Beet salad

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, April 19, 2005

This beet salad will win over people who don’t like beets, Fishbein promises. The roasted beets become almost like beet chips, and an unusual aspect to this recipe is that you don’t need to peel the beets. Cutting the beets on newspaper keeps the red from dyeing your kitchen pink, gloves keep it off your hands. If you can’t find golden beets just double the amount of red beets.

The recipes are marked meat, dairy or pareve, with alternate ingredients to make the dish kosher. The term pareve indicates that something is prepared without meat, milk or their derivatives and therefore permissible to be eaten with both meat and dairy dishes according to dietary laws.

Roasted beet salad

(pareve or dairy)

2medium to large red beets, scrubbed but not peeled

2medium to large golden beets, scrubbed but not peeled

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Dried thyme

1tablespoon honey

1tablespoon Dijon mustard

3tablespoons orange juice

3tablespoons olive oil

1tablespoon balsamic or apple cider vinegar

2ounce frisee lettuce

3ounces red leaf lettuce

1/2cup chopped walnuts

3ounces blue or Gorgonzola cheese (optional for dairy meals)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice off the top and bottom of each beet. Slice into rounds as thin as possible, 1/4-inch thick or less. Drizzle each beet slice with olive oil, brushing it to evenly coat. Sprinkle with coarse salt and thyme. Place on prepared baking sheet. Roast 18 to 22 minutes, until the beets are soft, and slightly shrunken. The smaller or thinner beets will need to come out of the oven first so they don’t burn. Set aside. Keep the colors separate as they will bleed otherwise.

Prepare the dressing: Using an immersion blender or with a whisk, combine the honey, mustard, orange juice, olive oil and balsamic or apple cider vinegar. Blend or whisk until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the frisee and red leaf lettuce leaves into a bowl and lightly dress, tossing to combine, reserving 6 teaspoons of the dressing.

Arrange the roasted beet slices in alternating colors in a single layer on each plate. Drizzle a scant teaspoon of the dressing over the beets. Place a tall mound of the greens in the center of each plate, allowing the beets to peek out. Sprinkle with walnuts evenly over each plate. If using cheese, crumble over each mound of lettuce.

Makes four to six servings.

You can prepare this dish with chicken parts as well. Lay the orange slices and sprigs of rosemary in your baking pan. Place the stuffed chicken pieces on top. Bake uncovered for one hour.

Fishbein describes this soup as a springlike offering. It is a low-pressure dish that you can make ahead of time.

Carrot coconut vichyssoise

(meat, pareve or dairy)

4cups chicken or vegetable stock

2medium Idaho or russet potatoes, peeled and diced

16ounces baby carrots, or 2 cups sliced carrots

1leek, sliced, white and pale green parts only

1shallot, diced

Dash ground white pepper

2/3cup coconut milk (see note)

1/2cup soy milk or light cream (see note)

Balsamic garnish:

1/4cup balsamic vinegar

1tablespoon dark molasses

Prepare the soup: Place the stock, potatoes, carrots, leek and shallot into a medium soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until vegetables are very tender.

Season with white pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes longer. Add the coconut milk. Remove from heat. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender right in the pot and puree for a full 3 minutes. Stir in the soy milk or light cream (or nondairy substitute).

Place the soup in the refrigerator and cool for at least 5 hours.

Prepare the garnish: Place the balsamic vinegar and molasses in a small pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on low for 6 to 8 minutes, until reduced by half. Place in refrigerator; it will get thicker as it cools.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Then with the tip of a spoon, or a squirt bottle, add a swirl of the balsamic to each bowl.

Makes six to eight servings.

Note: Coconut milk, a thick, creamy mixture of coconut meat and water, is pareve and there are a number of kosher brands that are available. Coconut milk is sold in cans and is different from cream of coconut, which is very sweet and used mostly for drinks. (The clear liquid inside a coconut is not coconut milk; it is called coconut juice.)

If you cannot find canned coconut milk, are really desperate and are up to the task, you can make your own by cutting the meat of a small coconut into small chunks and pureeing them in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over and let it sit for 1/2 hour. Process again until smooth. Pour into a cheesecloth lined bowl, squeezing out the milk into a bowl. You need to use this within a few days or it will spoil.

To make soup kosher for Passover, substitute a nondairy creamer.

Roasted garlic chicken stuffed with dried fruits and nuts

(meat)

1head garlic

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

10to 12 dried apricots

5dried Mission figs

1/2cup shelled, raw, unsalted pistachio nuts

1whole (3 to 5 pound) chicken or pullet, washed and patted dry

1/2orange, unpeeled, sliced

2sprigs fresh rosemary

Kitchen twine

3tablespoons margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Holding the head of garlic on its side, cut the top 1 or 2 inches off the top of the bulb to expose the cloves. Place the head in the center of a square of foil, on a small baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Close the foil packet. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, chop the apricots, dried figs and pistachios into very small pieces.

With your finger, loosen the skin of the chicken going under the breasts, thighs and legs. Massage the fruit mixture under the skin, getting it into the cavities where the skin was loosened. Stuff the orange slices and the rosemary into the cavity of the chicken. Tie the legs closed with kitchen twine. Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan; try not to let too much of the fruit and nuts drip out into the pan; they will burn.

When the garlic is soft and caramelized, remove it from the oven and squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skin. Rub it all over the outside of the chicken. Drizzle the margarine over the top of the chicken, letting it run down the sides.

Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, basting 2 or 3 times with the pan juices.

Makes four servings.

For the following recipe to dress up a plain baked potato, Fishbein offers “a neat trick for cutting the potatoes so that you cut even slices but don’t cut through to the bottom. Place the potato into a wooden spoon. The sides of the spoon will keep you from cutting through.”

Hasselback potatoes

(pareve)

8small Idaho baking potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes

8garlic cloves, sliced into thin slivers

Sea salt

Coarse black pepper

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Using a sharp or electric knife starting at one end and going to the other end, cut deep slits (about 3/4 of the way through the potato) on top of each potato, 1/8-inch apart, being careful not to cut all the way to the bottom of the potato. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Place a garlic sliver into each slit. Sprinkle each potato with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake 1 hour, baste with the pan oil and then continue to bake for another 30 minutes, until potatoes are soft.

Makes eight servings.

These pretty little yellow truffles are a delectable way to end a meal.

Pineapple truffles

(pareve)

11/4cup firmly packed sweetened flaked coconut

3/4cup sugar

1medium pineapple, ripe

3/4cup confectioner’s sugar

4large egg yolks

In a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade, process 1/4 cup coconut with 1/4 cup sugar. Remove to a bowl or sealable bag. Set aside.

Cut the pineapple out of the shell. Discard core and cut the flesh into chunks. Puree pineapple in blender or food processor. Transfer the pureed pineapple to a medium pot. Mix in 1 cup coconut, 1/2 cup sugar, and the confectioner’s sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until all the liquid evaporates, about 30 to 35 minutes, stirring often to make sure the mixture is not browning on the bottom. If the mixture is starting to brown, lower heat slightly and stir more often. The mixture will turn a dark golden color. Turn off the heat.

Remove 1/2 cup of the pineapple mixture and mix it into the egg yolks to temper them. Add the tempered yolks to the pot and mix, back on the heat, until dry and pulling away from the sides of the pot, about 5 minutes.

Place the pot in the freezer and chill completely.

Remove the pineapple mixture from the freezer. Using a tiny melon baller or 1/4 teaspoon measure, make balls. Roll balls in the coconut-sugar that was blended in the first step. If the truffles get too sticky to roll, place the mixture back in the freezer for a few minutes.

Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and place in freezer. Once frozen, remove and store in an airtight container in single layers separated by parchment paper. Return truffles to freezer.

Serve right from the freezer or place in little paper candy cups or on a platter 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 50 to 60 truffles.

All recipes from “Kosher by Design Entertains” by Susie Fishbein,, $34.95