If your family and friends are all coming for dinner this holiday, try the following recipes. They will cover your table with festive dishes and still leave time for you to rest. The recipes are courtesy of the White Chef, Tnuva.
MEAT-FILLED PUFF PASTRY Makes 16 entrees ✔ 600 gr. Turkish puff pastry (Ma’adanot)
✔ 500 gr. ground rib lean meat (Shpondra)
✔ 500 gr. shoulder ground meat
✔ 2 onions, chopped and fried in vegetable oil until golden
✔ 1 clove garlic, minced
✔ 1 tsp, salt
✔ 1⁄2 tsp. cinnamon
✔ 2 tsp. cumin
✔ 4 Tbsp. crushed pistachios
✔ 1 egg
✔ Sesame seeds
✔ Oil Mix both ground meats together.
Add salt, cinnamon and cumin. Pour 2-3 Tbsp. oil into a pan and sauté 1⁄3 of the meat. When the meat is cooked through, remove from heat into a sieve and let liquids drip. Continue cooking the rest of the meat in the same way.
Let cool.
Mix meat with the fried onions, garlic, crushed pistachios and egg.
Cut the pastry into two 24x24-cm. squares.
Line a 28x28-cm. baking dish. Place 1 pastry square in the bottom. Place the meat mixture on top and press with your hand. Place the second pastry square on top and press with your hand.
Using a very sharp knife, carefully cut the pastry into 16 squares. Brush the pastry with a beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake at a preheated 180º oven for 45 minutes.
SLOW ROAST WITH VEGETABLES ✔ 1 whole shoulder roast (Adom Adom); ask the butcher to cut away fat
✔ Rosemary
✔ Kosher salt
✔ Crushed black pepper
✔ 1 whole head of garlic, cut in half
✔ Olive oil
✔ 2 red onions, quartered
✔ 5 fennel bulbs, quartered
✔ 2 lemons, sliced
✔ 1⁄4 cup silan To make the roast: Heat oven to 120º.
Rub the meat with olive oil on all sides.
Season with salt and pepper and place 2 rosemary sprigs and lemon slices on the meat. Place the meat on aluminum foil, place the halved garlic next to it. Roll the meat in the foil so it is closed tightly on all sides. Place in a baking pan and bake for 6 hours. After 6 hours, turn the oven off but do not open the oven door; let the meat cool inside. This can be done in advance.
To prepare the vegetables: Mix onions, fennel, lemon and silan. Place on a baking dish and bake in a 200º oven for 20 minutes until vegetables are golden.
To serve: Remove foil, place the meat in a baking dish with the vegetables and pour all the liquids on it. Heat the oven to 200º and place the meat and vegetables in the oven only until heated through. Serve immediately in the baking dish or transfer to a serving platter and arrange the vegetables around the meat.
Serve with rice or potatoes.
FESTIVE HERBED RICE ✔ 3 cups rice
✔ 2 to 3 Tbsp. fresh coriander, chopped
✔ 3 to 4 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
✔ 2 to 3 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
✔ 2 tsp. minced garlic
✔ Oil
✔ Salt
✔ 2 to 3 Tbsp. crushed pistachios
✔ 2 to 3 Tbsp. light raisins
✔ 2 to 3 Tbsp. dried cranberries
✔ Seeds from 1⁄2 pomegranate
✔ 2-3 Tbsp. sliced white almonds, slightly roasted
Wash the rice well until water is clear.
Soak the rice in clean cold water about 1 hour. Drain.
Boil 6 cups of salted water in a large pot. Add the rice and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Drain. In the same pot, fry the garlic in a little oil, add the drained rice and all the chopped herbs and mix well. Add 1 cup of salted boiling water, mix and cover the pot tightly. Cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep steam in the pot.
Cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
To serve: Place the rice on a serving dish and sprinkle with pistachios, raisins, cranberries, pomegranate seeds and roasted almonds.
MOROCCAN STYLE CARROT SALAD ✔ 1 package mini carrots (Sunfrost)
Dressing:
✔ 1⁄2 cup olive oil
✔ Juice of 2 lemons
✔ 2 tsp. salt
✔ 2 tsp. cumin
✔ 2 cloves garlic, minced
✔ 2 tsp. sweet paprika
✔ 2 Tbsp. hot Arisa sauce (optional)
Cook carrots. Mix all the dressing ingredients and pour over the carrots. Let stand for 1-2 hours before serving.
YELLOW BEAN SALAD ✔ 1 package (600 gr.) whole tender yellow beans (Sunfrost)
✔ 3 cloves garlic, minced
✔ 2 Tbsp. oil
✔ 4 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar mixed with 2 tsp. sugar
✔ Salt and pepper
✔2 cups arugula leaves
✔ 1 red onion, sliced
Cook beans in salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, rinse in cold water and drain again. When completely cooled, put beans in a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients except the arugula and toss. Just before serving, add the arugula.