PunkTorah

Independent Jewish Spirituality

Super Bowl “Chick’n”

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180x199-friedchickenUnofficial holidays like Super Bowl Sunday are the worst. Why? Because while everyone else is downing pork sliders, you’re off in the corner eating the long forgotten veggie tray like a bunny rabbit. And if you grew up in the 90’s, at some point someone will reference the Simpsons episode where Lisa became a vegetarian by asking, “are you gonna marry a carrot?”

There are boneless “chicken” wings out there as well as kosher fried chicken in frozen bags. But to their credit, this recipe from PETA actually is the best I have personally experienced.

I did make a few changes. First, I took out the nutritional yeast. While some say that it imparts a ton of flavor, frankly, my taste buds are really sensitive to it and it just overwhelms everything for me. Additionally, I added baking powder, which I think gives the batter a little more puff, which I like.

The best way to enjoy these is with BBQ sauce, hands down.

Kickoff ‘Chick’n’
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
4 Tbsp. mustard (yellow, Dijon, spicy brown, or your favorite)
1/2 cup water
2 pkgs. vegan Chick’n Strips
3 1/2 cups canola oil for frying

  • Mix together the salt, onion powder, pepper, garlic powder, flour, and nutritional yeast in a deep bowl. In a separate bowl, dilute the mustard with 1/2 cup water and stir until soupy. Add 1/3 cup of the flour mixture to the mustard mixture and stir until the batter thickens—it’s OK if the batter is lumpy.
  • Dip large chunks of the Chick’n Strips into the mustard batter. Drop each chunk into the flour mixture and coat with the desired amount of “crust.” Fry the chunks, turning as needed, in hot canola oil on medium to high heat in a large skillet until crispy and golden brown. Serve immediately. (Leftovers are great. Try them straight from the fridge!)

Makes 4 servings

 

Easy BBQ Brisket

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This amazing brisket recipe is as much easy as it is delicious! The secret to any brisket is to cook, cook and cook! Leave that fella alone and you’ll have something amazing.

With brisket, it’s more about technique than ingredients. A well seasoned piece of meat, vegetables and sauce. Simple as that. The sauce can be a culinary alchemy of tomato juice, various wines and other half-empty bottles from the fridge. Or just a jar of chili sauce in a hurry. At any rate, this video will show you exactly what to do.

Gluten Free Orange and Almond Cake

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Flour-less Sephardic cake? Could our gluten free dreams be coming true? Yes, yes indeed.

One caveat: this recipe is in metric measurements. But now that the internet is no longer on Blackout, one can easily use Google to translate grams into pounds, etc. Or perhaps we’ll end up getting more views outside the USA (which is a great thing!)

This recipe comes from the Sydney Morning Herald, which I did not know was a great resource for North African and Spanish cuisine. Makes me think a trip down under would be a great idea.

Orange_and_almond_cake_729x572-620x0

Gluten Free Orange and Almond Cake

  • 3 medium oranges
  • 6 eggs, separated (we have not tried this with egg replacer, but would love it if someone would and email us the results!)
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 200g ground almonds
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Icing sugar to serve

Based on the now famous, never-bettered, flour-less Sephardic cake documented by Claudia Roden. Serve with blueberry compote and thick yoghurt.

Method

Place the clean, whole and unpeeled oranges in water to cover and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until soft, adding more water when necessary.

Drain the oranges, cut into quarters, discard any major pips, and whiz the rest, including peel, in the food processor, then cool.

Heat oven to 180C. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a large bowl until pale. Beat in the oranges, almonds and baking powder.

Beat the egg whites until softly peaky and fold gently into the mixture.

Pour into a high-sided 23cm springform cake tin and bake for 1 hour, until firm to the touch (cover with a loose sheet of foil if over-browning). Cool in the tin. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Blueberry Compote

Place 300g blueberries, 50g caster sugar and 50mL Cointreau or similar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water for 20 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the fruits drop their juices. Serve with orange and almond cake, panna cotta or ice-cream for a fast but stylish dessert.

Chicken With Pomegranate Walnut Sauce

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Iranian food often works well with kashrut. There is a sizable Jewish population still in Iran and many of the dishes do not mix meat and milk, unless they are more Indian inspired and use ghee, or clarified butter.

This recipe is fantastic because many Ashkenazi chicken dishes use sweet orange and lemon sauces. This one, with pomegranate, is an amazing cross cultural variation.

It’s very important that the chicken and sauce stew together for a long time, because it really imparts the chicken flavor into the sweetness of the pomegranate and onion. The kosher chicken thighs also adds sweetness, which is why we don’t suggest adding more sugar, as some recipes do.

1/4 cup lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2-3 lbs boneless chicken thighs cut into large chunks
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 cups walnuts, finely ground in a food processor (also known as nut meat)
1 1/2-2 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup pomegranate syrup (found in Middle Eastern stores)
kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Marinate chicken in citrus juice for two hours.

Brown the chicken and onions in a pan until chicken is brown and onions are beginning to caramelize. Stir in walnut “meat”. Add stock and bring to a boil, lowering heat, covering and simmering for about thirty minutes.

Stir in the pomegranate juice, salt and pepper.

Uncovered, cook “down” the sauce until thickened. Add more salt, pepper or juice to taste.

Serve with parve rice pilaf or white rice (basmati is best).

Easy Pasta e fagioli

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This easy pasta and bean dish should be made in bulk, as it saves forever and makes amazing leftovers.

4 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
hot vegetable broth (to thin the sauce as desired)
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5-ounce) can red kidney beans, half of liquid drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can white or pinto beans, half of liquid drained
3/4 cup pasta (elbow macaroni or any other dense pasta)
Freshly ground black pepper, red pepper flakes and salt to taste
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Boil water for pasta and prepare according to directions.

Meantime, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter (this keeps the butter from burning) in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans, and herbs. Cover and heat until all ingredients are warmed through. Add the al dente cooked pasta to the sauce and combine well.

This is where you get creative. If you want more of a soup taste, add hot vegetable stock. If you want more of a pasta sauce style, omit the vegetable stock. Season with ground black pepper, salt and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle with some Parmesan and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil just before serving.

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PO Box 7414
Richmond, VA 23221-0414

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