Jewish Apple Cake Recipe

From Handwritten Recipes - A bookseller's collection of curious and wonderful recipes forgotten between the pages by Michael Popek.

Ingredients:
4 large apples
5 tspn sugar
3 tspn cinnamon
3 cups flour
3 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 tspn vanilla
1/4 cup orange juice

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Peal and slice apples.  Add sugar and cinnamon.
3. Make batter, add dry sifted ingredients.  Mix well with wooden spoon.  
4. Grease tube pan.  Arrange batter and apples in layers, ending with batter.
5. Bake for 1 1/4 hours until knife comes out clean.

Note:  Cakes tastes better after 2 days.

Optional:  
Butterscotch Glaze

Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Preparation:

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the brown sugar.  
2. After the butter has melted, slowly mix in the heavy whipping cream.  
3. Drizzle over slices of the cake.  
4. Keep refrigerated.

Israel  [ print this recipe for Jewish Apple Cake ]

Martha’s Excellent Matzo Ball Soup Recipe

There might not be a more iconic use of chicken than in “Jewish penicillin,” homemade chicken soup. There’s actually some scientific explanation of why chicken soup has medicinal powers, but for me, it’s all about the taste. One of the best bowls of chicken soup you can find in New York is served nightly at Blue Ribbon, Eric and Bruce Bromberg’s wonderful restaurant. Their Grandma Martha’s soup is a mainstay on their menu, and her ethereal matzo balls are legendary. The Bromberg brothers write that her soup and matzo balls are “a return to simpler things, simple things that if done just so can transform life and lead to so much more.” With that introduction, we present Grandma Martha’s Excellent Soup and Matzo Ball recipe.

Ingredients:
For the broth
1 whole 3 to 4 pound) hen
1 tbsp kosher salt
4 celery stalks with leaves, cleaned and chopped
3 carrots, cleaned and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 leeks, cleaned and chopped
3 whole unpeeled garlic cloves
4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
3 sprigs dill
1/2 tspn whole black peppercorns
2 dried bay leaves

For the garnish
Carrot rounds (blanched until soft)
Chopped fresh dill
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Matzo balls
1 cup matzo meal
4 eggs
1 oz. rendered chicken fat (schmaltz)
1/2 oz. kosher salt
1/2 tspn double-acting baking powder
2 oz. seltzer

Preparation:

1. For the broth: Rub chicken with kosher salt, inside and out. Let stand 15 minutes. Rinse well under cold water. Pat dry with paper towel. Put chicken in a large pot and cover with cold water by 3 inches. Bring to a boil. Impurities will rise to the top; skim them off and discard. Add the rest of the broth ingredients. Bring back to a boil, skim again, then reduce to simmer. After simmering for 45 minutes (or until chicken is cooked) remove chicken from the pot. Take the meat off of the bone (save meat for another meal) and put the bones back in pot and cook for 1 hour more. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheese cloth. Cool in the refrigerator. When cool, the fat will rise to the top and solidify, making it easy to remove.
2. For the matzo balls: In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients except the seltzer and mix well. Add seltzer and set the mixture aside, covered, in the refrigerator, for 1 hour. Fill a large-diameter pot three quarters full with water and bring to a simmer. With wet hands roll the matzo mixture into 1-ounce balls. Lower balls into water on a slotted spoon. Cook until the matzo balls are tender, 45 to 60 minutes (test with toothpick or do what Eric Bromberg does and cut in half). The balls should be light and fluffy in the center. Let the matzo balls cool.
3. For soup: Bring the broth to a boil with the carrot rounds, the dill, and the matzo balls. Season to taste. The soup is ready to serve when the matzo balls are warm in the center.

Serves 8 to 10

Start to Finish: Under 2 1/2 hours

Recipe courtesy of The Kosher Carnivore: The Ultimate Meat and Poultry Book by June Hersh

Israel [ print this recipe ]

Lamb Schawarma Recipe שווארמה

During my interview with Levana Kirschenbaum, I learned about a type of sandwich called schawarma that is a signature Israeli dish. So I tried to see if I could find any recipes for schawarma to understand how it is made. I found a couple of recipes that used chicken as the main ingredient. However, when I think of Middle Eastern cuisine, lamb comes to mind. The recipe that follows is a hybrid of a few that I found with some of my own improvisations.

Last weekend was the first time that it was really warm here and it felt like spring. So we decided to grill the lamb for the schawarma outside on the Weber.


We also decided to try a new wine with this dish. Since schawarma is popular across the Mediterranean, we wanted to find a wine from this region as well. We decided on Voga Merlot. This Sicilian wine (in a most un-traditional bottle) turned out to be an exceptional pairing with the lamb schawarma.


This recipe is all about prep-work. You will need to marinade the lamb overnight. In addition, you will need to slice up a few vegetables for condiments as well as make a tahini paste and tzatziki. There is a little bit of work involved in getting the condiments ready but if you get a few bottles of wine and some friends involved, dinner will be ready before you know it! Here is how to do it:

Recommended Equipment:
charcoal or gas grill

Ingredients:
2 pounds lamb
12 slices pita bread
1 cup plain yogurt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tspn tobasco sauce
2 tspn lemon juice
1 tspn vinegar
1 tspn onions, finely minced
1/2 tspn Kosher salt
1/2 tspn black pepper
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
1 cup tahini
2 tspn lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tspn chopped parsley
1/2 cup water

condiments
sliced tomatoes
sliced onions
mixed sprouts
romaine lettuce, sliced thin
tzatziki


Preparation:

1. Make the tzatziki.
2. In a large bowl, add yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, Tabasco sauce, black pepper, cayenne pepper, vinegar, onion and salt.
3. Add meat to the bowl and coat with the marinate. Refrigerate overnight.
4. Combine the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and parsley.
5. Whisk well.
6. Add water if needed.
7. Slice up the tomatoes, lettuce, onions for condiments.
8. Grill the meat until done.
9. To make the sandwich slice open a pita, spread some of the tahini sauce onto the bread. Add some lettuce, tomato, sprouts, and onion. Top with the meat and a dollop of tzatziki.

Israel