Braised Brisket

2 large red onions, sliced

1 6 lb brisket

10 oz jar Mina harissa, mild
8 oz dried apricots
2 tablespoons beef bouillon base, or 2 cups of beef bouillon
Soy sauce, salt, pepper, honey to taste - see directions below

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
1/2 lb of mushrooms, sliced


Brisket is much easier if you cook it the day before. Heat the oven to 300. Put the sliced red onions in the bottom of a roasting pan. Slather the brisket with the harissa and put it on top of the onions with the fatty side up. Add the apricots around the brisket, beef bouillon, and enough water to come up to the top of the brisket. Cover with foil and cook until tender - a 6 lb brisket should take about 6 hours.

When it’s done take it out of the oven and let it cool. Wrap it and put it in the fridge overnight. Save the braising liquid including onions and apricots in a separate container and refrigerate that as well - you should have at least a quart,

The next day, slice the brisket across the grain and put it in a smaller baking dish. Remove the solidified fat from the top of the braising liquid if you want to and put the rest of it in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste it and correct seasonings - you may want it a little saltier or a little spicier or a little sweeter.  Pour half of the braising liquid over it. At this point you can cover the baking dish with foil and return everything to the fridge until you’re ready to heat it up for dinner. When you’re ready to re- heat, leave the foil on and put the baking dish in a 350 oven for about half an hour, or until everything is hot. In the meantime, put the remaining braising sauce in a small saucepan and heat it to a simmer (taste and correct seasonings - I usually add a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce to it)

In a frying pan, sauté the onion gently in the olive oil until it starts to turn brown in bits, then add the mushrooms and sauté both together until they’re soft. When you’re ready to serve, put the brisket on a serving plate and pour the onion and mushroom mixture and the hot braising liquid over it.

Persian Roast Chicken for Shabbat

Marinade for two chickens:

3T sumac

3 T ground dried lime

2 T honey

1 tsp turmeric

Juice of 4 limes

Bottom of pan:

1 lime cut into thin slices

1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced thinly

1 head of garlic, cloves separated but peels left on

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl.  Put a sheet of aluminum foil in the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet and scatter  the vegetables over it.  Spatchcock the chickens and lay them on the veggies.  Cover the chickens with the marinade.  (At this point you can put the chicken pan in the fridge until you're ready to cook it.)  

Heat oven to 425 and roast the chicken for 45-90 minutes until it's done, depending on the size of the chicken.  

Bran Muffins

 1 1/2 c bran (I replace 1/4 c of this with milled flax seed if I have it - ups the flavor and fiber)

1 c boiling water

1 egg

1/2 c oil

2 T brown sugar

1 c flour

2 T ground flax seed

2 T chia seed

1 T baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c blueberries

Set oven to 375. Mix bran and water. Add egg, oil, and sugar. Stir in everything else except blueberries. Add blueberries. Put in greased muffin tin or paper cups and bake 15-20 min. Makes 9 large or 12 small or 20 mini muffins

Veggie Burgers

 This recipe makes a lot of burgers (about 10-12) and the patties freeze really well. I usually make them ahead of time and freeze them and they thaw fairly quickly. Highly recommended to serve with some kind of sauce like a tahini sauce or tzatziki or sriracha mayo or Peruvian green sauce (see recipe)  to punch up the flavor a bit and add some moisture.

 

2/3 cup medium-grind bulgur, rinsed

1 1/2 c boiling water

1/2 t salt


1 large raw beet (8 ounces), peeled and grated coarsely

3/4 cup walnuts

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves


3 garlic cloves, minced


2 cups cooked pinto beans

1/4 cup mashed sweet potato - this is just something sticky to hold it together

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard


1 1/2 cups panko

1/4 cup vegetable oil

 

1.      In a large bowl, mix bulgur, salt, and water and let it sit 15-20 minutes until it’s tender. Drain it if there’s any water that’s not absorbed.

2.      Meanwhile, pulse beet, walnuts, basil, and garlic together in a food processor until they are finely chopped, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add beans, sweet potato, mustard, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and pulse until well combined

3.      Transfer mixture to the large bowl with the bulgur and stir. Add in panko and stir. Divide mixture into 10-12 equal portions and pack into patties.

At this point you can cook them like a regular burger by adding the oil to a frying pan and sautéing until they’re nicely browned, or freeze them in a single layer on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and then bag them up to store in your freezer. They CAN be grilled but make sure to oil your grill.

Fruitcake

 

Basic recipe for 16 1lb (3"x5" pan) cakes:

Dried chopped fruit 8-9 lb

Liquid for soaking fruit 2 c - jam or fruit juice or liquor (Jack Daniels, bourbon, or rum) plus more for bathing

Nuts 3-4 lb

Butter 1 lb

Brown sugar 2 lb (4 c)

Eggs 12

Flour 2 lb (6-7 c)

1 tsp each salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, baking powder

2-7 days before making the cakes, soak the chopped fruit in the liquor and stir I every once in a while.  On the day you’re baking, mix together the butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and spices (it’s basically a pound cake batter).  Mix in the fruit and nuts.  Warning – you probably don’t have a bowl big enough for this – if you have a big dish pan or stock pot, use that, or you can split it between two bowls.  Line your 1 lb pans with parchment and fill them with batter. Bake at 325 for 60-90 min or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool.  Brush or douse them with a little liquor, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate.  You can repeat the dousing every couple of days or weeks for as long as you like.  I usually wait at least a month before eating them.  They keep indefinitely in the fridge. 

A note on fruit:  If I can get fresh citrons (from my Jewish friends after Succoth, thank you!) I usually candy them myself – they have a wonderful fragrance and a lot more flavor.  Figs, dates, apricots and sour cherries are my favorites but I use whatever I’ve got. 

2022:

2 lb crystallized chopped pineapple

1 lb sour cherries

1 lb candied citron

1 lb candied lemon peel

1 lb candied orange peel

2 lb raisins

1 lb chopped figs

2 lb chopped pecans

1 lb chopped almonds

1 lb chopped walnuts

2024:

1 lb citron

1 lb pineapple

2 lb currants

1 lb apricots

2 lb sour cherries

1 lb dates

1 lb pecans

1 lb walnuts

1 lb almonds

Bolo de Fuba (sweet corn cake)

This is a very nice gluten free sponge cake - moist but not heavy, with a lovely coconut-corn flavor. It is better to use a fine-grind corn flour if you have it, but medium grind will work as well.

2 1/2 cups sweet corn kernels

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup corn oil

4 eggs

2 cups corn flour or fine grind corn meal

1 cup sugar

1 cup shredded coconut

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

Set oven to 350 and grease and flour a Bundt pan or angel food pan. In a blender, Blend the corn in a blender with the two milks until very creamy. Add the oil and eggs and blend a little more until incorporated. Pour the contents of the blender into a large bowl and add flour, sugar, coconut and salt. Stir to incorporate. Add the baking powder and stir to incorporate. It will be quite a liquid batter.  Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Run a knife around the edge and let it cool for 15 min and then unmold onto a rack or plate.  

If you like you can make a drizzle with lemon juice and confectioner's sugar, but personally I like it plain.  

Gingerbread

 Makes one 8-inch square cake

Ingredients

    3/4 cup Guiness
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    2/3 cup molasses
    3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
    1/4 cup granulated sugar
    1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    2 tablespoons ground ginger
    1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon table salt
    1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
    2 large eggs
    1/3 cup vegetable oil
    1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 8-inch square baking pan.

    2. Bring Guiness to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. When foaming subsides, stir in molasses, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until dissolved. Take off the heat and whisk in eggs, oil, and grated ginger until combined.

    3. In a large bowl whisk flour, ground ginger, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pepper together. Whisk wet mixture into flour mixture in thirds, stirring vigorously until completely smooth after each addition.

    4. Transfer batter to prepared pan and tap pan against counter 3 or 4 times to dislodge any large air bubbles. Bake until top of cake is just firm to touch and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.