Cauliflower soup : מרק כרובית

אני עדיין באויר. החיים שלי מניו יורק ארוזים בארגזים, עושים דרכם באוניה בדרך לישראל. החיים שלי בישראל שלפני ניו יורק ארוזים בארגזים במחסן אצל אמא שלי. ובין לבין, אני מנסה לייצר הווה.

כבר שבוע שאני רוצה לבשל אורז עם כרובית, ובכל פעם יש בעיה אחרת, פעם אין כרובית ופעם אני לא מוצאת את המתכון (באוניה...).  
בסוף זה נגמר במרק.

מצרכים:

1 ראש כרובית, מפורק לפרחים

1 תפוח אדמה, קלוף וחתוך לקוביות

1 בצל, קלוף וקצוץ

2 שיני שום, מעוכות

1 כף חמאה

2 כוסות מים

2 כוסות חלב

1/4 כפית אגוז מוסקט

מלח ופלפל

לבחירה - לקישוט: פטרוזיליה קצוצה או קרוטונים

הכנה:

1. ממיסים את החמאה בסיר גדול על להבה בינונית. מוסיפים את הבצל ומבשלים כ- 5 דקות, עד שהבצל הופך שקוף. מוסיפים את השום ומבשלים כדקה נוספת.

2. מוסיפים את תפוח האדמה והכרובית, מערבבים הכל ביחד, מכסים את הסיר ומבשלים במשך 3 דקות. מוסיפים את המים ומביאים לרתיחה, ממשיכים לבשל על הלהבה בינונית עד שתפוחי האדמה והכרובית רכים, כ- 10 דקות.

3. באמצעות בלנדר או מעבד מזון - טוחנים את המרק עד לקבלת קרם אחיד.

4. מוסיפים את החלב, אגוז מוסקט, מלח ופלפל, ומביאים לרתיחה. מנמיכים את הלהבה ומבשלים כ- 10 דקות.

5. מגישים את המרק חם בתוספת עלי פטרוזיליה או קרוטונים לקישוט.

 

 

It feels like I am floating in the air. My New York life is packed in boxes, on their way to Israel. My Israeli life (Before I moved to NY) is packed in boxes at my mother’s garage. And in between, I try to have a living.

It has been a week since I wanted to cook rice with cauliflower. Every time I had other difficulties; one time I didn’t have cauliflower, and the other time I couldn’t find the recipe (on its way to Israel…).

It ended with a soup.

Ingredients

1 Head cauliflower, chopped

1 Potato, peeled and chopped

1 Onion, roughly chopped

2 Cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tablespoon butter

2 Cups of water

2 Cups of milk

1/4 Teaspoon grated nutmeg

Salt & pepper

Optional – for serving: chopped parsley or croutons

Directions

1.     In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add onions and cook, until onions are cooking but not browning, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

2.     Add the potato and cauliflower, stir to combine, cover and cook 3 minutes. Add the water, bring to boil, reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook until potato and cauliflower are tender to the bite, about 10 minutes.

3.     Turn the heat off.

4.     If you have a hand blender – blend all together inside the pot until desired consistency. Turn the heat again.

If you have a blender – pour the soup into the blender container and blend for 2 minutes until desired consistency. Pour the soup back into the pot.

5.     Add the milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes while stirring.

6.     Serve soup hot, with a chopped parsley or croutons.

A recipe – Sabich Sandwich (SoomSoom)

For Israelis food and family have a tight connection, and sometimes you can’t even separate them at all.

When Shlomi decided to open the first SoomSoom vegetarian bar, he brought all the equipment from Israel, as well as his 70-year-old old uncle who taught him all the family’s kitchen secrets.

The story began way back in the early 1950s in the ancient city of Tiberias in Israel, when Shlomi’s family opened their first restaurant. If you visit at SoomSoom you can’t miss the big old family photograph printed on the wall and on the menus.

But it is not an Israeli restaurant. It is a vegetarian bar based on Mediterranean cuisine. It is 100% natural, and it is 100% fresh.

The menu includes mostly sandwiches like Pita with Falafel, Sabich, Green Omelet, Shakshuka sandwich and Burekasabich. It also offers an open salad bar with more than 18 different salads and dressing, all made from their original recipe.

Shelomi kindly shared with us the one of the family secrets – the recipe for the tasty Sabich:

Ingredients (for one person)

1 fresh pita bread

4-5 thin fried eggplant slices (Instructions below)

1 boiled egg (Instructions below)

1 small cooked potato, sliced (Instructions below)

Hummus spread

Salt & pepper

Directions

Eggplant:

4-5 thin eggplant slices, salted, drained and washed

1 egg

Oil for deep-frying

1.     Beat the egg in a bowl with 1 tablespoon water.

2.     Heat oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat.

3.     Dip the eggplant into the beaten egg.

4.     Fry until golden.

boiled egg and cooked potato

1 egg

1 small potato

1 tea bag

1 teaspoon paprika

½ onion, peeled and sliced

My short way:

1.     Put all the ingredients in a pot, cover with water and bring to boil.

2.     Lower the heat and cook for 60 minutes.

3.     Slice thinly.

SoomSoom’s traditional way:

1.     Put all the ingredients in a pot, cover with water, bring to boil and cook for 10 minutes.

2.     Cover the pot tightly with aluminum foil.

3.     Cook for 12 hours on “hot plate” (or on the stove with the lowest heat)

4.     Slice thinly.

Arrange the dish:

1.     Spread Hummus on the inside of a pita, stuff with fried eggplant slices, sliced boiled egg and sliced cooked potato.

2.     Add fresh salads and vegetable.

SoomSoom: 8 W 46th St. // 672 Lexington Ave. // 166 W 72nd St.
www.mysoomsoom.com

A recipe – Red Beets Soup

I remember one time when I was a kid, two orthodox Jews knocked on our home door and asked for a donation for their Yeshiva. It was quite common those days in Israel. When my mother opened the door and these guys started talking with her. She immediately said, without even thinking twice, “I am sorry but my mother is not at home” and closed the door. My mother was at her 40s, and though I still think she looks wonderful, even then in the late 80's she didn’t look like a girl…

Oddly enough, I found myself using the same tactic. Once in a while, someone knocks on my door and starts lecture me about the gas bills, the electricity bills, X bills or Y refund… 

I always have the same answer: “Sorry, I am subletting”. Even if it is not relevant, they usually don’t know what to do with that and just leave.

 

 

Ingredients

2 potatoes - peeled and cubed

3 – 4 medium red beets

1 onion - peeled and cubed

2 cloves garlic - sliced

5 cups of water

1 tablespoon cumin

Salt & pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1.     Put the beets in a pot and cover with water. Boil and cook for about 15 minutes just until you can peel the beet. (The easier way to peel the beets is simply hold them under running water and gently peel them with your fingers. The shell will remove smoothly)

2.     Heat the oil in a large pot; sauté the onion and the garlic until the onion is soft and translucent, then add the potatoes and fry while stirring. 

3.     Cut the beets to cubes and add to the pot. Stir all together for 2 minutes.

4.     Add the water (5 cups) and the cumin, salt and pepper, stir and bring to boil, cover and lower the heat. Cook for 40 minutes.

5.     Turn the heat off.

6.     If you have a hand blender – blend all together inside the pot until they reach a desired consistency. Turn the heat again and bring to boil.

If you have a blender – pour the soup into the blender container and blend for 2 minutes until desired consistency. Pour the soup back into the pot and bring to boil.

A recipe – Orange soup

I live in denial! As long there is no snow, I can’t internalize that the winter is already here.

Every morning before I even open my eyes I check the weather, and if it is 34 F degrees and up, it is ok. 
I don’t know how 34 F (0 C degrees) became my comparison point – is it cold or is it ok?

Suddenly I realized - it’s not okay, even 40 degrees is too (F***) cold!

Ingredients

2 potatoes - peeled and cubed

3 - 4 carrots - chopped

1 sweet potato - peeled and cubed

½ acorn squash (or same size piece of pumpkin) - peeled, seeded, and cubed

½ cup of small red lentils – washed

2 cloves garlic - sliced

5 cups of water

1 tablespoon cumin

Salt & pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1.     Heat the oil in a large pot; add the garlic and the carrots and fry while stirring.

2.     Add while stirring the potatoes, sweet potato, squash and in the end the lentils. Stir all together for one minute.

3.     Add the water and the cumin, salt and pepper, stir and bring to boil, cover and lower the heat. Cook for 30 minutes.

4.     Turn the heat off.

5.     If you have a hand blender – blend all together in side the pot until desired consistency. Turn the heat again and bring to boil.

If you have a blender – pour the soup into the blender container and blend for 2 minutes until desired consistency. Pour the soup back into the pot and bring to boil.

6.     Garnish with parsley or seed mixture to serve.

A recipe – Fish with chickpeas, potatoes and carrots

My father doesn’t like the smell of fish, and he also had a childhood phobia of fish bones.

My mother never argued.

The result is that I ate fish for the first time when I was in my 20’s!

I don’t want to say that we didn’t eat well during my childhood. On the contrary, my mother is a brilliant cook and people say she makes the best Gefilte fish (fish balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish).

I stopped eating gefilte fish when I was a kid after my grandmother asked me to buy a fresh fish for the holiday dinner. In those days you would choose the fresh fish from the aquarium and few minutes later it would be chopped and wrapped in paper.

 

Ingredients

1 Lb Cod fish (or Grouper) cut into thick slices

3 – 4 medium size potatoes – sliced like a French fries

3 carrots – sliced like a French fries

½ cup of chickpea (before soaking) – soak over night and cook for 30 minutes before using

4 cloves crushed garlic

Bunch of parsley (or coriander – stronger aroma)

2 ½ cups of hot water

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

5 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1.     Heat the oil in a large wide saucepan; add the garlic and fry while stirring.

2.     Add the potatoes and carrots and stir for 3-5 minutes. Add the cooked chickpeas and stir for one more minute.

3.     At the same time – mix in a bowl: hot water, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper. Pour into the saucepan.

4.     Bring to boil, cover and lower the heat. Cook for 20 minutes.

5.     Take half of the vegetables out of the saucepan and put them into a bowl. Add the parsley evenly into the saucepan.

6.     Carefully add the fish, cover with the vegetables from the bowl, and cook cover for 20 minutes.

7.     While cooking, once in every few minutes, pour some of the sauce over the fish

8.     Serve with rice or couscous.