Meatless Monday: Vegetarian Moussaka

Vegetarian Moussaka P Serves: 16

Roasted eggplant layered with a creamy vegetarian meat sauce is satisfying and delicious for vegetarians and meat lovers alike. Serve with steamed rice and a salad and you have a wonderful meal. Add to that-it freezes well; so you can make a large pan of it, cut it into portions and freeze until needed.
Ingredients
2 medium eggplants
Olive oil/olive oil spray
28-32 ounces of veggie meat
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves
½ cup olive oil
One 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes-drained
1 tablespoon tomato paste
¾ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 eggs
½ cup unflavored bread crumbs
Equipment
Large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
Large skillet
12x10x3 inch baking pan
Directions

1. Spray parchment paper with olive oil or brush olive oil on it. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to: 400 F.
3. Peel eggplants and slice them lengthwise into ¼ inch slices. Arrange them in a single layer on parchment. (Use two cookies sheets or repeat process with second batch of eggplant slices.) Spray or brush them with olive oil. Bake eggplant in oven for about 10 minutes or until soft. Set aside.
4. Peel and chop onion and garlic.
5. Pour oil into skillet and heat over medium flame. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are translucent. Break up veggie meat and mix thoroughly into onions. Add drained tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir well. Add parsley. Stir again. Taste season with salt and pepper. The sauce should be thick and creamy with very little liquid.
6. Spray baking dish with olive oil. Arrange one half of the eggplant slices on the bottom making sure that there are no empty spaces between them. Spoon half the meat sauce on top. Make sure the top is smooth. Cover sauce with remaining eggplant slices. Spoon the rest of the sauce on top-smoothing it over again.
7. Preheat oven to: 350 F.
8. Beat eggs in a small bowl.
9. Sprinkle a layer of bread crumbs over the meat sauce. Spread the beaten eggs over the top. Sprinkle remaining bread crumbs over the eggs. Place in oven and bake 45 minutes or until browned and a little liquid can be seen coming over the edges. Cool15 minutes before cutting and eating. Alternatively,  Cool completely and refrigerate overnight. The Moussaka will be much easier to cut into neat portions when it is cold. You can reheat it for 20-30 minutes at 350 F. before serving.

Old-Fashioned Tzimmis (recipe, meat)

TZIMMIS  M  SERVES: 12

I love the flavors of the sweet potatoes and the way the brown sugar and lemon juice make the meat taste like candy.

Prep time: 20 min.   Cooking: 1 ½ hours   Chilling: overnight

Removing fat & baking: 3 hours

Ingredients           

4 pounds sweet potatoes               

2 pounds white potatoes               

1 pound pitted prunes

1 pound baby carrots

3 pounds Flanken

¾ cup dark brown sugar

juice of 2 lemons

Equipment

Large Dutch oven with cover

Oven to table serving casserole

Directions

1. Peel sweet potatoes and white ones. Cut potatoes into slices ½ inch thick.
2. Arrange some of the Flanken on the bottom of Dutch oven. Arrange slices of sweet and white potatoes over the meat. Scatter some prunes and carrots over potatoes. Sprinkle some of the brown sugar and lemon juice over this layer. Repeat this process until all the ingredients are finished.* Fill the Dutch oven with water until the ingredients are barely covered. Bring to a boil on top of the stove and reduce to a simmer. Simmer ingredients for 1 ½ hours. Remove from heat and let it cool.
3. Carefully remove meat, potatoes, carrots and prunes from liquid. Arrange in oven to table serving dish. Place gravy in freezer several hours or in refrigerator overnight until fat congeals at the top. Remove fat. Taste gravy and adjust seasoning by adding more brown sugar and or lemon juice if necessary. Pour gravy over sweet potato mixture. Place in preheated 375 F. oven and bake for two to three hours basting constantly until gravy has thickened and glazed ingredients. Serve hot. This dish may be cooled completely and frozen.

*Vegetarian version: Layer all ingredients except for the meat. Bring to a boil and simmer about 20-30 minutes until potatoes and carrots are soft. Place immediately into preheated 375 F. oven and bake basting constantly until sauce has thickened and glazed the other ingredients. Serve hot or cool completely and freeze.

Meatless Monday: Vegetable Frittata

Vegetable Frittata P Serves: 8

This recipe is so easy and versatile. Sauté vegetables of your choice, add cheese or don’t, pour beaten eggs over mixture and bake.  Eat a bowl of hot soup while frittata is baking. Serve it with a salad and crusty bread and you have an easy delicious Meatless Monday dinner.
Prep time: 15 min.
Cooking time: 30 min.
INGREDIENTS
12 eggs
7 full cups assorted vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, onions, leeks, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, broccoli, spinach)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Optional: 1/3 cup grated parmesan, ½ cup diced feta, 4 ounces goat cheese
EQUIPMENT
12” oven ready skillet
DIRECTIONS

1. Choose three or four vegetables (or more if you like) and dice them. Sundried tomatoes should be drained and cut into thin strips.
2. Preheat oven to: 350 F.
3. Heat olive oil in skillet. Add vegetables and sauté until onions are soft and other vegetables are tender. Stir in cheese if you are using it. Season with salt and pepper. Taste. Adjust seasoning.
4. Beat eggs until foamy and pour over vegetables in skillet. Give the skillet a gentle shake so all the vegetables are distributed evenly under the eggs. Place in oven and bake 30 minutes.
5. Remember handle of skillet is hot. Take a pot holder and remove skillet from oven. Allow Frittata to cool about five minutes. Loosen the edges from pan with a spatula and slip it onto a serving dish. Serve hot or at room temperature with a beautiful salad and crusty bread.

Glazed Orange Tart (recipe, pareve)

GLAZED ORANGE TART P SERVES: 8

Glazed orange candy in a crust!

Prep time: 35-40 minutes   Baking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients           

10” par-baked sugar crust            

2 large naval oranges- bright orange       

¼ cup sugar                   

¼ cup orange liqueur               

½ cup tart orange marmalade

Equipment

2 large jelly roll pans lined with baking parchment

Pastry brush

Cooling rack       

Directions

1. Preheat oven to: 450 F.
2. Rinse oranges. Remove all labels. Slice oranges very thinly. Remove all pits. Arrange orange slices in a single layer in jelly roll pans. Sprinkle sugar and orange liqueur over slices. Place in oven and bake 15 minutes. (Watch oranges carefully. If they begin to brown too quickly, reduce heat to 400 F. and continue baking.) When oranges have browned on one side, turn them over with a fork and bake five minutes longer. Remove them from oven. Cool slightly. Carefully, cut orange slices in half.
3. Place tart shell on baking sheet.
4. Arrange orange slices in overlapping circles in tart shell.
5. Melt marmalade in microwave or over low heat in a saucepan. Brush it over orange slices. Bake five minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F. Bake tart 30 minutes longer. Cool on rack.

Note: The orange rind will cut more easily if you use a serrated knife to cut it.

Foods of Istanbul for Tu B'Shevat

Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish New Year for the trees, is this Wednesday February 9th, 2012.
Wondering what to make and how to celebrate?
Make sure to check out Gloria Kobrin's Food of Istanbul for Tu B'Shevat on Joy of Kosher's website a followup to A Trip to Istabul .