Holiday In: Light and white

If you are looking for new ideas for Shavuot, try these cheese recipes offered by Tnuva

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Polenta Patties (photo credit: Kfir Harbi)
Polenta Patties
(photo credit: Kfir Harbi)
You don’t have to wait for the holiday to enjoy a light dairy meal that is both tasty and healthful.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH BULGUR AND CHEESE Makes 6
✔ 250 gr. bulgur ✔ 6 small butternut squash ✔ 1 Tbsp canola or corn oil ✔ 1 onion, diced ✔ 1 red pepper, chopped ✔ 125 gr. 5% feta cheese ✔ 50 gr. flaked Emek cheese ✔ 50 gr. kachkaval cheese, grated ✔ Salt and pepper ✔ 1⁄4 cup olive oil ✔ 1 green onion, chopped Place bulgur in a bowl, cover with 1 liter of water and leave to soak for two hours. Heat oven to 170º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove top part of the squash, the seeds and a little of the flesh.
Do not peel. Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions until golden. Add pepper and steam for 3 more minutes.
Strain the bulgur, put it back in the bowl and add the onions and peppers. Add the cheeses and seasoning and mix well. Fill the squash with the mixture and place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for about 1 hour. Garnish with green onion and serve hot.
POLENTA PATTIES Makes about 20
✔ 21⁄2 cups milk ✔ 200 gr. instant polenta ✔ 100 gr. butter ✔ 1⁄2 cup grated Tnuva Geva Parmesan ✔ Salt and pepper
For frying: ✔ 1 cup flour ✔ 1 cup golden bread crumbs ✔ 2 eggs, beaten ✔ 1⁄4 cup frying oil
To serve: ✔ 200 gr 9% sour cream
Pour milk into a pot, bring almost to a boil, add polenta and cook, mixing constantly until it thickens.
Add butter and keep mixing for 5 minutes more. Add Parmesan, salt and pepper and remove from heat. Let chill for 1 hour.
Place flour, bread crumbs and eggs each into three separate soup plates. Heat oil in a large frying pan.
Shape patties, dip first in the flour, then the egg and last in the bread crumbs, and fry until golden.
Serve with sour cream and corn salad (see recipe below).
CORN SALAD ✔ 800 gr. frozen Sunfrost corn kernels ✔ 1 red pepper, diced ✔ 2 Tbsp. dill, chopped ✔ 1 clove garlic, minced ✔ 1 tsp. lemon juice ✔ 1 tsp. olive oil ✔ Salt and pepper to taste Cook corn in boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Strain.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.
MEDITERRANEAN PASTA SALAD Makes 8
✔ 3 Tbsp, olive oil ✔ 50 gr. salted butter ✔ 3 cloves garlic, minced ✔ 1 zucchini, diced ✔ 1 red pepper, diced ✔ 1 cup broccoli, crumbled ✔ 1⁄2 eggplant, diced ✔ 2 tomatoes, peeled and diced ✔ 1⁄2 cup water ✔ Salt and pepper ✔ 500 gr short pasta (fusilli or penne), cooked according to the instructions ✔ 125 gr. Bulgarian feta, 5% Pireus, crumbled ✔ 50 gr. Tnuva kachkaval, grated ✔ Fresh basil leaves Heat oil and butter in a wide pan, fry garlic and add all the diced vegetables.
Fry for 5 minutes.
Mix, add water, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 more minutes.
Place pasta in a large serving bowl, pour vegetables on top and mix gently. Add cheeses and basil leaves and serve.
LEMON PIE For a 25-cm. round baking dish:
✔ 450 gr. rolled sweet short pastry by Ma’adanot, thawed ✔ 4 Tbsp strawberry jam For the filling: ✔ 250 ml. 38% whipping cream ✔ 4 eggs ✔ Juice of 1 lemon ✔ 2 tsp. lemon zest ✔ 2 Tbsp. flour
For the meringue:
✔ 4 egg whites ✔ 2 cups sugar ✔pinch salt
Place pastry in the baking dish and push into bottom and sides. Place in the freezer for half an hour.
Heat oven to 180º.
To prepare filling: Beat together all ingredients except the flour, until light and runny. Add flour and gently fold by hand. Pour filling into the baking form and bake for 30 minutes, until pastry is golden and filling stabilized.
Remove from oven and reduce heat to 120º.
To prepare meringue: Over a pot half filled with boiling water, place a heat-proof bowl that is slightly wider than the pot. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the boiling water. In the bowl, beat together – over the heat – egg whites, sugar and salt, until sugar is completely dissolved.
Remove from heat and whip for 7 minutes until hard but not dry. Place in a pastry bag and shape little “hats” to cover the face of the pie (see photo).
Bake 30 minutes, until meringue is stable and a little golden. Chill and serve.
All recipes and photos are courtesy of Tnuva.