Sundried Tomato, Basil and Pine Nut Crusted Salmon

This gorgeous show stopper will be the centerpiece of one of my meals this Shavuot. Best of all it is simple to prepare, a pleasure to look at and a delight to consume. I am perfectly happy eating salmon just simply seasoned and broiled but every once in a while it's nice to try something different. Here the fresh basil beautifully compliments the sun dried tomatoes and the undertones of garlic and mustard and the crunch of the toasted pine nuts make it delectable. Enjoy!


1 side of salmon (about 2 pounds)
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbl good quality Mayonnaise
12 sun dried tomatoes (if using the ones in olive oil, do not add the oil below)
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
2 Tbl olive oil
2 Tbl pine nuts, toasted
2 tsp crushed garlic, about two large cloves
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a baking sheet. Rinse and pat dry the salmon and lay on the sheet. Mix the mustard and mayonnaise and spread it all over the fillet. Then season the fillet lightly with salt and pepper. In a food processor, process the tomatoes, basil, pine nuts and garlic with the oil till chopped but still slightly chunky. Season the mixture lightly with salt and pepper and press on top of the salmon. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes (depending on the thickness of your salmon) or until the center is firm to the touch.

Shavuot Recipes 2013

Dairy lovers unite! Shavuot is almost upon us! The time when it is an enduring tradition (minhag) to eat dairy and no one can mock or scorn us for serving lasagna on chag! It's the  most wonderful time of the year! Ok, I'll hype down a little but truly Shavuot is my favorite holiday to cook for and after hours of work I have put together a whole load of awesome dairy Gush Gourmet recipes to help you make your menus this year. I would also love to see pictures of recipes you make from this blog so feel free to post them to our facebook page here. Enjoy!



Soups/Starters:

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup
Roasted Tomato Soup

Potato Leek Soup
Cream of Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Corn Chowder
Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Blooming Onion and Cheese Bread

Salads:
Ranch Dressing
Citrus Salad

Caprese Inspired Chopped Salad
Tortellini Salad

Baby Spinach Salad
Greek Salad with Lemony Garlic Dressing
Quinoa Salad with Roasted Broccoli and Halloumi Cheese
Fish:
Maple Sesame Salmon
Pesto Halibut with Roasted Tomatoes
Panko Parmesan Crusted Salmon

Mozzarella Crusted Stuffed Sole
Wasabi Ginger Salmon
Pan Fried Halibut with Lemon Cream Sauce
Sun Dried Tomato, Basil and Pine nut Crusted Salmon


Quiches and Tarts:
Rustic Salmon Tart
Zucchini Galette

Tomato Basil and Goat Cheese Quiche
Potato Leek "Soup" Quiche
French Onion Quiche
Swiss Chard and Leek Tart
Spanakopita Strudel

Pastas/Mains:
Eggplant Involtini
Not Your Grandmother's Tuna Noodle Casserole
Penne ala vodka
Asparagus and Rigatoni with Boursin Cream Sauce
Fettuccine Portabella

Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi

Cheese Latcakes
Broccoli and Cheese Stromboli
Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
Veggie Chili
Salmon Pasta Pesto
Salmon Papardelle with Lemon Cream sauce

Baked Eggplant Spaghetti
Baked Butternut Squash and Cheese Polenta
Pumpkin and Cream Cannaloni



Desserts:
Tropical Carrot Cake with White Chocolate Frosting
Tiramisu

Strawberry Tiramisu
Strawberry Bread Pudding
Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cherry Cheese Coffee Cake
Plum Bread
Sweet Cheese Babka

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Deep Dish Oatmeal Fudge Bars

If you love oatmeal cookies and you love fudge, then these bars are for you. But let me warn you, these bars are sinful and HIGHLY addictive. Who can resist a crunchy oatmeal cookie base layered with a thick buttery fudge filling and then topped with some more cookie- not me! Probably not the best idea that I made them without company to share them with, and after seeing how much headway I was making in the pan all by myself I decided it would be best to freeze half for Shavuot. Did I mention these go great with coffee? Or by themselves? Or as dinner :) ? Enjoy!

200 grams (2 sticks)butter or margarine, room temperature

1 3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup milk

3 cups quick cooking oats

In a stand mixer mix the butter, brown sugar and eggs until well incorporated. Add the vanilla and milk. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients. The mixture will be thick.

For the Fudge:

1 can sweetened condensed milk (you can find chalav yisroel options as well nowadays)

1/3 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp instant espresso or coffee

2 cups chocolate chips

In a sauce pan melt all the ingredients together.

Preheat oven to 350. In a greased 9x13 pan press half of cookie mixture onto the bottom of the pan. Top with the fudge mixture spreading it evenly and then top with the rest of the cookie mixture by placing pieces of the dough over the fudge. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. Cool and then refrigerate before cutting.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Broccoli and Halloumi Cheese

I literally dreamed up this recipe. There I was, minding my own business and enjoying my third REM  cycle when dancing grains of quinoa appeared before my eyes adorned with sun dried tomatoes and roasted broccoli. Ok, maybe it didn't go down quite like that but I definitely woke up with a vision of this salad in my head. Quinoa has slowly made its way into my diet after much experimenting and perfecting how to get rid of that unpleasant bitterness that always seemed to  accompany it. Rinsing it vigorously under running water for no less than 2 minutes is the trick and since this discovery I am apparently happily dreaming of quinoa recipes. Of course, in honor of Shavuot there had to be some dairy involved and halloumi cheese, a Greek cheese with a high melting point allowing it to be fried or grilled without running all over the place, was where I went. If you don't want to use cheese, tofu or chicken breast can be substituted. This salad is filling enough to call it a meal but light enough that it won't weigh you down and oh, did I mention that it's yummy? Enjoy!


1 1/4 cups quinoa
2 1/2 cups stock or water
1 head broccoli, broken into florets
3 Tbl oil, divided
8 sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 Tbl  pine nuts, toasted
300 grams (about 10oz) Halloumi or Tofu, cubed

For the dressing/marinade:
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup mustard
3 Tbl soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup oil
pinch of black pepper

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together.

Marinate the halloumi in half of the dressing mixture for at least half an hour. Set the other half aside.

Place the broccoli on a roasting pan. Drizzle with one Tbl oil, season with salt and pepper and roast at 350 until brown around the edges and slightly crispy-about half an hour.

Rinse the quinoa very well in a fine mesh strainer. This will remove the bitter taste.  Add to a pot with the stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and let it cook for about 15 minutes. Close flame and keep the pot covered for an additional 5 minutes. Remove cover and fluff the quinoa with a fork.

Once halloumi has marinated, grill or pan fry it in the remaining oil until brown on all sides.
To assemble: Gently mix the quinoa with the roasted broccoli, tomatoes, pine nuts, halloumi and the remaining dressing. Serve room temperature.

Shitake Mushroom and Beef Noodle Stir Fry

On special occasions, (usually after relentless weeks of catering) when I feel like I deserve a treat, I head to Jerusalem to my favorite sushi joint to pig out on sushi. Usually on such jaunts I don't pay any attention to anything else on the menu besides the sushi because I have this unofficial rule that in a pizza place you get pizza, a burger place you get burgers and in a sushi place you get sushi even though all the above places have lots of other menu offerings. But, for some reason on one of my most recent sushi excursions I found my eye wandering the menu where it came to a halt at a dish called Shitake Sirloin Stir Fry. It sounded delicious and I had to try it, even if it meant breaking my rule. I"m glad I did because it was so good that on the two trips since I have practically skipped the sushi and just ordered this dish. But, being ever practical and knowing that my budget cannot handle tri-weekly trips to Jerusalem to eat it I set about trying to recreate it and this is what I came up with. I have to say, it comes close. I also have to say that measuring ingredients in general is hard for me but when it comes to making Asian dishes it is especially hard. I usually am just tossing ingredients in, tasting all the way through to make sure it is perfect.  I did manage to measure  for the most part but I encourage tweaking the seasonings to make it perfect for your tastes using the ingredients I provided in the recipe. Some of the ingredients may sound complicated or hard to find such as the Hoisin sauce or Mirin but I have found them weekly in my local supermarket with no problem. I find Kosher supermarkets nowadays really have a great selection of Asian sauces and condiments. Enjoy!


For the beef:
1 lb tzli catef, pounded thin- they sell this at the butcher counter and it looks like meat shnitzel, or in America use Pepper Steak
1 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
1 T soy sauce
1 Tbl water
2 Tbl oil
In a bowl mix all the ingredieints except the beef. Slice the beef very thinly against the grain and place in the marinade. Let it sit for at least half an hour. This will tenderize the beef.

1/2 lb shitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
1/2 lb baby portabella, sliced thinly
1 onion, diced
2 Tbl oil
8 scallions, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
400 grams (about a pound) of stir fry noodles
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup good quality teriyaki sauce
3 Tbl hoisin sauce ( a sweet and salty Asian condiment)
1 Tbl sesame oil
1/4 cup Mirin (a Japanese wine seasoning)
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbl low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger

Boil the noodles according to package instructions and set aside. Saute the onion in the oil till just tender, raise the heat to high and add the mushrooms. Leave them without turning for a minute to get caramelized and then saute. Add the beef still over high heat and saute until all sides are just browned. Add the scallions and saute.  Add  the rest of the ingredients to the pan mixing to coat and cook till the sauce bubbles. Lower the heat and let the sauce cook with the beef for another 2 minutes. Add in the noodles and cook together till the noodles absorb the sauce and serve.

Baked Butternut Squash and Cheese Polenta

What can I say about polenta? To me, it is simple, hearty, filling, stick to your ribs goodness. But I guess simple is the key word because it does take a lot of adornment to attain deliciousness. However, polenta is almost like rice- it is a blank palette  and you can season it up to your liking and so to me it's fun to play with. My favorite polenta is simply cooked in milk with hefty amounts of butter and cheese added at the end. This baked polenta is a fancier version of that with butternut squash added for health factor but lots of cheese and just enough butter to make you crave it. Try this as an interesting new addition to your next dairy meal, it is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

(adapted from Food and Wine)
2 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into pieces
3 Tbl oil
2 onions, diced
2 Tbl oil
6 cups vegetable stock or water and bouillon
2 cups polenta or corn meal
2 Tbl butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup smoked Mozzarella cheese, grated
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (divided)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbl butter cut into small cubes
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350. Toss the squash with the oil, season with salt and pepper and roast until tender. Mash coarsely and set aside. In a saute pan saute the onions in 2 Tbl oil until golden.
Bring 6 cups of stock to a boil. Add the salt and polenta and whisk until the polenta is cooked through. About 10-20 minutes depending on the thickeness of your cornmeal. When it is tender it is ready. Add the butter to the polenta and then the cheeses (reserving 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese), nutmeg and squash mixture. Don't mix it too much, you want to see some of the squash. Season well with salt and pepper and pour the mixture into a buttered dish. Top with the rest of the Parmesan and dot with the butter and bake for 15 minutes until the top is a little crispy.

Bissara (Fava Bean Dip)

Ever go into an Israeli restaurant and see Ful (pronounced fool, as in "I pity the fool" -A-team reference for those of you 80's babies) on the menu? I see it all the time and for the life of me I could never figured out what it was.  A type of bean I presumed but no clue what type. Of course, I could have just asked Dr. Google but I guess I never got around to it. Well, I was strolling in the shuk recently with my husband  and came across these big green pods (think string beans on steroids) that people were buying up. Curious as to what they were and what to do with them we approached the vendor and found out they were Ful (talk about an "aha" moment.) We bought a massive bag of them and brought them home. Once cooked the massive bag amounted to about a cup of beans. No wonder people were buying wheel barrels full! Well, I put hubby in charge of their preparation and this is the Moroccan dip he cooked up. I have to say, it was quite tasty, almost like chummus but bright green (think Incredible Hulk) though it takes a little effort to cook and shell them. We devoured it with some pita chips and are already looking for a wheel barrel for sale. Enjoy!


1 big bunch of ful in its pod, shelled ( you want 1 cup of shelled beans)
3 cloves garlic
zest and juice of one lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
2 Tbl chopped cilantro (or parsley)
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the ful for one minute and let cool. Once cool remove the waxy outer shells of the beans and place in the food processor. Process the beans with the garlic, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, cumin and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Blend until pureed. If the mixture is too thick for your liking you can add a little water or olive oil.