl. Serve the sour cream. Each guest places a warm tortilla on her plate and adds a few pieces of skirt steak. Garnish with any or all of the tomatoes, grilled vegetables, sour cream, Chimichurri sauce, and Guacamole. The best way to roll up the little fajita is to fold up the bottom third of the tortilla; fold in the sides, and roll the whole thing up.

For those who prefer not to eat beef, you can substitute chicken or an assortment of grilled vegetables for a delicious vegetarian meal.