Category: Kosher

Purim Seudah Menu – the Rachel way

Hi all and happy Purim!

Even though Daniel and I just made our hamantaschen and posted about it this week, I still cannot believe that we’re in March, and even though Pesach is around the corner, I’m still in denial that it’ll be here before you can say “gluten free hamantaschen”.

So here we go – it’s seudah time!  We’re each giving you some ideas of what to serve at your seudah, and here’s mine!

Appetizer:

My caramelized onion, mushroom, fig and goat cheese GF pizza crust hamantaschen (omit the goat cheese if you’re doing a pareve or fleishig seudah).

Main Dishes:

Super Spicy Drunken Noodles

Raw Falafel Balls with lemon za’atar dipping sauce

Cauliflower Tabbouleh

Dessert:

My coffee maple date hamantaschen with lemon blueberry chia filling

When I first thought of “Purim” food (ok, besides the obvious hamantaschen), I immediately thought of “drunken noodles”.  I mean, clearly, for the whole Purim theme and all, BUT here’s the kicker – there is not one trace of alcohol in this dish!  The whole point of making drunken noodles is that it’s so fiery hot that you’ll want to drink a vat of alcohol (which I do not recommend, for that matter) after eating this super spicy dish.  Or may I just recommend a nice tall glass of…almond milk to wash it down? 🙂 Only I would say that, right?  This dish is typically made with Asian ingredients, but I would use gluten free brown rice pasta (Jovial brand is my fav – holy delicious batman, it tastes just like the real thing), and add some aromatic spices to the mix, to make it unique.  Some cumin, coriander, curry (or whatever, throw in whatever spices and herbs you like), add in some Thai chilies, sriracha, sambal olek (Asian chili sauce), umeboshi plum vinegar (which I’m a little obsessed with, it has a salty, umami flavor that would be spot on in this), and top with some fresh cilantro and plenty of fresh limes wedges to squeeze over the top and this is one dish worth salivating over.

But after that, I was stuck.  What else would be great to serve for a Purim seudah, without being too cliche or specific to one cuisine?  Then it hit me.  Persian flavors (DUH).  Hello, Rachel, the whole story of Purim happens in Persia.  So, I went with some Middle Eastern flavors (which I did with the noodles, image that), with some Rachel flair of course.  The raw falafel bites is an idea that I borrowed from one of my favorite cookbook authors and bloggers, Megan Gilmore, a.k.a. Detoxinista, and I love that these are raw – so no baking required and they only take a few minutes to whip up in the food processor.  Walnuts, tahini, garlic, cumin, lemon juice, parsley – done.  If you want to add chick peas, by all means, but I wanted to do something a little unexpected, and the walnuts give it a nice texture.  If you want to flatten them and pan fry them into patties, then go for it!  Make sure you experiment with your food, the way YOU like it – after all, you’re the one that has to eat it anyway, right? Serve these up in pita (gluten free or not), or lettuce cups and top with some zesty lemon za’atar sauce.  Just mix in some mayo (homemade is super easy to make, or just use whatever you have on hand), add in some lemon zest and juice, chopped parsley, garlic powder and za’atar seasoning and mix!  Done and done.

And last on the list was the cauliflower tabbouleh.  If you’ve checked out my other blog, riskyveggie.com, you’ll note that I am slightly obsessed with the ever popular cauliflower “rice” – just raw cauliflower chopped into rice-sized pieces.  I love a good tabbouleh – that fresh bite of tomato, cucumber, sharp raw onion, fresh parsley and a refreshing finish of lemon juice (ok now I’m making myself hungry), but instead of bulgar or even a gluten free grain, how about cauliflower rice!  It resembles similar texture and it cooks in half the time!  I just like to throw it in a pan with a little olive oil, salt and pepper for maybe 5-10 minutes at max, otherwise it’ll get mushy and I like my cauliflower ‘al dente’.

So that’s the whole megillah, folks (I know, I couldn’t resist).

Hope you enjoy my menu ideas for a Purim seudah!

Freilichin Purim!

Not one, but TWO healthy Hamantaschen!

Okay, so I’m a bit of an overachiever, and for this Hamantaschen challenge, I decided to make not just one type of “hummy” but TWO freaking recipes.  Sweet and savory.  I know it looks like a potchke, but I promise that I’ve given you some helpful shortcuts to make these easier than they look!

For the savory one, I used Simple Mills brand gluten free pizza dough mix (yes, you read that correctly – gluten free). For the filling, I made a caramelized onion, mushroom, fig and goat cheese mixture, with some spices to round it out but I like the contrast of the sweet figs and onions and umami mushrooms (I used oyster mushrooms for this, but use whatever you have on hand). To be honest, I was slightly panicked when I realized I didn’t have any dried figs in my pantry, but to my surprise, I found Trader Joe’s California green figs in my freezer (and perfect timing to clean out my freezer right before Pesach anyway).  So that’s what I used, but if you’re using dried figs, I would put them in some warm water to soften them up before you saute with the rest of the ingredients.

And for the sweet one – here’s the kicker for this, it’s NO BAKE!  Did I hook you guys up or what?  It’s a coffee maple date “dough” with lemon blueberry chia filling! Truth be told, I played around with the dough for a while on this one, adding liquid when needed to make it a little more pliable, but that’s kind of the beauty of this, there’s not really an exact science to it, no precise measuring, just throw some stuff in a food processor and adjust as needed.

So readers, there you have it!  My take on this year’s hamantaschen.

Freilichin Purim everyone!

5 from 2 votes
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Caramelized onion, mushroom, fig & goat cheese hamantaschen (GF)
Prep Time
25 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 
Course: Appetizer
Servings: 8 medium hamantaschen
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
  • 1 box gluten free pizza dough mix I like the brand Simple Mills - you just add water, oil and apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion Use any type of onion you have
  • 1/2 cup mushrooms (wiped clean with dish towel) Again, use whatever you have (I used oyster mushrooms, but any type will work)
  • 1/4 cup figs Use fresh or frozen, but if using dried, soak them in warm water to soften first
  • 1 small handful crumbled goat cheese I just eyeballed this, about 10 crumbles
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp 21 seasoning salute I get this at Trader Joe's - it's a fantastic mix of all different herbs and spices and perfect for savory foods like this!
  • 1 tsp unrefined coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Follow the instructions on the back of the gluten free pizza dough mix - set aside.
  2. Melt the coconut oil in a saute pan and add onions, mushrooms, figs, salt, pepper and spices. Cook for about 15 minutes until fragrant and caramelized.
  3. Add in the crumbled goat cheese and cook for 5 more minutes until melted.
  4. While the goat cheese is melting, pre-heat oven to 350F and place parchment paper on baking sheet.
  5. Wet hands and scoop a golf ball sized amount of dough, flatten into circle, scoop a small amount of filling and fold in the corners to make a triangular shape. You may have to re-wet your hands for this part, so you can seal the corners and the sides, since the dough may crack a bit.
  6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
  7. Top with fresh or dried rosemary. Serve warm or room temp and devour!
5 from 1 vote
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Coffee maple date hamantaschen with lemon blueberry chia filling
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
1 hr 55 mins
 
Course: Appetizer
Servings: 10 hamantaschen
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup dates I like to use Deglet Noor, I just like the texture better and you don't have to remove the pits, like Medjool
  • 3/4 cup nuts I like to use pecans for this, but almonds or walnuts would be great too
  • 3 T pure maple syrup
  • 1 T ground coffee You can use either leftover coffee, or good quality granules
  • 1/2 cup almond milk or any other dairy-free milk you have handy
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 T shredded coconut
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 T white chia seeds
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 T unrefined coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Melt the coconut oil in a pot and add the blueberries, coconut sugar, lemon zest and juice and cook until the blueberries have all popped and mixture has thickened.
  2. Turn off the heat and add the chia seeds and mix well until the filling is thick, like jam.
  3. Add the dates, nuts, maple syrup, coffee, almond milk, vanilla extract and shredded coconut into a food processor and pulse until all combined. Once it's all blended, remove the lid and scoop out some dough to see if it'll hold together when you fold it into hamantaschen. You may need to add some almond milk or water, or more nuts depending on the consistency.
  4. Scoop some dough onto a baking sheet covered in wax paper, and flatten into a circle. Add a small amount of filling and carefully fold up the sides to make a triangular shape. You may need to wet your hands for this one to press down the sides and corners. Sprinkle with coconut sugar.
  5. Place in the freezer to set up for 1 hour, then store in a container. Defrost for 15 minutes before serving.

Let me know how you liked the recipes in the comments.  Also let me know if you liked my hamantaschen or Daniel’s better. His can be found here: Barbecue Chicken Hamantaschen

Barbecue Chicken Hamantashen

In honor of the upcoming Jewish holiday of  Purim I challenged Rachel to hamantaschen throw down.  I figure I should be able to best her easily, as they are usually high in sugar and carbs which are Kryptonite  to my compadre.

While hamantaschen usually take the form of a sweet triangular cookie, I went in a completely different direction creating a savory appetizer version.  For the BBQ sauce I recommend my Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce .

5 from 1 vote
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Barbecue Chicken Hamantaschen
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
2 hrs
 
A great a savory twist on a traditionally sweet cookie. It makes a great appetizer.
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: Asian, BBQ
Servings: 4
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
  • 12 Round Won-ton skins Thawed
  • 1/2 Chicken Chopped (Roasted, Grilled, or Smoked Store bought rotisserie or leftover chick works great for this
  • 2 Cups BBQ Sauce
  • 1 Whole Egg Beaten
  • Vegetable Oil for Frying
Instructions
  1. Add the chicken and BBQ sauce to a pot and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
  2. Add a teaspoon of the chicken to the center of the won-ton skin, brush egg on the edges, and fold the edges to make a triangle with an open center. Repeat for all 12 won-tons.
  3. Fill a heavy frying pan with about a 1/2" of oil and place over medium heat. Fry over until golden brown on each side and serve immediately.

Please let me know what you think of the recipe in the comments. Also let me know if you liked my hamantaschen recipe or Rachel’s better.  Her’s can be found here: Not one, but TWO healthy Hamantaschen!

Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce

This is a great all purpose sauce that takes advantage of that special something you get from the 23 secret flavors that are combined to make Dr. Pepper.  If you don’t want to take the time to reduce Dr. Pepper to syrup you can use Soda Stream’s Dr. Peter Sparkling Drink Mix.

I love this on chicken and often use it balance out spicy rubs on wings.  It also makes a great condiment for burgers.  Please let me know how you like it in the comments.

5 from 1 vote
Pulled Beef Doughnuts
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Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: BBQ
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
  • 1/2 Cup Dr. Pepper Syrup You can reduce a 2L of Dr Pepper or use Soda Stream Dr. Pete Sparkling Drink Mix
  • 1 Cup Ketchup
  • 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
  • 1/4 Cup Cider Vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1 Tbsp Garlic powder
  • 1 Tbsp Onion Powder
  • 1 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
  • 1 Tsp Ground Cumin
  • 1/4 Cup Molasses
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pot and simmer for about 10 minutes on low heat while stirring regularly.

Zucchini Pappardelle with Mushroom Coconut Cream Sauce

img_5389For this recipe, I broke out the spiralizer.  Yes, I joined the bandwagon last year and bought a hefty one to use for this recipe (I have the Brieftons Tri-Blade Spiralizer in bright green).

So, even though summer is sadly gone, why not make use of those last summer veggies that have been sitting in your crisper!  This recipe is SO easy, takes very little cook time and really takes only a few minutes to put together – I promise!

5 from 1 vote
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Zucchini Pappardelle with Mushroom Coconut Cream Sauce
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 
Course: Main Dish
Servings: 2 people
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
  • 2 Medium Zucchinis Skin removed and peeled into long ribbon-liked strips using a vegetable peeler
  • 1/4 Cup red onion, thinly sliced Tip: If you rinse the onion under cold water, it removes the sharpness
  • 1 Cup Mushrooms Use whatever you like - cremini, button, porcini, oyster, etc - anything works in this dish!
  • 1/2 Cup Tomatoes, roughly chopped Again, use whatever you like - ideally you should use whatever is in season, around peak of summer time. I used a mixture of heirloom tomatoes in all different colors!
  • 1/2 Tsp. Salt, to taste Adjust seasonings as needed
  • 1/2 Tsp. Pepper, to taste Adjust seasonings as needed
  • 3/4 Cup Coconut Cream Here's a great trick - take a can of full fat coconut milk, turn it upside down and place in the fridge for a few hours. Once it's cold, carefully open the top and scoop out the cream, saving the coconut water for another use
  • 2 Cloves Garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 Handful Fresh basil, roughly torn
  • 4 Tbsp. Nutritional Yeast
  • 1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the onions, garlic and mushrooms in 1 tbsp of olive oil for 5 minutes.
  2. Season with salt and pepper (be careful not to over-salt your zucchini, otherwise it'll get mushy really quick).
  3. Add the coconut cream, nutritional yeast and tomatoes.
  4. Add the peeled zucchini ribbons to the pan and cook for another 3 minutes until the zucchini is slightly cooked but still "al-dente" (it should have a bite to it, not mushy).
  5. Sprinkle fresh basil and serve!

Lamb Bacon French Fries topped with Quail Eggs and Chopped Parsley

img_5187I must admit, I was a bit perplexed when I was given “lamb bacon” and “quail eggs”.  No, not because I didn’t know what to do with BACON, but because I had just too many ideas running through my head!  Do I go with a breakfast dish?  Snack?  Maybe even a dessert?  Hey, bacon and chocolate is a thing! 🙂

I’m not sure why, but my first instinct was to do French fries – fried in lamb bacon drippings.  Bit of an odd thing for a pescetarian to be daydreaming about, but hey, I was up for the challenge!  And I wanted the ingredients to shine, to use them in a pure state, not mask them with a ton of ingredients.

Here are some tidbits on this…

  • Don’t hesitate to experiment with the seasonings on the fries!  If you don’t like spicy, omit the chili lime seasoning!  Try a BBQ rub on the fries instead!  Or, just with the basics on this – you can’t go wrong!
  • The lamb bacon definitely had a smoky quality (though I have no idea what bacon of any kind tastes like), but if it’s not your thing, omit it!  You can top it with some seared skirt steak, or fried salami instead!  Or…even without the meat (dare I say that)?

Okay people, let’s DO THIS!

Don’t forget to check out Daniel’s lamb bacon and quail egg dish and let us know which you like better in the comments: Lamb Bacon Chili Shakshuka With Quail Eggs

5 from 1 vote
Lamb Bacon French Fries
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Lamb Bacon French Fries topped with Quail Eggs and Chopped Parsley
Prep Time
25 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
 

A fun take on French fries, with some unexpected ingredients.

Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Fries
Servings: 2 people
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
  • 3-4 Yukon Gold Potatoes
  • 1/4 cup Chopped Lamb Bacon
  • 4 Fresh quail eggs
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp Chili Lime Seasoning
  • Drizzle Extra Virgin olive oil
  • Handful Freshly Chopped Parsley Optional
Instructions
  1. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and pre-heat in oven at 450F
  2. Slice the potatoes into French fry shape, or spears (any shape you want, really) 🙂
  3. Soak potatoes in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain well
  4. Drizzle olive oil over the potatoes and sprinkle the salt, pepper, chili lime seasoning and garlic powder. Mix well.
  5. Bake for 25 minutes until just turning golden brown
  6. Fry bacon in a hot skillet. Add the hot potatoes to the pan, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. You may need to do this in batches. Fry for a minute or two, just to crisp up the potatoes in the bacon drippings.
  7. Remove the bacon from the pan. Crack the eggs into the bacon grease and fry for 2 minutes, or until the whites are cooked through.
  8. Pile the fries on a large platter, top with the chopped (drained, preferably on a paper towel) lamb bacon, add the eggs (you can cut through the yolk to get some of the runny yolk, but keep in mind the yolks are small so you won't get as much runniness compared to a larger egg), and add the chopped parsley.
  9. Serve hot and devour!

Coconut Chicken and Spicy Soba Noodles

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Hello fellow eaters and welcome to meatyourvegetables.com!  We are super excited you’re here an joining us on this delicious journey!

So, here’s the scoop.  Each post features a different secret ingredient, chosen by one of us.  Daniel started the challenge with – Chicken!!

For those of you who know me and my blog www.riskyveggie.com, you know that I’m a pescetarian (or, a fish-eating vegetarian), but, I am married to quite the carnivore, so I am fairly comfortable with cooking meat and chicken, so that didn’t scare me.  Bring it on!

This is a great recipe for a crowd and you can make all of the components in advance!  Cook the chicken, make the soba noodles and the dressing all separate and assemble a few hours before you serve it!  It definitely needs a few hours to let the dressing soak into the soba noodles and coleslaw and brings all the flavors together.  Soba noodles are a great pasta alternative for those of you who are gluten-free, plus they cook insanely fast!

Here it is – one of my versions of an awesome chicken dish!  And luckily, it got the “hubs seal-of-approval”.

Please let me know what you think of the dish in the comments, and if you like my Chicken dish or Daniel’s better.  You can find her’s here:  Thai Chicken Won-tons With Peanut Dipping Sauce

5 from 1 vote
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Coconut chicken and spicy soba noodle salad
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
1 hr 25 mins
 
Grilled coconut chicken served over a salad of soba noodles, coleslaw, cashews, red onion, cashews, cilantro and a spicy sriracha sauce!
Course: Main Dish
Servings: 8 people
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
  • 4 Boneless, Skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 can Full-fat coconut milk
  • 2 packages soba noodles
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1 tsp 21 seasoning salute
  • 1/4 cup Unseasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 4 tbsp coconut aminos (sub soy sauce or tamari)
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice (bottled of fresh)
  • 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1 tbsp Sriracha
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1 handful fresh cilantro
  • 1/4 cup Cashews
  • 1/2 package coleslaw mix (1/2 of 16 oz package)
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
Recipe Notes
  1. In a plastic zip top bag, mix the coconut milk, salt, pepper, 21 seasoning salute, and curry powder.
    1. This "21 seasoning salute" is a great mix of herbs and spices from Trader Joes - love this stuff
  2. Add in the chicken breasts and marinate at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
  3. Heat up a grill pan, and cook chicken for 15-20 minutes until fully cooked.
  4. Meanwhile, cook soba noodles according to package directions.  Drain under cold water.
  5. Make the dressing:  Mix the rice wine vinegar, coconut aminos (you can use soy sauce or tamari sauce instead), lemon juice, Dijon mustard, sriracha, garlic powder and cumin.
  6. Mix the dressing with the cooled soba noodles and add in coleslaw mix.
  7. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, slice into small strips, and add into the soba noodle and coleslaw mixture.
  8. Add the cashews, cilantro, and red onion.
    1. totally option, but you can toast them in a hot, dry skillet for a few minutes for an extra nutty fragrance)
  9. Mix and serve at room temp or cold!