Caprese Salad

Caprese Salad

It's a quick and classical Italian dish, which I make often in a summer after work. I'm  the biggest fan of mozzarella and ricotta cheese and use them a lot in my cooking. I think, it's a good addition to our very Americanized menu. I wish all of you to use such great Italian ingredients in your cooking.
Serves 4

6 large ripe tomatoes ( I used cherry tomatoes)
4 balls mozzarella
Bunch of fresh bazil
Good quality olive oil
Fine sea salt
Freshly groupd black pepper
Good quality balsamic vinegar

Slice tomatoes nice and thing, and do the same with the cheese. Arrange on a large serving dish. Rip the basil leaves (I shopped nicely) and sprinkle them on top of tomatoes and cheese. Drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the salad, and season with a bit of salt and black pepper.
I mixed the salad to bring all flavors together.

Салат-каприз

Это быстрый и полезный итальянский салат, который я делаю после работы. С моцареллой и рикоттой я познакомилась в Америке. Много лет тому назад в Советском Союзе об этих сырах никто ничего не знал. Теперь уже не представляю свою кухню без этих сыров. Я даже делаю тесто для пирожков с яблоками из рикотты.  Надеюсь, что Вы будете использовать это сыры на Вашей кухне.

На 4 порции
6 больших спелых помидор
4 средней величине шарика свежей моцареллы
Небольчой пучок базилика
Оливковое мало
Морская соль
Черный перец
Бальзамический уксус

Порезать помидоры на тонкие полукольца (я брала маленькие помидоры). Тоже сделать с сыром. Положить помидоры и сыр на тарелку. Мелко нарезать базилик и посыпать сверху. Посыпать солью и перцем и побрызгать оливковым маслом и уксусом. Дать постоять. Я перемешала все вместе, чтобы салат почился сочным.
Recipe adapted from "LA Cucina Italiana" magazine.

Fish in aspic

Fish in aspic (Ryba Zalivnaya)

It's a very old and very traditional Yiddish dish. It was made by my mom according to a recipe from her mother-in-law Ronya.

1 (6-lb) whole bass fish (with skin), gutted and cleaned, head and tail left intact. If you don't have a long pan for cooking, cut into a big pieces (see the picture).
1 large onion, cut into thing round slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
1 small red beets, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch round pieces
cold water
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
Salt to taste
1 package of gelatin (2 1/2 teaspoons (7g) unflavored gelatine)
3-4 fresh parsley sprigs for decoration

Wash bass inside and out and sprinkle inside with salt.

Pour olive oil on a frying pan. Heat the skillet on high until the oil is very hot but not smoking. Add half of the onions all at once and reduce the heat to low-medium low. Using a spatula, turn (toss) the onions so that all the pieces get some oil on them. Continue to turn the onions with the spatula about every 2 to 3 minutes. Cook until onion is translucent. Remove the onions, turn off the heat and cool a little bit.

Place second half of the onions, carrots, and beets on the bottom of the pan. Add fried onions, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Place fish pieces on a top of vegetables. Add water enough to cover all pieces. Bring to boil, partially covered, over the high heat. Check for salt and pepper (Add as need it.) Reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Pour 1 cup of broth through a sieve into a small bowl. Add gelatin and mix very well.

Lift fish pieces out of broth and drain well, then transfer to a large long shallow fish plate and chill for 10-15 minutes. Pour gelatine mixture over the fish. If it's not enough to cover all fish use liquid from the pan. Use carrots and parsley to decorate a dish. Chill fish, uncovered. Put in refrigerator for several hours. Take out before serving.

Cooking class with Michael Natkin

I was invited to a book presentation with Michael Natkin, who is an author of new vegetarian cookbook "Herbivoracius". He was in Minneapolis on June 6, 2012. I really like his book full of new ideas and recipes. In a near future, I will try some of his recipes and, hope, to post on my blog. His book is the excellent resource for learning and experimenting. Moreover, all of his recipes are absolutely healthy. In our time it's quit important. I hope, some of you will express interest to his book and read through.

Cooking class with Zehorit

As I promised, yesterday I went to a community cooking class. The class was offered by local branch of AISH with a tremendous help of  local chef Zehorit Heilicher. First of all, I have to thank you all organizers, who worked tirelessly to put together this delicious event, which is quite rare in our community. For a second, I would like to share with all of you some recipes from this event. The recipes were created by Zehorit Heilicher specially for the event and, believe me, they are delicious and very healthy. All recipes use only kosher ingredients. I hope, you will enjoy them as I did. I wish we would have more delicious events like this one. Definitely we need a cooking class for Jewish men.

Tomato-Eggplant Platter
Serves 6-8
3 slender eggplants, sliced into 1/4" circles
8 large tomato, sliced the same
1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
In a large frying pan heat 1/4 cup olive oil. Lightly fry each slice of eggplant until golden brown. Place on paper towel covered plate to cool. Repeat with the rest of eggplant slices, adding more oil as needed. On a non-reactive platter, place slices of eggplant interchanging them with tomato slices. Whisk together vinegar, olive oil and chopped garlic. Season slices with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over tomato and eggplant slices. Serve at room temperature with thin baguette slices.

White bean & sage "Hummus"
Serves 6
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (save liquid)
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium garlic cloves, diced
2 tablespoons fresh sage, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
In a large saute pan, heat olive oil then cook onions until translucent over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute until fragnant; add beans and sage then season with salt ans pepper. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook beans, stirring often, for 5 more minutes. Take beans off heat and set aside to cool.
Place cooled beans, onion and sage in a food processor. Add lemon juice. Puree beans until smooth and creamy, taste and adjust seasoning. (if too thick, add some of reserved canned liquid).

Herb & dried fruit couscous pilaf
Serves 6
1 package couscous
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped fime
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped fine
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
Optional 1 medium sweet red pepper - diced small
1 medium sweet yellow pepper, diced small
1/2 cup currants, blueberries or cherries
1/2 cup dried cherries, cut in half
1/2 cup minced scallions
Dressing
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar or apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
In a medium frying pan over medium heat, combine olive oil, garlic and herbs and cook until fragrant. taste the herbs and then season with salt & pepper.
Turn off the heat, add currants, cherries and scallions and toss gently to combine. Prepare couscous according to package directions and then fluff with a fork into a large bowl. Add the herb mixture and stir gently. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over couscous, mixing gently to combine.
Taste couscous and season with salt ans pepper if needed. This couscous is best served cold or at room temperature and is wonderful for a picnic.

Mixed greens salad with hearts of palm and avocado in lemony dressing
Serves 6-8
6 cups mixed greens
2 cups hearts of palm, sliced 1/3" think
1/2 medium red oniln, sliced thinly
2 medium avocados, peeled and sectioned
1/2 cups candied pecans (optional)
Vinaigrette
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
 1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 tablespoon olive oil
Whisk all ingredients of vinaigrette except the olive oil. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously. Taste the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Place avocado sections and the heart of palms in a medium bowl and gently coat with a tablespoon of vinaigrette. Combine greens and onion slices in a large bowl and then top with avocado and hearts of palm mixture. Sprinkle with candied pecans on top and serve immediately. For another variation try adding blue cheese crumbles to the salad.

white bean pate

Old-fashioned country style white bean pate.

Many people ask me what we used to each when we live back in Ukraine many years ago. It's not easy to describe in a couple words our menu. Living in America, we still make some of the traditional dishes. One of them is a white bean pate. It's old-fashioned, tasty, and fulfilling. Living in Ukraine many years ago we did not have a variety of ingridients which are available in western supermarkets and farmer's markets. Moreover, in many cases fresh fruits and vegetable were available for only short period of time. We used to make a big bowl of white bean pate and eat with meat, fish, salad or even shmear on bread. Yes, it's an old-fashioned, but that we used to make and eat many years ago. Nowadays, most of Jewish women  make much lighter version of this dish and enjoy only as a appetizer. Many years ago, we did not have a canned white beans, we used to make pate from raw white beans.  We soaked beans in a large bowl with cold water for overnight.  In the morning, we simmered beans for another 1  to 1 & 1/2 hours.  It was a long process, but the dish is really tasty. My mam asked me to blog about such old dish, so I did.

1 medium to large size white onion, chopped
1 tablespoon shmaltz
2 medium size potatoes, cook it in its skin
1 large carrot, cooked it in its skin (you can cook together with potatoes)
2 cups canned white beans, drained
2 eggs, hard-boiled
2-3 teaspoons lemon juice
salt, pepper to taste

Melt the schmaltz in a heavy skillet and sauté first half of the onions until just browned. Pour the onion into a mixing bowl of food processor. Add second half of onions.
Peel off potatoes and carrot.  Add potatoes, carrot, white beans, eggs, and lemon juice into mixing bowl of food processor, and puree until almost smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer pate to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Enjoy!

Традиционный паштет из белой фасоли.

1 большая луковица, мелко порезанная
1 столовая ложка куриного жира
2 небольших картофелины, сваренных в кожуре
1 большая морковка, сваренная в кожуре
2 чашки консервированной белой фасоли, воду отцедить
2 круто-сваренных яйца
2-3 чайных ложек лимонного сока
соль и перец по вкусу

Растопить куриный жир на горячей сковороде. Добавить половину нарезанного лука и пожарить до золотисто-коричневого цвета. Переложить лук в чашку кухонного комбайна. Добавить оставшийся лук. Очистить от кожуры картофель и морковку. Положить в чашку кухонного комбайна картофель, морковку, белую фасоль, яйца и полить лимонным соком. Включить кухонный комбайн и прокрутить до того момента, пока почти не образуется пюре. Вынуть смесь из чашки кухонного комбайна, выложить в глубокую посуду. Поперчить и посолить. Накрыть и поставить в холодильник.

Imitation Crab-meat Corn salad

It's very popular salad among Russian immigrants. Many of us use an imitation of crab-meat in our cooking. It's great, non-expensive, and, most important, healthy ingredient for many dishes on immigrant kitchen.   

Imitation Crab-meat Corn salad
Makes 5-6 portions.
3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
4 oz imitation crab-meat, chopped
1/4  large red onion, chopped
3/4 cup boiled rice
1/2 cup canned corn, drained
1 tablespoon dill or parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
In a large bowl, combine eggs, crab-meat, onion, rice, corn, dill. Pour the mayonaise into the crab mixture and toss lightly to combine. Add salt and pepper. If you want, add some lemon juice. Mix again. Cover and chill at least 1 hour before serving.

Кукурузный салат с крабовыми палочками.
На 5-6 порций
3 круто сваренные яйца, мелко нарезанные
120 грамм крабовых палочек, мелко нарезанных
1/4 большой красной луковицы, мелко нарезанной
3/4 чашки вареного риса
1/2 чашки косервированной кукурузы, отцедить от воды
1 столовая ложка мелко порезанного укропа или петрушки
3 столовый ложки май онеза
соль и перец по вкусу
1 столовая ложка лимонного сока (по желанию)

В большой миске перемешать яйца, крабовые полочки, лук, рис, кукурузу и укроп. Добавить май онез и перемешать. По вкусу добавить соль и перец, пожеланию лимонный сок. Все хорошо перемешать. Накрыть и поставить в холодильник на 1 час перед подачей на стол.

Greek Spinach dip

 

Greek Spinach dip

make 2 1/2 cups

1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped shallots
4 green onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 oz. spinach, washed well and heavy stems trimmed
1/2 teaspoon each salt and finely shredded lemon zest
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup plan Greek-style yogurt
1/2 cup finely crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped dill
Freshly ground black pepper.

Cook garlic, shallots, and green onionis in oil in a large frying pan over the high heat until fragnant. Add spinach, cook until wilted.

Scoop spinach into a food pricessor using slotted spoon, pulse until roughly pureed. Add salt, lemon zest and juice, yogurt, feta, and dill. Pulse one to mix. Add pepper to taste.

Греческая закуска со шпинатом

На 2 1/2 чашки

1 столовая ложка размятого чеснока
1/4 чашки мелко нарезанного маленького белого лука (можно взять 1/4 большой белой луковицы)
4 веточки зеленых лука, мелко нарезанного
2 столовых ложки оливкового масла
350 грамм свежего зеленого шпината (помыть и почистить как на щавлевый борщ)
1/4 чайной ложки свежей цедры лимона и 1/2 чайной ложки соли
2 чайной ложки лимонного сока
1 чашка греческого йогурта
1/2 чашки брынзы
2 столовых ложки мелко нарезанного укропа
Черный перец по вкусу.

Разогреть оливковое масло на большой сковороде. Добавить чеснок, белый лук и зеленый лук. Жарить на большом огне несколько минут. Добавить шпинат. Жарить в течении 5 минут. Снять с огня и остудить.

Выложить шпинатную массу в кухонный комбайн. Добавить соль, лимонную цедру и сок, йогурт, брынзу и укроп. Все прокрутить в течении 10 секунд. Добавить черный перец по вкусу.

Russian-speaking readers are not familiar with dishes with spinach. Many years ago we used to make a green borscht from spinach and that's it. It's something new for them. I hope, they will enjoy this new dish with potato chips. It's a really healthy and quick. And... it's quite good for summer potluck.

Recipe adapted from Recipe from The Sunset Edible Garden Cookbook: Fresh, Healthy Cooking from the Garden

Zucchini cookies

About a week ago I took a new cooking book from the library. The book is "The Sunset Edible Garden Cookbook: Fresh, Healthy Cooking from the Garden".  I have found several good recipes and started to make them. Here's one of them. I like experimenting with vegetables and fruits, especially in a spring and summer. Actually I have another zucchini cornmeal cookies recipe from Martha Stewart and, hope, to make them. For now I plan to make Greek spinach dip and Plum buckle from the same book.

Zucchini cookies.
Makes 45 medium size cookies
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup each chopped walnuts, semisweet chocolate chips, and sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a large baking sheet.
Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. beat eggs and vanilla. Stir in zucchini.
Whisk flour in a medium bowl with baking powder and salt. Add to zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts, chocolate chips, coconut, and raisins.
Drop cookie dough by tablespoons onto prepared Baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned 15-20 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough. 

Печенье из зеленых кабачков
На 45 печений
1 чашка сливочного масла, комантной температуры
1 1/2 чашки сахара
2 яйца
1 чайная ложка ванильного экстракта
2 чашки натерных кабачков (2 маленьких)
2 3/4 чашки муки
2 чайные ложки разрыхлителя
1 чайная ложка соли
По 1 чашке мелконарезанных грецких орехов, шоколадных чипсов и кокосовой стружки.
1/2 чашки изюма
Нагреть духовку до 350Ф. Приготовить большое деко.
В большой посуде взбить сливочное масло и сахар, добавить яйца и ванильный экстракт. Добавить кабачки и хорошо перемешать.
В другой посуде поменьше, перемешать муку, разрыхлитель и соль. Добавить мучную смесь и кабачковой. Добавить орехи, шоколадные чипсы и кокосовую стружку. После этого замесить тесто. Тесто будет липким.
Столовой ложкой выложить печенье на деко. печь в течении 15-20 минут. Потом переложить печенье на тарелку или решетку, чтобы остыло.

Recipe from The Sunset Edible Garden Cookbook: Fresh, Healthy Cooking from the Garden