Kosher Gourmet
Mouth-wateringly Majestic
By: Sharon Lurie
Persian style mince in spinach leaves
500g beef mince
1 egg
¾ cup rice, cooked (I used basmati)
1 whole onion, grated
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
400g BABY spinach leaves
Combine all the above ingredients together except the spinach. Don’t overmix. Place the spinach in a large rectangular dish and cover with boiling water. Allow to sit it boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain the water off the spinach and peel off 4 – 6 leaves and place on a board with the leaves slightly overlapping one another. Place a spoonful of raw mince mixture onto the spinach leaves and roll up. Place side by side in a single layer in baking dish. Pour the sauce over the meat and spinach roll ups.
Sauce
1 large onion, sliced
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 Tbls honey
3 Tbls tomato paste
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
2 cups of chicken stock (2 chicken stock cubes dissolved in 2 cups boiling water)
2 Tbls corn starch (Maizena) dissolved in ½ cup COLD water
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish
Fry onions, garlic, and ginger in a little oil until onions are soft. Add tomato paste, turmeric, paprika, and chicken stock. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add dissolved cornflour in cold water and allow sauce to thicken up as it simmers. Remove from heat and pour over meat filled spinach parcels. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 30 minutes, uncovered. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Mahogany glazed beef wedges on a bed of mashed potatoes
These glazed beef wedges served of a bed of mashed potato are delicious with every ‘melt in your mouth’ bite. To complete the dish sprinkle some fresh herbs to add that pop of colour.
1½kg top rib off the bone (cut against the grain into 4cm slices)
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbl Bisto gravy powder
1 tsp coffee powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbls oil
1 large onion, diced
1 tsp crushed garlic,
2 heaped Tbls tomato paste
2 cups red wine
1 cup beef broth (2 beef stock cubes dissolved in 1 cup boiling water)
3 Tbls sweet chilli sauce
3 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme
Preheat oven to 170C. Dust the meat with flour, gravy powder, coffee powder, salt, and pepper. Fry meat in a little oil in a heavy based pot until golden brown. Remove meat from the pot and place into an ovenproof dish, packing the slices close together. To the same pot in which you fried the meat, add the onions and garlic and continue to fry until soft. Add the tomato paste, red wine, beef broth, sweet chilli sauce, bay leaves, and thyme and bring to a boil. As it starts to boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for five minutes. Pour the sauce over the meat and cook in a preheated oven, covered, for 1 hour. Remove the cover and turn the meat over carefully. Allow sauce to thicken up and glaze the meat. Serve on a bed of mashed potato.
Chopped jewel salad
Chopped salads seem to be the new trend. It’s all those crispy vegetables that make their debut in this salad. Topped with a light flavourful dressing that perfectly complements the ingredients, this salad is finished with a sprinkle of vibrant pomegranate arils making it an absolute winner!
500g white cabbage, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
35g coriander, finely chopped
20g mint, finely chopped
1 pkt (about 8) small Israeli/Mediterranean cucumbers, finely chopped. If you’re using English cucumbers cut them in half lengthwise and remove the pips as the pips make the salad mushy.
4 spring onions, finely sliced
Topping
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
Sprinkling of pomegranate seeds
Citrus dressing
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2/3 fresh orange juice
½ cup oil
1 Tbl honey
1 vegetable cube
Salt and pepper to taste
Blend with a hand blender or in liquidiser until smooth.
Challah fit for a queen
Using your favourite challah recipe, allow the dough to rise once, punch it down, and then break off pieces just a little smaller than a tennis ball. Place them into a round, greased cake tin and allow to double in size. Paint challah with egg wash and sprinkle each ball with a different seed, such as white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, linseeds, or any assortment of seeds you think Queen Esther may have enjoyed in the palace.
Hearty, meaty, wheaty soup
Yes, bulgur is richer in fibre and nutrients than rice. It’s packed with vitamins and minerals, and has a good amount of fibre. Fibre rich food is always great to include in your diet. In fact, bulgur actually has more than twice the amount of fibre found in brown rice. It gives a wonderful thick and lush feel to this soup.
2 Tbls oil
2 x 200g sliced soup meat on the bone (shin is perfect)
2 onions chopped
1 tsp garlic
2 leeks thinly cut into rings
2 sticks of celery finely cut
1 large carrot, grated
2 large potatoes peeled and cubed
½ cup dry bulgur wheat
2 litres water (you may need more water later as the bulgur wheat and potatoes absorbs quite a bit. The size of the pot can also play a part, too big a pot can cause rapid evaporation of liquid. A good guide is to cover all the ingredients by about 6cm of water)
3 beef stock cubes dissolved in 500ml boiling water
Fry the meat in a little oil until golden brown. Remove meat when brown (but don’t burn it as it this will cause a bitter taste in the soup). To the same pot in which the meat was cooking, add the onions, garlic, leeks, celery, and carrots, and cook until soft. Return meat to the pot and add the potatoes and bulgur wheat. Give it a good stir and add the water. Allow soup to simmer for an hour then add the beef cubes dissolved in 500ml of water. Allow soup to simmer on low heat for another 1½ hours until the meat is fork tender. At this point you can remove the meat and shred it back into the soup with the marrow bones, or discard the bones. Some do love the marrow!
Royal chocolate clusters
There’s no sweeter way to end a meal than with the perfect bite: a decadent chocolate cluster.
400g dark chocolate melted
1 cup mixed raisins and peanuts (if raisins aren’t your thing, use just peanuts)
1 cup roughly chopped, chocolate honeycomb
1 cup crushed cornflakes
½ cup glacé cherries, chopped
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 Tbl peanut butter
Optional toppings to sprinkle on top of clusters BEFORE chocolate sets
Chocolate vermicelli
Toasted coconut
Gold dust to brush on top, to make them a little more royal!
Place all the ingredients, except chocolate, into a bowl and mix well. Pour chocolate over ingredients and mix well. Place into cookie cups or in piles on baking paper on a baking tray, sprinkle with optional toppings and refrigerate.
