Lentil Soup

This past Saturday, we were supposed to go away to visit friends. However, due to the anticipated snow storm, we ended up staying home for Shabbat. Instead of cholent, I made lentil soup.

Ingredients:

1 lbs lentils

1 lbs stew meat

1 onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 parsnip, peeled and chopped

3 potatoes, peeled and quartered

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon salt, to taste

1 teaspoon pepper,  to taste

1 teaspoon cumin

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Water to cover. If using the pressure cooker, use 3:1 ratio of water:lentils

Optional: add chopped fresh parsley or cilantro before serving

Instructions

Sauté onions, carrots, celery and parsnips. Then add the spices, meat and lentils and continue to sauté until fragrant. Add potatoes, bay leaves and water.

Stove top: bring to boil and let simmer until done. Add garlic and adjust seasoning.

Pressure Cooker: 7 minutes to pressure and then release the pressure quickly by running cold water over the lid when done.

Crockpot: Cook on low until done. When using a crockpot, less water is required.

Before serving, adding chopped cilantro or parsley adds a nice gourmet touch.

This week, as I was time challenged, I just added all the ingredients into the crockpot and let it simmer all day. When I got home I adjusted the seasoning.

This can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the meat.

Yaffa could hardly wait to have it, and ate it for a snack!

Frankly, it came out great, but, Raizel is visiting my mother, so, I do not have any robust eaters at home.

Enjoy!

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Black Bean Tacos On The Fly

  
This morning I had my crack of dawn marathon Shabbat cooking session.

Every week I consider it a miracle that my Shabbat food preparation gets done. It can only be that I am receiving Divine assistance. Sometimes I don’t even realize it and someone else points it out to me!

So, this week my husband wanted tacos as our cholent.

I am time challenged, so this is what I did:

Ingredients 

2 cups black beans 

1 tablespoon salt, cumin, paprika, oregano and garlic powder 

1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder 

1 teaspoon pepper 

Water to cover

Instructions 

Place in crockpot and cook on low. 

When I get home today I will adjust the seasonings and add fresh garlic and possibly tomato paste.

This could also be made in a pressure cooker.

So, another culinary adventure!

No picture yet, because no time.⌛️

Postscript:

I came home from work and I added 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, some paprika, garlic salt, fresh garlic and coriander.

It came out great!

Here is the picture:

  

Shabbat Cholent This Week

At Raizel’s request, for the cholent this week I put in a pot some of the Moroccan Meatballs, and some of the Moroccan Chickpeas together with thinly sliced potatoes and some cooked rice in a food sock. 

When the potatoes were cooked, they and the rice both had a yellowish hue from the turmeric.

It came out great! 

Raizel says, “turmeric makes everything look beautiful!”

It is not the same as if it was fresh, but here is a picture of the wee leftovers. 

  

Vegetarian Cholent/Stew

My cholent quest continues.  I am trying to make a vegetarian cholent that my family will enjoy eating.

Raizel requested something with cumin so this is what I came up with:

1 c barley

1/2 c lentils and white beans

1 onion, chopped 

1 sweet potato 

2 cloves of garlic, crushed 

1 t cumin, coriander, paprika 

1/4 t cinnamon 

1/8 crushed red pepper flakes 

Salt and pepper 

Here is the picture, but on the wrong angle:

  
I will see how it turns out tomorrow!

So, it came out looking pretty good. Raizel approved and said, “it smells so good!”

To adjust the seasoning I added fresh garlic, pepper, salt, paprika, and some of my Moroccan spice mix.  My husband said “it’s awesome!”  Here is the picture:

  

NB: My husband did not like the extra Moroccan spice mix, although my girls did. Sigh….. So, next time I will stick to the original recipe.  Live and learn.

Stuffed Vegetable Cholent for Pesach and Year Round too

Stuffed Vegetable Cholent for Pesach and Year Round too

This recipe can be also non-gebrot and gluten-free and egg free.

Ingredients

8 whole vegetables (green peppers, red peppers, tomatoes, eggplant halves, zucchini, etc)

6-8 medium potatoes, cut into quarters

Non pesach: 1 ½ c chickpeas, soaked over night

1 – 1.5 pounds of beef, or 8 chicken legs (skinned)

Salt and pepper to taste

Water, broth to cover

Fresh garlic, crushed, near the end of cooking

Optional spices include paprika

Stuffing

¾ lbs ground beef

1 cooked potato, mashed or ¼ c matzah meal or, when not pesach: ¼ c rice. (This too can be omitted, it just allows for expansion.)

1 egg, beaten (can be omitted if allergic to eggs)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Directions

With a sharp knife, cut out the inside flesh of vegetables, leaving a ¼ inch shell.  Combine all stuffing ingredients and fill the vegetables. Place potatoes (opt chickpeas when non pesach) in the bottom of the pot. Place stuffed vegetables and meat or chicken legs on top. Add water or broth to cover vegetables halfway. Add salt and pepper (I also add paprika and regular spices that I use on chicken, if nothing else, to give it color). Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Place on the blech. This can also be done in a crock-pot.

Stuffed Vegetable Cholent for Pesach and Year Round

Chollent

Chollent is an art, and I wanted to write down my various chollent recipes

This is from my friend Malka:

Chullent:

slice an onion

cut up a fillet steak (maybe half is enough for your pot)

add barley

add water (4x as much as the barley)

add salt, garlic, pepper, paprika

cook on high about 4 hours until barley is nice and plump

add a cubed potato

add cut up pargiyot

add water to just cover

adjust spices

keep on low over Shabbos and enjoy!

Chullent