Avocado Mango Spinach Salad

It was an unusually hot spring day here in Los Angeles and we were going to have a BBQ birthday celebration outside for my lovely sister in law. I wanted to bring a light and flavorful dish to go with all the grilled heavy things, and I went off to the market with only the idea to get ingredients for some kind of salad.

At the farmers' market I picked up beautiful California avocados and a big bunch of cilantro (thank you California for all of your avocados!) I stopped at a grocery store for a few extra things and I saw some really perfectly ripe mangoes. Mangoes and avocados always go so nicely together and they are two of my favorite fruits forever and always. That's when I knew what salad I wanted to make. I decided to pick up some spinach. I wanted a green that would hold up a little to the warm day and the substantial mango and avocado. Butter lettuce or even thinly sliced Napa cabbage would go well in this salad too.

I made a gingery Asian-inspired dressing. These ingredients can hold up to a lot of flavor and the mango, avocado and cilantro go really well with ginger, lime, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil flavors. You don't need all of the ingredients listed, but I do think this type of dressing works better than a more classic French or Mediterranean vinaigrette.

Like all salads this one is infinitely interchangeable depending on your preferences. The stars of this show are creamy avocado and tangy sweet mango... the rest is up to you.

Avocado Mango Spinach Salad
Serves 4-6

for the salad-
5-6 full cups baby spinach
1 large ripe mango, cubed (or 2 if you want even more mango)
1 large ripe avocado, cubed (or 2 if you want even more avocado)
3-4 scallions, sliced thin (red onion or shallot would be good too)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (or sub with roughly chopped cashews)
handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

for the dressing-
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Mirin* (optional)
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger with its juice
1 teaspoon liquid aminos or soy sauce
1 teaspoon agave or honey
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup oil (you want something pretty neutral like grape seed or safflower oil. Avocado oil would work well too)

Add the spinach to a serving dish. Pile the other salad ingredients on top of the spinach.

To make the dressing, combine the vinegar, Mirin, freshly grated ginger (you can do this with a Microplane... or you could even chop super fine if you need to... add more or less depending on how much ginger you love), liquid aminos, agave, and lime juice. Whisk in the sesame oil and grape seed oil (or shake everything up in a jar). Taste the dressing. This step is crucial. If its too tangy add some more oil. If you like it sweeter add more agave or honey. If you don't eat sugar leave the agave and honey out. If you want it saltier add more liquid aminos/soy sauce/salt. And so on and so forth...

Gently toss the salad with the dressing, be careful not to break up the avocado too much. Add as much dressing as you need to lightly coat all of the vegetables. You may have excess salad dressing depending on how heavily or lightly you like your salad dressed.

*Mirin is a sweet rice wine with very low alcohol content that is often used in Japanese cooking. You can usually find it in grocery stores next to the rice vinegar and soy sauce. I like having it on hand because it adds a really nice bright sweetness. It's totally optional here and shouldn't require a special trip to the store.

Chicken Schnitzel

When I was 10 years old I lived in Jerusalem for a year with my family. While we lived there we ate a LOT of chicken schnitzel (schnitzel is also made from veal, and can be made from any boneless meat that is thinly pounded out). It may not be common knowledge, but schnitzel is one of the most popular dishes in Israel and it is widely served in restaurants, cooked fresh at home, or sold frozen in grocery stores. I really haven't eaten often since then.

But we had been talking about making all winter... The we in this party lived in Berlin for a significant amount of time. During part of that time he lived above a restaurant that specialized in schnitzel, and for that and other reasons has a strong affinity for the dish. Somehow schnitzel-making kept getting postponed... either we didn't feel like something fried, or we didn't feel like meat, or we just didn't feel like schnitzel.

One recent spring day schnitzel finally seemed like the perfect thing to eat for lunch. I had picked up some beautiful asparagus, a really nice fennel bulb, and some arugula. I roasted the asparagus simply: with olive oil salt and pepper at 400°F until tender and just browned. I sliced the fennel super thin on a mandolin; I did the same to the radish and I added them to a pile of wild arugula all tossed together with a lemon vinaigrette.

In Israel I always ate schnitzel plain or with ketchup, but in Germany it is apparently often served with cranberry sauce. This was an exciting discovery for me as I love any excuse to make and eat cranberry sauce, and I always keep a bag of frozen cranberries in my freezer for just this reason. I made a batch and served it along with everything else.

Even though the schnitzel is essentially fried chicken it isn't all that heavy. The thinness of the meat allows for a kind of light crispyness that is satisfying without being a gut bomb. It goes perfectly with a side that is fresh, green and slightly acidic.

I was in Berlin once. It was June and the weather was perfectly sunny and warm. The daylight lasted forever and everywhere Berliners were out and about enjoying the early summer days and nights. One perfect afternoon, I went out to lunch with my dear friend. We drank cool rosé, and he ordered the schnitzel with white asparagus. I ordered something less memorable and gratefully accepted his offer to share his plate of food. Maybe schnitzel is always linked with asparagus for me for that reason... maybe its more linked to that day in Berlin than that year in Israel. Regardless, this plate of food makes me think of spring or early summer when everything is vibrant and new beginnings are on the horizon.

Classic Chicken Schnitzel
Serves 4-6

4 4-5 oz. chicken breasts, pounded to 1/8-1/4-inch thickness
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup all purpose flour (or GF flour, or matzo meal, or almond flour...  any type of flour will work although regular flour is the most traditional)
salt and pepper, to taste
canola, safflower or peanut oil, as needed (to fill the pan about 1/2 of an inch continuously while cooking)
lemon wedges
cranberry sauce, optional (see recipe below)

Using a meat mallet, rolling pin, or the bottom of a cast iron skillet, pound the chicken breasts until they are about 1/8-1/4-inch in thickness. Make sure each piece of chicken is pounded out to the same thickness. Also make sure to pound out the chicken as evenly as possible (so that parts of it aren't thicker than others, otherwise one end could get dry/burnt while the other is undercooked).

Beat the eggs in a deep shallow bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the flour to another deep shallow bowl. Season it with a generous pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.

In a large cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan, add a 1/2-inch layer of oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it is hot (make sure that it is bubbly and really hot, not luke warm or semi-hot).

Dip the chicken breast one at a time into the eggs first. Shake off any excess egg. Next, dip the chicken into the flour. Shake off any excess flour. Place the coated chicken breast into the hot oil. Repeat with a second chicken breast. Depending on the size of the pan, cook 2 chicken breasts at a time. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side, or until the chicken is golden brown and fully cooked. Make sure the oil stays hot but not super hot. You may have to raise and lower the heat on the stovetop periodically as the schnitzel cooks. Once evenly browned on both sides and cooked through, transfer the schnitzel to a rack and continue the process until all of the chicken is cooked.

Serve immediately with lemon wedges and cranberry sauce if desired.

For the cranberry sauce:

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1/4 cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise (optional)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup water

Squeeze of orange or tangerine juice (optional)

Place all of the ingredients into a saucepan or pot. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from stove, allow to cool, transfer to a bowl and refrigerate. The sauce will thicken as it cools. 

Flourless Almond Cake (Gluten and Dairy Free)

Passover always inspires me to try new flourless cake recipes. This year I wanted to make something classic, simple, and light for seder. This recipe comes from Claudia Roden, the acclaimed author of multiple Jewish cookbooks (among other accomplishments).

I served this almond cake with a mix of berries that had been macerated in a little Chambord (raspberry liqueur) and honey. I also served it with whipped coconut cream. The mild creamy coconut goes really well with the subtle almond flavor in the cake... but don't get me wrong, this cake is good all on its own.

The cake is crispy and delicate on the outside, and kind of gooey and crumbly on the inside. It makes a really wonderful crackly sound when you cut into it. As it bakes, the top puffs up and as it cools it sinks back down into the cake. The recipes is very similar to how one makes a flourless chocolate cake.

If you do not like the combination of almond and citrus I would omit the zest from this recipe. I think you could also get away with adding other flavorings to the batter (maybe coconut extract, actual coconut, or even cocoa powder/chocolate).

The recipe for this cake comes from Spain, and it is perfect for any meal that requires a dessert without flour, dairy, or too much work.

Flourless Almond Cake
Recipe ever so slightly adapted from Claudia Roden's
Serves 10-14

1/2 lb. blanched almonds (or 1 3/4 cups), finely ground
6 large eggs, separated
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon almond extract (or less depending on your preference)
powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Finely grind the blanched almonds in a food processor. Don't grind them too fine or they will start to form a paste.

Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper (11-inch works too). Grease the pan really well (I used non-dairy Earth Balance... you could also use margarine, butter, or even coconut oil to grease the pan).

With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until a smooth pale yellow cream is formed.
Add the zests and almond extract and beat some the mixture until everything is well-incorporated.

Mix in the ground almonds.

Using a stand-mixer, electric mixer, or whisk, and using a very clean and dry bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks (like you would for classic meringue).

Carefully fold the egg whites into the egg yolk and almond mixture.

Pour the batter into the greased pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is firm (no jiggle), and golden brown. Let the cake fully cool in the pan.

Just before serving, dust with powdered sugar if desired.

The cake actually tastes even better the next day and can be made 1-2 days in advance.

Enjoy!

Hamantaschen

Hamantaschen are generally a simple cookie: sweet pastry filled with jam, poppy seed fillings, prunes or other dried fruit combinations in triangular form. They're usually made of a sturdy sugar cookie-type dough. They're also often a little dry and boring.

Last year, I used basic pie dough for my hamantaschen. I really like those cookies because you can never go wrong with good pastry, but this year I wanted to bake more traditional hamantaschen. I did a little research and found the Ovenly recipe. Their pie dough + powdered sugar + egg yolk combination inspired me. I found I needed a little more liquid than the original recipe called for, but otherwise it's very similar to theirs. Next time I would probably omit the honey from the dough as it's plenty sweet with the powdered sugar (if you do this you may need to add a little extra water). 

You can fill these cookies with your favorite thick jam, or you can make a poppy seed or dried apricot filling. Ovenly also has a few ideas for inspired hamantaschen fillings. 

These hamantaschen are perfect along with a hot cup of tea or coffee, especially during these lingering winter days... They are soft and delicate, buttery and crumbly, small and sweet. 

Happy Purim!

Raspberry Hamantaschen

Recipe slightly adapted from Ovenly

Makes approximately 40 hamantaschen

for the dough-

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons honey

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, cold and cubed

2-3 tablespoons ice water

for the filling-

1/2-3/4 cup thick jam (I used organic low-sugar raspberry jam... or sub with your favorite filling choice)

for the egg wash-

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon water

for the dough-

Sift together the flour, sugar and salt. This step is critical as powdered sugar is generally lumpy, and this step eliminates the lumps. Cube the butter. Add the flour and butter to a food processor. Pulse until a coarse meal forms. If you don't have a food processor, combine the flour mixture and the butter using a pastry cutter.

Next, make a well in the dough, and add the egg yolks and the honey to the well. Combine everything together with your hands or a spoon. The dough will be crumbly and it will just start sticking together. Add 2 tablespoons of ice water, and combine the dough. If the dough still isn't coming together, add more ice water 1 tablespoon at a time. Be careful not to over-mix or your dough will get tough. Also, be careful not to add too much water. You want to just form a ball of dough without it being too sticky or wet.

Form the dough into a 6-inch dish. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes. If you see flecks of butter in the dough that is a very good thing

to assemble the hamantaschen-

Once chilled, roll the dough out until it is about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Using a 2-inch biscuit or round cookie cutter, or using a small glass, cut rings out of the dough.

Combine the scraps of dough, and re-roll it and cut out more rounds.

Add about 1/2 a teaspoon of filling to the center of each cookie. Pinch the sides closed so that you form a triangle. You want to make sure the dough is sealed very well together, otherwise the filling will escape as the cookie bakes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Transfer the hamantaschen to a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Freeze the cookies for 15 minutes before baking, or about as long as it takes for the oven to preheat.

Make an egg wash by whisking the egg yolk and water together. 

Before placing the cookies in the oven, brush the dough with the egg wash. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Transfer the cookies to a rack and allow them to cool. 

Classic Banana Pudding

I have a soft spot in my heart for classic American food: meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, mac n' cheese, all kinds of pie (especially chocolate cream pie), and banana pudding. I have a sort of false nostalgia for these foods. In my Russian immigrant house growing up, we rarely saw any dishes that could be featured in a Norman Rockwell painting or on a typical Southern table. It wasn't all borscht and pirozhki (although certainly I saw those things more than fried chicken or hamburgers), both my parents were and are adventurous cooks, but they veered more into Mediterranean, Italian, and Chinese directions when they prepared food that didn't exist in the motherland.

I don't think this sentimental affection of Americana has to do with filling an empty void of some childhood I wish I had... it's just that when I think of these foods they evoke feelings of warmth, youth, and family. Growing up, I ate these foods at friends' houses with glee. I read about these foods in my favorite childhood books, saw these dishes being served in my favorite movies and TV shows, and watched them being prepared on PBS and the Food Network. Most importantly, classic American dishes are so often comforting in their richness and belly-filling qualities.

I can't advocate for the nutritional benefits of banana pudding, but sometimes you just need a mood-boosting plate full of something delicious. Sometimes, special occasions demand a little indulgence. Sometimes, your favorite sports team loses the big game and you need something to ease the pain of loss. Sometimes, you just want vanilla pudding mixed with bananas and 'Nilla wafers.

The pudding recipe for this dessert is infinitely interchangeable (and if you haven't made homemade pudding before it's much easier than you think and you will be thrilled with the fruits of your minor labor). You could make just the pudding and call it a dessert. You could add vanilla wafers to the pudding and skip the banana (or vise versa). But when you combine the pudding, the wafers, the bananas, and you let that all sit and soften and meld together in the fridge... well, very good things happen.

Banana Pudding
Serves 14-16 (this generously fills a DEEP 9 x 13 casserole dish, you can easily halve the recipe)
Slightly adapted from this recipe in Bon Appétit (June 2014)

For the pudding-

8 eggs

1 1/3 cups sugar

½ cup cornstarch

8 cups whole milk (you can use low/non-fat, but this is a treat and whole milk tastes better)

1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise and seeds scraped out with the back of a knife (or substitute 2 tablespoons vanilla extract)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

pinch of kosher salt

To assemble-

1½  11oz. boxes vanilla wafers, plus extra for crushing

6 ripe bananas, sliced

½ cup banana chips (optional)

For the pudding-

In a large bowl, start by whisking your eggs until they are just blended. In a large pot combine the sugar and cornstarch and whisk together. Over medium heat, slowly whisk the milk into the sugar mixture. Add the seeds from a vanilla bean to the pot (if you are using vanilla extract instead, you will add the vanilla later). Whisk continuously until the mixture is warm to the touch, but not quite simmering. 

Slowly add a third of the warm milk into the beaten eggs. Whisk constantly as you add the milk to the eggs; this stage is called tempering. You want to gently raise the temperature of the eggs so that they do not scramble when combined with the rest of the hot milk and are heated over the stove. Again, SLOWLY add the warm egg and milk mixture back to the pot whisking as you add. 

You're going to keep on whisking as the mixture heats over a medium flame. You want to cook the pudding until it thickens. The whisk should leave a visible trail in the pudding, and should be thick like yogurt. This will take 8-10 minutes for this amount, or 4-6 minutes if you halve the recipe. 

Once thickened, remove the pot from the heat. Add the butter and a pinch of salt to the pot. Stir until everything is just combined, the butter is melted, and the pudding is smooth.  If you didn't use a vanilla bean, this is when you add your vanilla extract. 

Using a large fine-meshed sieve, strain the pudding into a large bowl. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap; you want the wrap to touch the top of the pudding so that it doesn't develop a thick film. Refrigerate the pudding for at least 2 hours. The pudding can be made 1-2 days ahead of time (great for parties).

To assemble-
After the pudding has chilled for at least 2 hours, you can assemble the final dish. In a deep 9 x 13 baking dish, or in a large trifle dish, start by placing about a third of the pudding into an even-ish layer at the bottom of the dish. Top the pudding with a layer of vanilla wafers, and top the wafers with a layer of sliced bananas. I added a few banana chips to this layer, too.  Add another layer of a third of the pudding, wafers, and the rest of the bananas. Top with the final third of the pudding. Garnish with banana chips and crushed vanilla wafers. You could even do chocolate shavings or a caramel drizzle if so inclined.

Let the assembled pudding chill for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days before you intend to serve it. The more it sits the more the flavors come together.

Mini Food

Miniature food in all its glory:

All I want is my own miniature functional kitchen to make curry in...

Savory Pumpkin Noodle Kugel

Growing up kugel was completely absent from our Russian Jewish immigrant table. We had matzo balls, latkes, chopped liver, borscht, stuffed cabbage, herring... you name it. But kugel never showed up. (That said, somehow my mom's very un-Russian famous dish was noodles and cottage cheese... in a way that's a stripped down deconstructed savory form of kugel.)

Sometimes I ate kugel at friends' houses or at shul or wherever Jews congregated with homemade food. I am not a picky eater. I never was, but kugel always rubbed me the wrong way. Sure, I'd eat it but then immediately think,"Why is this so sweet and dense? Why does it have raisins??? Why?! Why cottage cheese??? Why not any other creamy cheese that isn't salty and dry and curdy?" I just didn't get it. I mean I got it, but I wanted it to be better. I wanted more for kugel.

The picture above isn't glamorous because kugel isn't glamorous. For me, kugel is meant to be a dish served for a crowd that is hearty, filling, and comforting. It should elicit feelings of warmth and sentimentality. It should be something that can be made ahead, eaten warm or cold, right out of the oven or as leftovers for lunch the next day. It should be something that doesn't detract from a main dish, but makes the meal feel more complete. Kugel should be able to find a place at any holiday or shabbat table. But it needs a serious makeover...

This brings me to this recipe. I'll start by saying this is one of the easiest recipes I've ever developed; if you can boil pasta and combine stuff in a bowl, you're good to go. I've actually found quite a few variations of traditional kugel out their in the world... but I wanted to try to make one that I could personally get excited about. If you're a sweet-kugel kind of person, more power to you. You could probably eliminate the savory elements in this recipe and add about a 1/2 cup of sugar and maybe some cinnamon and a little butter and you'll have yourself sweet pumpkin kugel (but maybe don't add raisins?).

This kugel is reminiscent of traditional kugel in that it is made with Manishevitz egg noodles and has a custardy quality, but it's a little unexpected. The truth is this kugel veers into mac n' cheese territory. It also has pumpkin, and I'm the first to concede that pumpkin is problematically ubiquitous... but it's good and nutritious and that's what I care about more. It uses ricotta instead of cottage cheese. It has a touch of maple syrup to balance the flavors, and it has garlic to highlight its savoriness. I added sage because I wanted an herbaceous note. I'm not skipping out on eggs or heavy cream, because I don't use a whole lot of either and also because kugel is special.

And I make it with the delicate balance of reverence to tradition, simultaneous hope for old things becoming new, and with love. Lot's of love.

Savory Pumpkin Noodle Kugel

Serves 6-8

1 lb. egg noodles

1 15 oz. can unsweetened pureed pumpkin, or 1¾ cups fresh cooked pureed pumpkin

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup whole milk ricotta

½ cup creme fraiche or sour cream

½ cup heavy cream or milk

¾ cup shredded gruyere or swiss cheese (optional)

2 garlic cloves, minced fine

1½ tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon chopped sage, about 3 medium leaves

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

freshly ground pepper, to taste

cooking oil spray

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the egg noodles to the boiling water and cook until al dente (cooked but firm), about 6-7 minutes or as directed on the package. Err on the side of undercooking your noodles, they will continue to cook in the oven, and this will prevent them from getting too mushy. Cool and reserve the cooked noodles.

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, beaten eggs, whole milk ricotta, creme fraiche, heavy cream, shredded cheese (optional), minced garlic, maple syrup, chopped sage, kosher salt, freshly ground nutmeg, and freshly ground black pepper. Using a spoon, combine everything together until incorporated.

Add the cooked egg noodles to the pumpkin puree mixture. Stir until all of the noodles are coated in the mixture.

Spray an 8 X 11 baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer the egg noodle mixture into the sprayed baking dish. Cover the dish with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes uncover and bake for 20-30 more minutes, or until the top of the kugel is golden brown and the kugel has set and is firm.

To make ahead:

The kugel mixture can be made a few hours ahead of time and cooked just prior to serving.

Alternatively, the kugel can be fully cooked up to a day in advance and reheated just prior to serving.