Kosher Gourmet
In honour of Shavuot
By: Sharon Lurie
Traditionally, milchiks are served on Shavuot. But let us not forget that it’s Yom Tov and meat should still be served as a main dish. However, I’ve been dying to share some of my mother’s favourite milk dishes and Shavuot just seemed to be the perfect opportunity. I love soup! Especially as a meal! In winter I could eat a bowl of soup every day and never tire of its warm, comforting “yum”. Whether it’s chicken soup with kneidlach or perogen, or a hearty minestrone with focaccia, I’m in always in the mood for soup no matter the season. Being Shavuot and a chag where we enjoy milchiks, I decided to do scrumptious soups and decadent desserts for this article.
MILCHIK CREAMY ONION SOUP
5 large onions cut in half and thinly sliced
Little oil for frying
4 cups cold water
2 bay leaves
1 packet thick WHITE onion soup mix (I used Pick and Pay brand)
1 cup full cream milk
1 cup cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (press to compact it)
Salt and pepper to taste
Fry onions in a medium sized soup pot, until limp and see through. Do not allow them to brown as you want the soup to be white. Slowly add cold water and bay leaves, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from stove and add milk and cream give it a good stir. Add flour and onion soup powder (still off the heat) and continue stirring with a whisk, to avoid lumps. Return to medium/high heat and continue whisking until nicely incorporated and it starts to thicken up. When it starts thickening up reduce heat to low, add cheese and continue to stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Nothing better than this soup with a hot bagel and butter.
Sprinkle with crispy onion rings, spring onions and parsley.
RED LENTIL AND SWEET POTATO SOUP
250g dried red lentils
4 cup warm water
A little oil for frying
2 onions chopped
3cm piece of fresh ginger, sliced
4 cloves of garlic
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
3 sticks celery roughly chopped
500g sweet potatoes (I used the orange variety)
1½ litres water
3 tsp hot curry powder
1 sachet tomato paste
1 tsp sugar or sugar equivalent
2 bay leaves
3 cubes of parev chicken soup
1 can coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Soak lentils in four cups of water overnight, covered with cling film. Fry onions, ginger, garlic, carrots, and celery in a large soup pot. Peel and cube the orange sweet potatoes and add them to the vegetables with the curry powder. Give them a food stir then add the lentils and the water in which they soaked overnight to the vegetable. Add 1½ litre of water, tomatoes paste, sugar, bay leaves, and chicken stock cubes. Give it a good stir and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer, with the lid lying loosely on top of the pot for at least an hour. Add salt and pepper to your preferred taste. Finally, remove bay leaves, add coconut cream, and blitz it altogether with a hand blender. This is quite a thick soup but you can add a little more water should you want it thinner.
OPTIONAL TOPPING (this topping just adds a lovely texture to the soup)
Three TBLs sesame seeds
100g finely chopped cashew nuts (salted)
1 tsp cumin
1 TBL toasted desiccated coconut
3 TBLs finely chopped mint or parsley
Mix the above together and sprinkle over INDIVIDUAL soup bowls. Not to be mixed into large pot of soup. When I’m in the mood for a hearty vegetable soup and a chunk of hot fresh bread slathered in butter I turn to this roasted cauliflower and pea soup recipe. Its creaminess and texture seems to always do the trick.
ROASTED CAULIFLOWER AND PEA SOUP
1 large head of cauliflower, chunked
1 large onion cut into 1/8ths
1 large carrot, shredded
3 sticks chopped celery
Little oil for frying
1½ litres water (6 cups)
3 vegetable or parev chicken cubes
3 TBLs butter or non-dairy margarine
3 TBLs all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 cups cream/coconut cream to keep it parev
1 cup packed finely grated cheddar cheese or 4 TBLs NUTRITIONAL yeast to keep it parev (available at most pharmacies)
½ tsp chilli flakes (more if you like it spicy)
Preheat oven to 200C. Sprinkle cauliflower and onion chunks with a little oil and roast until golden brown. It doesn’t have to be soft as it still has to cook further on the stove with the rest of the ingredients. Meanwhile, fry the carrots and celery in a little oil, in a medium sized, deep soup pot for a few minutes and then add the water and mix well. Bringing it to the boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Add the roasted cauliflower and peas and allow to simmer for 50 minutes with the lid lying loosely on top. Add the vegetable soup cubes after the 50 minutes of simmering. Melt butter or margarine in a small saucepan, remove from heat, add flour, and mix well. Using a whisk, add milk and mix until well combined and smooth. Add to the soup. If there are any lumps, strain the milk mixture into the soup. The soup should start to thicken up whilst stirring. Add 2 cups cream or non-dairy creamer, cheese, and chilli. Keep it on a low simmer until heated all the way through. Serve immediately.
DESSERTS
WARM WAFFLE DESSERT
3 layers of readymade cooked waffles (I use Fresh fellows round waffles as they are the perfect softness for this recipe)
3 tsp cinnamon
5 eggs
1 litre milk
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 heaped tablespoon custard powder
250ml cream
250ml golden syrup
200g blueberries
250g strawberries (sliced)
Beat eggs, milk, cream, vanilla essence, and custard powder until well combined and set aside in a pouring jug. Place one layer of waffle into a round 20cm baking tin, or a round deep ovenproof dish. Pour 4 tablespoons of syrup over the first waffle, scatter some strawberries and blueberries, sprinkle with cinnamon, and pour a cup of egg and milk mixture (custard sauce) over it. Repeat with the rest of the waffles, fruit, cinnamon, and custard sauce until the final layer where all the custard sauce is used. Place in the fridge for 1hr, covered, to allow the waffles to absorb the custard. The waffles should be swimming in the custard sauce as this pudding should be moist and served warm. Bake at 180C for 25 to 30 minutes and serve immediately with ice cream. The pudding should be moist and not dried out.
LEMON FRIDGE TART
1 ready-made biscuit pie dish (available at Kosherworld) OR 1 packet tea biscuits (I like tennis biscuits), crushed and mixed well with 150g melted butter and pressed into a pie dish.
2 cans condensed milk
5 egg yolks
1 cup pure lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 180C. Pour the condensed milk into a bowl and add egg yolks. Beat well with a whisk then add lemon juice and continue to whisk. Pour the lemon and condensed milk mixture into the biscuit base and bake for 15 minutes – no longer. When cool, cover with cling film and place in refrigerator to allow to set overnight.
CARAMEL AND HALVA CHOCOLATE BROWNIES
Everybody has their favourite brownie recipe, whether it’s light and fluffy. Thick and chewy, we know how we enjoy them. However, to make this a quick and easy recipe, I used a packet of Sasko brownie mix and a can or Nestle Caramel which can be found alongside the condensed milks.
1 packet brownie mix made up as per instructions on packet.
1 can Nestle caramel
2 Nestle Bar One chocolate bars (52g) roughly chopped
1/3 cup milk
200g halva (shredded)
Preheat oven to 180C. Make chocolate brownie mix as per instructions on pack. Place half the mixture into a square baking dish or tin foil container about 24cm x 24cm. Scoop the caramel from the can into a small bowl, add cut up bar one chocolate and milk, and melt in microwave for 1 minute. Stir and place it back in the microwave at 30 second increments until pourable. Pour the caramel and chocolate mixture over the first layer of raw cake mixture, sprinkle with halva, (amount depending on how much you like halva), then spoon the rest of the chocolate cake mix over the caramel and halva. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes. I’ve baked it at both times (shorter and longer) – some prefer a gooey brownie (therefore shorter cooking time), while some prefer it a little firmer (therefore longer cooking time) whichever way you like it enjoy it with ice cream!
Hot steamy peachy pudding
This pudding should always be served hot or at least warm.
1 packet Sasko vanilla cake mix (the small pack)
1 large can sliced peaches (825g)
½ cup apricot jam
1 cup boiling water
½ cup golden syrup
Preheat oven to 180 C. Make cake mix as per instructions on box, but instead of adding water/milk as stated on ingredients, use peach juice from the can. If you’re short of liquid, add water to bring it up to the required amount. Grease the base and sides of a firm fitting round spring form tin (approximately 20cm in diameter). Combine the syrup, boiling water, and jam in a bowl. Place half the cake mixture onto the base of the baking tin. Place half the sliced peaches in a circular pattern next to each other on top of the first layer of cake mix. Pour the other half of the cake mixture over the peaches. Place the other half of the peaches over the other half of the cake mix. Finally, pour the syrup, water, and jam mixture over the raw batter. Bake at suggested temperature but remember: you can’t check whether it’s done with a cake needle as there will be moisture from the fruit, syrup, and jam. Take the cake out after 40 minutes. Remember: this is a pudding and should be moist. ALLOW TO COOL. Using a knife, separate the cake away from the sides of the cake tin. When cool, release the spring form tin with cake on a serving dish. Serve with hot custard or ice cream.
