 |
| Yes! I made it!!! |
With the wedding feasting over, I
really wanted to do a reset to healthier eating. I was also a little worried that things would
be too slow, too quiet, too boring! Then
I realized - in the Matten home life is never boring!! There are always things happening between the
usual chaos in our home and my work, plus with Purim around the corner there is
lots of planning and baking to be done.
To embrace the healthier eating
goal, I made a trip to my favorite mega produce store - Jerry's. Trips to Jerry's are
always inspirational as there are regularly new and interesting fruits and
vegetables to be found. I drive the
workers there a little crazy asking about how to cook some of the wackier
produce I’ve discovered. This time one
of the new items I came across was Green Garlic. It looks a lot like scallions, has the smell
and zesty flavor of garlic, but with a milder garlicky taste. Healthy and
delicious. In addition to the
recipes below, I used it in roasted vegetables which gave them a rich, but not
too strong, garlic flavor. You could
probably use it in any salad or side dish that requires crushed garlic.
 |
| Fresh Green Garlic-looks like scallions right? |
.JPG)
Green Garlic Asian
Green Bean Salad (6-8 servings)
Ask your local produce
seller for green garlic. I had to ask a
manager who knew where to find it. If
you can’t find it at your local produce store you can substitute a clove of
regular garlic for 2 stalks of Green Garlic.
Also, make sure you use toasted
sesame oil. It give a stronger “sesame”
flavor and allows you to use less oil than the untoasted variety.
3 pounds fresh green beans trimmed
2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoon (gluten-free) soy sauce
2-3 stalks Green Garlic, thinly sliced diagonally
¼ cup sliced almonds
Bring a large pot of water to a
boil. Working in two batches, add the
green beans and boil for 3 minutes.
Immediately remove the beans from the pot to a strainer and rinse with
cold water. Transfer the beans to a
large bowl. Using the same boiling water
that was used for the first batch, boil the second batch of green beans for 3
minutes, rinsing with cold water when done.
Transfer to the large bowl of beans.
Add the toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, green garlic, sliced almonds and
toss until combined. Serve cold as a salad or warm as a side dish.
Green Garlic Spinach
Penne (serves 4-6)
This is a particularly
pretty dish with the bright green of the garlic, scallions and spinach bursting
through the penne. If you can't find
green garlic locally you can substitute a clove or two of regular garlic.
You can make this dish gluten free by using gluten free penne. To make this dish lighter use two tablespoons
of butter instead of four.
1 pound (gluten free) penne, cooked & drained
3 green garlic stems, thinly sliced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons butter
10 ounces fresh spinach
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Melt butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the green garlic and spinach, then sauté
until the spinach is wilted. Toss in the
scallions and salt. Serve warm topped
with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
4 sheets puff pastry, defrosted
Filling Options:
Salmon
1 14.75 ounce cans salmon (pink or
red)
1 ¼ cups bread crumbs, or more if
necessary
2 large eggs
1 small onion, finely diced
½ cup ketchup
Place the cans of
salmon in a large bowl. Do not drain. Crumble the salmon with your hands (I
wear kitchen gloves) to make sure there are no lumps or hard pieces. Add the
bread crumbs, eggs, onion, and ketchup. Mix until smooth. If the mixture seems
too moist add more bread crumbs – but make sure that the mixture isn’t too dry.
Cucumber Dill Sauce
2 medium cucumbers, peeled
1 ½ cups lowfat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dried dill weed
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
(optional)
Process the cucumbers
in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add mayonnaise and dill and pulse a
few times to combine. Transfer to a container with a lid and refrigerate until
ready to serve with the Puff Pastry Salmon Hamentashen.
Potato
2 pounds Idaho Potatoes (around 6
medium)
1 large Vidalia or Sweet onion,
finely diced (around 2 ½ cups)
1 garlic clove, minced (or one
frozen garlic cube)
¼ teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
Place potatoes in a
large pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Cover
pot and reduce burner temperature to low. Cook the potatoes covered for 45
minutes until tender when pricked with a fork. Remove the potatoes from the
water and allow them to cool completely. This step can be done a day in advance,
just keep the potatoes in the refrigerator until ready to use. Peel the cooled
potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a
large (preferably non-stick) skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion,
garlic and sugar and sauté until the onion is golden brown and caramelized,
stirring occasionally, around 20 minutes. You may need to reduce the
temperature of the flame if the onion starts to burn rather than caramelize.
Using a fork or potato
masher, mash the potatoes until there are no large lumps. Add the caramelized
onions. Reserve the skillet from the onions – you will use it to caramelize the
sliced onions. Mix the onions and potatoes until thoroughly combined. Add the
salt and eggs. Stir until smooth with a fork, removing any remaining lumps.
To make the Hamentashen:
Preheat oven to 400˚F
or 375˚F if using a convection oven. Line 3 large cookie sheets with parchment
paper, set aside.
Roll a sheet of puff
pastry dough to 9x11 inches. Use a round (fluted if possible) cookie cutter to
cut circles from the puff pastry dough. Using a scooper or tablespoon to scoop
the salmon mixture or potato mixtureonto the puff pastry circles. Pinch into
triangle hamentashen. Bake for 15 minutes until browned. Serve warm or cold
with topping the salmon filled ones with Cucumber Dill Sauce.
Kosher
Everyday is dedicated to the memory of my father
Dr.
Theodore Saltzberg - Tuvia Ben Nachum Z”L
May
his memory be for a blessing - Yihi zichro baruch.
Look for additional information about Edible Experience
Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,
JewishExponent.com, aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher
Inspired Magazine,
The Chicago Tribune Syndication,
or on Facebook at Edible
Experience by Sharon
These
recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten -Edible
Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes are
for your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express
permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!
