Kosher
984 recipes found

Creamy Cashew Butternut Squash Soup
Growing up, I spent a lot of time in vegetarian restaurants even though I was not vegetarian, just on a quest to discover delicious, healthy foods that would help my dad to lose weight and feel good. I was already a fan of butternut squash soup when I was introduced to using cashews as a substitute for cream. This soup is loaded with flavor, fiber and protein. One of my favorite things to do is to ask my guests to figure out the mystery ingredient; nobody ever guesses that I have swapped out the heavy cream for the healthy, raw cashews. This soup is perfect for your vegetarian and vegan guests.

Puréed Trahana and Vegetable Soup
Sweet and tart flavors marry in this thick, comforting soup made with leeks, carrots, onion and trahana. I like to blend the soup with an immersion blender, which results in a purée with a fair amount of texture. You can make a smoother, more elegant soup if you use a blender and then strain the purée. Trahana has a rustic flavor that goes well here. If you use semolina or flour trahana the mixture will be considerably thicker, so use less; half as much should be fine.

Greek Lentil Pie
I consider lentils a convenience food, so quickly do they cook. I used up the last of my ripe summer tomatoes in a simple lentil and tomato stew and used the leftover stew to fill an amazing Greek phyllo pie, an idea I came across when I was reading about all the things Greeks do with lentils in Diane Kochilas’s “The Greek Vegetarian.”

Brown Rice and Barley Salad with Sprouted Red Lentils and Green Beans
This hearty salad, dressed with a creamy, spicy dressing, can be made with a number of different grains. I’ve been making iterations of this hearty whole grain salad tossed with a creamy, curry-spiced dressing since my earliest days of vegetarian cooking. My choice of grains for this version was a function of what I found in my pantry and my refrigerator: -- enough brown rice and barley to combine for a salad but not enough for a more substantial dish. Farro or spelt would also work. The split red lentils, soaked just long enough to soften and begin to sprout, contribute color and texture along with their grassy flavor. Tossing the grains with lemon juice while they’re still warm intensifies the flavors in the salad.

Greek Beet and Beet Greens Pie
I’ve made lots of Greek vegetable pies in phyllo pastry using beet greens, but I had not included the beets. This will now be a regular dish I make with beets in my house. This savory pie, seasoned with mint, parsley and dill, is beautiful, filling and easy to assemble. If you are gluten-free and can’t use phyllo, you can make this as a crustless gratin.

Stir-Fried Balsamic Ginger Carrots
The carrots need to be cut as uniformly as possible so that all the vegetables cook in the same amount of time. If the carrots are skinny (about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter), simply cut them into 2-inch pieces; if they’re medium (about 1 inch in diameter), cut lengthwise in half before cutting into 2-inch pieces; if they’re large (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter), quarter lengthwise before cutting into 2-inch pieces. Blanching the carrots reduces the amount of oil necessary to stir-fry. Mince the ginger by hand; if you use a grater or microplane, the ginger will be too wet and will spatter in the oil.

Not-Too-Sweet Wok-Popped Coconut Kettle Corn
I’m usually not a big fan of sweet kettle corn, but I wanted to make a moderately sweet version because some people love it and it is nice to be able to offer a sweet snack for the holidays. I realized after testing this recipe that I do like kettle corn if it isn’t too sweet. The trick to not burning the sugar when you make kettle corn is to add the sugar off the heat at the end of popping. The wok will be hot enough to caramelize it.

Spiced Wok-Popped Popcorn
My mother always used the wok for making popcorn. It is the perfect pan for it. An added bonus is that making popcorn adds more patina to your wok, and a well-seasoned wok is the healthiest type of nonstick cookware there is. I have played around with all sorts of seasonings for popcorn; my favorite is the Tunisian mix called tabil, minus the dried garlic. See the recipe below for the mix, which I make up by the jar and keep in my freezer. To help with cleanup, line the lid of your wok with aluminum foil.

Cooked Tomatillo Salsa

A Big Pot of Simmered Pintos
This pot of beans was Step 1 for the other Recipes for Health this week. If I know that I’m going to use these beans for a Mexican dinner I season them with cilantro and, if I can find it, epazote. If I want Italian or Provençal flavors I make a bouquet garni with bay leaf, thyme, parsley, maybe sage, and most definitely a Parmesan rind. This week, since I am using my beans as a starting off point for other dishes, I season them only with onion, garlic, bay leaf and salt. The dishes that will follow throughout the week will introduce more flavors.

White Tepary Bean and Potato Purée
Tepary beans are very small beans native to the Southwest and Mexico. They are among the most drought-tolerant foods in the world – they would have to be, grown as they are during the extremely hot, dry summers in the Sonora desert and southern Arizona. A dietary staple of native American tribes in Arizona, they are very high in protein and have a low glycemic index. There are two varieties, brown and white. I’m using small white tepary beans here; regular small white navy beans can be substituted. The teparies have a particularly sweet, meaty flavor. The purée, which is in some ways like a white bean brandade, isn’t a main dish, it is more of a comforting, high-protein stand-in for mashed potatoes. But it is substantial.

Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash
This makes a substantial vegetarian – or vegan if you leave out the cheese – Thanksgiving main dish. It is another riff on the native American tradition of the Three Sisters – corn, beans, and squash. I used acorn squash here, and it serves as a vessel for the sweet and pungent bean, corn and tomato filling. Acorn squash comes in various sizes; the larger ones, which are sometimes all I can find, take almost an hour to soften and cook through; the finished squash can be cut in half or even into thirds if too big for one serving. With everything that comes on the Thanksgiving sideboard, that will probably be the case. I always bake the squash for about 20 minutes before cutting it in half; they soften up a little bit, which makes it much easier to cut.

Big Bowl With Spicy Brown Bean, Squash and Corn Succotash
This version of succotash is lima-bean-free, with a kick that is a lively contrast to the sweet corn. If you have a problem liking succotash, it’s probably because of the lima beans, which have a mealy consistency that is not to everybody’s taste. What’s not to like, though, if you use another bean? Pintos or borlottis are great, and Good Mother Stallards from Rancho Gordo are luxurious. This succotash has some spice to it, a nice contrast to the sweet corn. Make sure to hold onto the bean broth. I like bulgur with this, but any grain will work.

Baked Beans With Sweet Potatoes and Chipotles
I used Rancho Gordo Mexican heirloom San Franciscano beans for this richly flavored dish. The beans are dark reddish purple, not too big, with an earthy, sweet taste that fits perfectly into this slightly sweet and spicy baked bean dish. From the supermarket, use red beans or pintos.

Creamy Corn and Poblano Soup
This is another creamy corn dish that has no cream in it – in fact, it has no dairy at all. I simmer the corn cobs to make the stock. When the corn is sweet, so is the soup, and I love the contrast of the sweet, creamy potage against the spicy roasted peppers.

Spinach and Yogurt Dip
A food processor transforms a great Middle Eastern spinach dish into a spread. In the traditional dish the spinach is topped with the garlicky yogurt. Here everything is blended together.

Garlicky Beet Spread with Yogurt, Dill and Horseradish
This recipe for an easy appetizer borrows from the Ashkenazi tradition, making it a perfect Hanukkah offering. Roasted beets, dill, walnuts and horseradish are whirred in a blender with yogurt, garlic and olive oil, coming together into a pungent magenta purée. It is thick enough to serve on latkes, and creamy enough to go it alone as a dip with vegetables. (The New York Times)

Roasted Winter Vegetable Medley
This is a sweet mixture of comforting winter vegetables that you can serve on its own as a side dish, or use as the component of a polenta, big bowl, frittata or omelet, or pasta. I roast the squash in one pan and the other vegetables together in another. If you have a small oven, roast the squash first, then the other vegetables. Or you can use two shelves and switch the trays top to bottom halfway through the roasting.

Bulgur Maple Porridge
Bulgur works beautifully as a morning cereal. The best method for making this is to submerge the bulgur in boiling water the night before, then cook the reconstituted grains in the milk in the morning. Maple syrup is my hands down favorite sweetening for any hot cereal; as for additions, I love the crunch of cashews or pecans, and I also love diced dried apricots or blueberries, or both.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
One of my all-time favorite pies, this one is sweet with spices but not very sugary. Because of the small amount of molasses, this is darker than classic pumpkin pie. Make it with fresh roasted pumpkin (small “pie pumpkins” are perfect for the job), or use canned pumpkin.

Peanut Dukkah
This is one of my favorite dukkahs. I like it with vegetables and with pita, and on its own as a snack.

Pickled Broccoli Stems
Kids and adults love these crunchy, garlicky pickles. One of my signature dishes, these are always on my coffee table for dinner guests to snack on because my son eats broccoli several times a week, and this is the perfect destination for the stems. If you buy your broccoli with the stems attached (as opposed to the crowns only), you’ll now feel like you’re getting a lot for your money.

Hazelnut Dukkah With Fennel Seeds and Mint or Thyme
Some versions of dukkah, like this one, are herbal as well as spicy.

Dried Apricot, Cherry and Cranberry Infusion
Whenever I soak dried fruit in hot water, to plump it for another recipe, I am always reluctant to throw out the soaking water because it tastes so good. I decided to simmer dried fruit with sweet spices and orange to obtain a delicious infusion that I would decidedly not throw out. A great beverage for a snowy day.