newkosher

Pumpkins: The Secret to Sukkot

September 28, 2015 By newkosher

Sukkot is coming up, and autumn for us is all about the noble pumpkin.

Pumpkin is a squash originating from America. Squash was unknown in Europe until 1492 when Columbus returned. The word squash is of Algonquin origin, a Native American language. Hard shell, mature, yellow-fleshed varieties like turban, acorn and pumpkin often referred to as winter squash. Pumpkins are rich in vitamin A, potassium, calcium and phosphorous.

Here’s three great pumpkin treats (two dairy, one parve) that everyone will love. All recipes serve four, so edit accordingly.

CREAM OF PUMPKIN SOUP AU GRATIN

4 cups milk
3 potatoes cut in wedges
4 cups chopped pumpkin
1 tsp sage
½ cup cream
2 tbs parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Bring milk and 1 ½ cups water to a boil. Add potatoes, pumpkin and sage, season with salt and pepper, cook for 40 minutes on medium heat. Puree. Stir in cream and reheat. Sprinkle with cheese (optional) nutmeg could be used instead. Serve hot.

PUMPKIN WITH ROSEMARY

2 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves
11/2 pounds thinly sliced pumpkin
¾ cups white wine
11/2 tsp fresh rosemary finely chopped
salt and pepper

Heat oil, add garlic and pumpkin, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic cloves. Pour in wine, lower heat and simmer until tender. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with rosemary. Continue to cook a few minutes more and serve.

MUSHROOMS WITH PUMPKIN

2 tbs each margarine and olive oil
1 onion thinly sliced
21/2 cups pumpkin diced
11/2 pounds mixed mushrooms cut in thick slices
2/3 cup vegetable stock
3 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tsp oregano

Heat margarine and oil, add onion, Cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Add pumpkin and mushrooms, increase heat and cook for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Lower heat, pour in heated stock and cook until tender. Stir in parsley and oregano and serve.

How To Fast On Yom Kippur

September 11, 2013 By newkosher

If you’re a foodie, Yom Kippur is the worst day of the year. But here are some tips that will make it easier.

Drink A Lot of Water

A few days before Yom Kippur, try to eliminate caffeine, alcohol, sugary drinks and other non-water beverages from your diet. All those chemicals that keep you going induce cravings, something you definitely don’t need to be dealing with on the holiday.

Don’t Stuff Yourself

People stuff themselves before the Yom then fast the next day. Not good! That’s like binge eating. Eat a normal meal like you would any other night. Some websites say to eat carbs like pasta and rice. I’m not sure if it matters so much, one way or the other. Just remember that it’s one day without food, not a decade.

Prepare Break Fast Food In Advance

There’s nothing worse than feeling starved and cooking! Make deli and casserole style food in advance so that when the fast is over, you can curl up on the couch and nom nom nom like a normal person.

Hope you have a meaningful fast!

Simply Tender Brisket and Savory Kasha Varnishkas

June 20, 2012 By newkosher

This week’s recipe comes to us from our new friend and Kosher foodie, Mark Meisel. I’ve had this recipe several times before, and even when I was a vegetarian, I would only eat this meat. Thanks for the recipe, Mark! -Daniela

Besides worshipping G_D and laying guilt trips on each other, the most joyous thing in our Jewish heritage is food. Nothing is better than a group of hard to please Jews sitting around a table all loving the same dish. How is this accomplished you ask? Simple. By applying thousands of years of tradition and a little technique you can create kosher and tasty recipes that will have everyone kvelling. For the purposes of this article, let us start with a simplified version of a classic that will knock your proverbial socks off.

Brisket:

3-4 lbs Beef Brisket (Flat Cut)

2 packets Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix (prepare with water as directed [Read more…]

Mirza Ghassemi: Persian Eggplant Tomato Dip

June 11, 2012 By newkosher

We have made it abundantly clear over at NewKosher how much we love Persian food, from Bulgar Soup to Pomegranate Walnut Chicken. This dish, a creamy eggplant and tomato dip, will absolutely knock your socks off. While we pretty much stuck with a traditional recipe, we did add one special ingredient: ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice mix. You can use red onion as we suggest, but white onion is more traditional.

While it is presented here as a dip, the almost beefy taste of the roasted eggplant, ground with garlic and tomato, could make an amazing parve marinara sauce for pizza or pasta. Just omit the ras al hanout.

Mirza Ghassemi
(serves 4 to 8 people)

1 large eggplant
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

Roasted Parmesan Potatoes: A Shabbat Pot Luck Favorite

May 29, 2012 By newkosher

Almost every Shabbat/Shabbos dinner I attend is a potluck. And normally, I am just too busy to make anything. So like most mooches, I bring the cheapest bottle of wine or some parve dessert that no one likes.

If your dinner is vegetarian, though, this recipe will be your life saver. It takes ten minutes and you will look like a culinary genius.

1 bag of frozen cubed potatoes (sometimes called Potatoes O’Brien or Southern Style hash browns) thawed in the refrigerator
2 cups of grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp mixed Italian seasoning
salt/pepper to taste

Thaw potatoes in the fridge. They only need a few hours, but you can do this a day in advance. If you forget, it’s fine. They will just take longer to cook. Or you can microwave them to room temperature. See how easy this is, already?

Slit open the top corner of the frozen potato bag and squeeze out [Read more…]

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