Inspiring produce abounds at the Santa Monica Farmers Market every Wednesday.  If you arrive early enough there is a chance of shooting some great pictures before the later crowds block the stalls from a clear view.  Some very fine and limited quantity items sell out in the first few moments after the market opens, usually to some chef from a very good restaurant.  One week I arrived a few moments too late to purchase some miniature purple cauliflowers that would have looked spectacular on plates for individuals.  Last week and I assume going forward Rainbow chard seems in abundant supply.  Rainbow chard is aptly named Swiss chard but with a rainbow of different colored stems, including, fuchsia, red, orange, yellow, purple and white variegated.  I had to buy some since the intensity of colors was so amazing.

Now what to do with all of that lovely Swiss chard?  How about chopping it up, mixing it with cheese and baking inside Bulemas?  Sounds yummy.

I have a question for you my readers.  What actually makes a recipe or dish Sephardic?  Is it a style of cooking?  Does it mean only dishes I ate as a child that my Nona brought from Turkey?  Can it include dishes that I cook and bake, being Sephardic, which keep to a certain way of presenting or stuffing, or cooking method, or spices, or flavoring?  What is Sephardic food going forward?  Does Sephardic food include dishes that were brought here to the United States and have gone through generations of adaptation through using local produce and ingredients?  Does it include Israeli dishes and does it include the cuisine that can be made kosher from countries like Morocco, Egypt, Turkey and other countries that ring the Mediterranean?  I would be interested to hear your opinions.

Serves 14 to 16

Dough:

1 and 1/ 2 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 cups better for bread flour

1/ 2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Flour for dusting

Filling:

1 bunch rainbow Swiss chard, washed and dried

8 ounces mild feta cheese (Bulgarian style from Israel)

4 ounces sharp cheddar

1 cup finely grated Parmesano Reggiano

1/3 cup grated Kasseri Cheese

Topping:

1/3 cup finely grated Parmesano Reggiano

In a two cup glass measure, combine yeast, sugar, salt, oil.  Add 2 cups of warm water and stir.  Place flour in a large mixing bowl or bowl of a food processor.  After the yeast and water mixture begins to foam (about 8 to 10 minutes), add the yeast water to the flour and process for 60 seconds.  If mixing by hand mix and then kneed until dough is smooth and elastic.

Dust a rimmed baking sheet with flour.  Divide dough into 4 round balls, flatten them into discs and set them in the baking sheet.  Spray a piece of plastic wrap with oil or non stick baking spray and loosely cover baking sheet.  Place a tea towel on top of plastic wrap.  Set dough aside to rise for about 2 to 3 hours in a cozy place.

While the dough is rising prepare filling and line two rimmed baking with silpats or parchment paper.  Pour 1/ 4 cup of remaining olive oil in a third baking sheet.  To make filling place dry chard leaves in a stack on cutting board.  Slice into thin ribbons with a sharp knife. Slice the opposite direction to finish dicing the chard and place in a large bowl.  Crumble feta cheese; add cheddar, Parmesano, and kasseri.  Gently toss cheese and chard to mix and set aside until ready to use.

When dough has risen for about two hours, punch it down and divide each ball into 3 to 4 pieces each.  Roll each piece to make a flattened ball and set balls in rimmed baking sheet with oil.  Cover dough with a tea towel and let dough rise a second time only for one hour.

Heat oven to 400 °F.  Working on a wood or stone work surface, gently stretch each ball of dough first into a flat oval and after 5 minutes stretch it out to a rectangle about 10 inches by 7 inches. Dunk your hands in the remaining 1/ 4 cup oil to facilitate the stretching.  I stretch about 5 at a time, let them rest and then go ahead a stretch them all the way out.  Take a scant handful of filling or about 1/ 3 to 1/ 2 cup and spread it in a narrow line along the long side of the dough about 2 to 3 inches from the edge.  Roll up bulema into a long cylinder and coil into a circle like a cinnamon roll.  Place on silpat lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesano.

Bake Bulemas for about 20 minutes or until crisp and golden all the way around.  Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack so bottoms stay crisp.  Eat them like this, or reheated.   You can freeze and reheat them in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes.  Bulemas are great for Shabbat Lunch, Shavuot, and brunches like Fathers’ Day or graduation parties.

Bulemas With Rainbow Swiss Chard is a post from: The Boreka Diary at The Jewish Global Kitchen

Saturday morning the mercury was climbing quite rapidly.  The idea of a hot Shabbat lunch didn’t sound too appealing.  Cold salad using leftover roast chicken, leftover grilled ears of corn and some fresh pico de gallo seemed like a more refreshing idea.  This salad needs no oil, is dairy-free, gluten free and very low calorie.

Serves 3 to 4

Salad

1 box of prewashed Romaine lettuce hearts, slice in ribbons

3 cups of leftover shredded roast or barbecue chicken

2 ears of grilled corn kernels

Pico de Gallo

3 large tomatoes, small dice

1 Jalapeño chili, minced, no seeds

1/ 2 medium onion, small dice

1/ 2 cup washed, dried, and chopped fresh cilantro

1 ripe avocado, slices or cubes

2 limes, juiced

Sea Salt to taste (optional)

10 corn tortilla chips

3 to 6 fresh corn tortillas

Place sliced romaine in a large salad bowl.  Add chicken and corn kernels.  In a separate medium bowl, combine pico de gallo ingredients, tomatoes, chili, onion, and cilantro.  Season pico de gallo with salt if you like and dress with fresh lime juice.

Toss pico de gallo over the salad and mix to combine.  Place avocado on top if you prefer.  Place corn chips around the perimeter of the bowl.  Serve with fresh tortillas.

Chicken Leftover Salad is a post from: The Boreka Diary at The Jewish Global Kitchen

Quinoa is a relatively new kitchen staple in my home.  The healthy aspects, the fact that it is good cold or hot, kosher, dairy free, usable on Passover, and pairs well with many vegetables or any protein makes it very appealing.  Did you know quinoa is not a grain but a seed and is gluten free as well.

Over the weekend my sister mentioned about the outer coating of saponin which needs to be washed off before use.  I was unaware of this or even the word.  On straight raw quinoa this outer layer of a saponin makes the taste a little nasty and thus keeps the seeds unpalatable to birds and bugs.  Saponins are a class of naturally occurring chemical compounds which foam up when wet and are soap like.  Most commercially available quinoa has had the saponin removed; however it is better to rinse quinoa before use.

For this recipe I found a tri-color quinoa at Trader Joe’s, but use any quinoa you prefer.  After a visit to the Farm Market in Santa Monica I decided to use the beautiful fresh multi-colored carrots, fragrant garlic chives, and corn so fresh, the corn silk was pale translucent green.  Tables piled high with fresh fava beans graced many market stalls, so they became part of the recipe as well.

Quinoa Pilaf for Spring

Serves 4 to 8

1 cup tri color quinoa

2 cups water

1 extra large onion

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and fresh cracked pepper

4 small heirloom colored carrots

2 ears fresh corn, shucked

1/ 2 cup shelled and peeled fava beans (fresh Lima beans work well or fresh peas)

4 large garlic chives

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups wild arugula

2/3 cups roasted and shelled pistachios

Salt and fresh cracked pepper

1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Rinse and drain quinoa.  Place quinoa in a medium saucepan with water, cover and place over medium high heat.  Quinoa cooks like rice.  Bring it to a boil and turn temperature down to low until quinoa is cooked and liquid is absorbed, around 15 minutes.

In the meantime, peel onion, slice in half and then, slice thin half circles.  Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add oil, add onion, and sauté until onion is caramelized.  Season onion with salt and pepper and set aside.

Wash carrots, but do not peel as the vibrant colors are mostly in a thin surface layer.  Dice carrots into small pieces.  Wash and thinly slice chives.  Place a medium sauté pan over medium high heat, add oil.  Sauté chives, corn kernels, carrots and lima beans until colors have brightened and they are barely cooked.  Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer cooked quinoa to a large serving bowl.  Mix in arugula, caramelized onion, and sautéed vegetables.  Give a couple of squeezes of fresh lime juice and garnish pilaf with toasted pistachios.

I served this quinoa as a side dish at Shabbat dinner along with whole barbecued chicken, grilled asparagus, grilled fresh ears of corn, roasted carrots, roasted cauliflower, and Challah.

A note about fava beans, first remove beans from the large pods and then blanch and peel the second layer of skin off of each bean.  I think you can find them frozen already peeled if you prefer.

Quinoa Pilaf for Spring is a post from: The Boreka Diary at The Jewish Global Kitchen

When I think to make one of something, I make two , when I mean to buy one I buy two, one is such a lonely number, there must be a name for this pleasant mental disorder of being overly stocked, overly prepared, overly generous, overly… As you can probably guess, the other day when I made the Chocolate Orange Cheesecake I also baked a new Caramel Cheesecake.  After all Mother’s Day is coming up and Shavuot the traditionally dairy holiday is coming soon on May 26th. I had this vision of injecting cheesecake with salted caramel with a long tip for injecting jelly in doughnuts and then, piping chocolate, salted caramel, ganache rosettes on top for decoration.

Serves a lot

Caramel:

One cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/ 3cup sugar

1/ 2 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Ganache:

12 ounces dark chocolate broken up into small pieces or chopped (64% or 72%)

1/ 2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

Large pinch sea salt

Crust:

2 1/ 2 cups coarsely ground pecans

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

5 (eight ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 2/3 cup sugar

1/ 4 cup brown sugar

5 extra large eggs

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla

Topping:

2 cups sour cream

1/ 4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

To make caramel, place butter and cream in a small saucepan.  Place saucepan over medium heat and bring cream to simmer, do not boil.  Turn heat off and set aside. In another larger deep heavy bottom saucepan, heat sugar on medium heat.  Let sugar slowly dissolve without stirring.  You can swirl the pan a bit now and then.  Momentarily, the edges of the melted sugar will start to turn gold.  Watch mix very closely.  Melted sugar syrup will turn rich gold caramel color.  When syrup is all amber caramel color, turn off heat, immediately add warm butter -cream blend.  Mixture will foam up, stir it down with a wooden spoon and add salt.  Set caramel aside. For salted caramel ganache, break up or chop chocolate and place in a large bowl.  Heat butter and cream in a small sauce pan over low heat until butter is completely melted and cream is hot.  Do not boil.  In a deep larger sauce pot, heat sugar as for caramel until amber color.  Add butter and cream mix and it will foam as before, Whisk until smooth caramel as before and add salt.  Pour hot caramel mixture through a sieve over chocolate.  Whisk chocolate and strained caramel, until chocolate is melted and smooth.  Set ganache aside.  Ganache thickens as it cools, give it a stir occasionally. Heat oven to 350° F.  Make cheesecake crust.  Place ground pecans and melted butter in bottom of a 9 or 10 inch round or square spring form pan.  Mix nuts and butter with your fingertips and then, push moist nuts down to evenly cover bottom. Set aside.

Now, make cheesecake batter.  In bowl of stand or handheld mixer, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add sugars, beat until combined and then, add eggs. Lastly, add lemon juice and vanilla.  Blend until smooth and well combined.  Spoon batter into prepared crust.  Set filled spring form pan on rimmed baking sheet to catch any dripping that may ooze out during baking. Bake cheesecake for 45 to 50 minutes until poofed in the middle and golden.  Cake should not appear to be liquid in center; it should appear to be set.  Remove cheesecake from oven and set aside for 15 minutes.

In the meantime raise oven temperature to 400° F.  Mix topping ingredients until blended with a spoon.  After the 15 minutes, spread sour cream topping to within 1/ 2 inch of edge of cheesecake. Return cheesecake to oven for 5 minutes to set topping.  Remove cake from oven and cool.  Refrigerate for overnight so cheesecake will settle.  Remove cake from refrigerator.

Fill a pastry bag, fitted with jelly injection tip, with one cup of caramel.  Inject top of cheesecake every two inches with caramel until some caramel pools on top of cake.  Drizzle additional caramel over top of cake. Partially fill another disposable pastry bag, fitted with a large plain tip, with chocolate ganache or just a spoon to make rosettes or spoonfuls of chocolate ganache around top of cheesecake. Refrigerate cheesecake for up to 3 days, until you are ready to serve it.  When serving cheesecake, garnish plates with another spoonful or dollop of chocolate ganache or caramel.

Caramel Cheesecake With Salted Caramel Chocolate Ganache is a post from: The Boreka Diary at The Jewish Global Kitchen

The Desert Southwest, more specifically Palm Desert area in the Coachella Valley was shimmering with heat this past weekend.  The floral perfumed air was dry and still, nature’s blast furnace had fired up about one and one half months ahead of schedule.  The mercury reached its zenith about 3 PM at 102° F.  We, meaning my sister’s and I spent a wonderful Shabbat together, visiting, eating, and floating in the pool.  The food of course, was spectacular.

Along about 3 PM Sunday we had all had our fill of summer heat and decided to drive back to Los Angeles.  On the drive down to the freeway entrance the car thermometer went from 102° to 110° F to our amazement.  After a brief stop to indulge a fit of crazy outlet mall consumerism we continued our drive.  It started to become hazy, then kind of cloudy, then downright gloomy.  The bright clarity of the desert gave way to a deepening marine mist and by the time we arrived home it was 62° F and felt like beach weather!   The low cloud deck and fog obscured all but the closest houses, no mountains, no sky scrapers no horizon, just the dark abyss.

We quickly prepared our spectacular dinner of Turkey Schwarma and salads.  So, now to the point of this story; I have been eating a little too well these last two weeks and in order to reign in the calorie count I made this dinner one night for two.  I cooked a light pasta dish with vegetables, vegetarian, even one could say vegan if you pass on the cheese, to give my stomach a rest without forfeiting flavor and satisfaction.

Serves 1 to 2

Large pot of boiling water

1/ 2 box of Spaghetti #12 (1 pound box)

3 tablespoons olive oil

6 large button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced medium

8 large pieces frozen Porcini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced medium

2 peeled and minced garlic cloves

1 cup heirloom cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 whole roasted red bell pepper, peeled, seeded, and sliced julienne

Sea Salt and fresh cracked pepper

8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

1/ 2 cup grated Parmigano Reggiano

Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)

Bring the large pot of water to a boil over high heat.  I use a stock pot or large Dutch oven. Add a pinch of sea salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil to water and then, add pasta.  Cook pasta for about 8 minutes, until al dente and then, drain in a colander.

While pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet on high heat, add oil, add mushrooms, and sauté until golden crust is forming on mushrooms, then add garlic, and season with salt and pepper.  Next, add tomatoes and stir.  Sauté mushrooms and tomatoes until tomatoes are getting very soft and then, add bell pepper. Stir and season with salt and pepper, sauté for two more minutes.  Add drained pasta to tomato mushroom mix and stir to combine in the skillet.  Adjust seasoning , garnish with chiffonade of basil and sprinkle with Parmigano.  Give an extra drizzle of oil if you wish, divide into two portions and enjoy.

Pasta With Mushrooms and Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes is a post from: The Boreka Diary at The Jewish Global Kitchen

Calling all cheesecake fans.  It is the time of year when there are plenty of unused packages of cream cheese left in the refrigerator from overly ambitious Passover plans.  The cream cheese still has a long way to go before the expiration date.  Thinking ahead, Shavuot is coming up, as well as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and many other brunch opportunities, where a cheesecake would shine as dessert.  I have a lot of eggs left over, special chocolate bars, bags of fancy pecan halves, and jars of orange marmalade.  Cheesecakes are the perfect fit for these ingredients, like the mystery baskets on the TV show Chopped.

Crust:

2 and 2/ 3 cups ground pecans

5 tablespoons melted butter

1/ 2 cup orange marmalade

Filling:

10.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (64 to 72%)

5 eight ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 and 2/ 3 cups sugar

5 extra large eggs

1/ 2 cup orange marmalade

2 teaspoons vanilla

Topping:

2 cups sour cream

1/ 4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Ganache:

12 ounces of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

1 cup whipping cream

1 stick unsalted butter

Place ground pecans into a 9 inch springform pan.  You can use a 9 inch square springform or a 10 inch round one as well with good results.  Add melted butter to pecans.  Mix and pat moistened pecans evenly into bottom of pan for crust using your fingers.  Place bits of candied orange peel with a little jelly clinging to them from the marmalade evenly over pecan crust.  Set springform pan with crust on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any spills in oven, and set that aside while making cheesecake batter.

Break up chocolate into small pieces and place in a medium bowl.  Heat 2 inches of water in a medium saucepan over low heat.  Place mixing bowl with chocolate over hot water.  Make sure bottom of bowl does not touch the hot water.  Let chocolate melt and then, stir until smooth.  Remove bowl of melted chocolate from saucepan and set on counter while you prepare the rest of the filling ingredients.

Heat oven to 350° F.  For filling, place room temperature cream cheese in mixing bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl if using a handheld mixer.  Beat cream cheese on medium-high until fluffy, then stop and scrape down sides of bowl with a scraper.  Next, add sugar and mix until incorporated.  Now add orange marmalade and vanilla and combine.  Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in melted chocolate.  Pour batter into prepared springform pan. Place baking sheet with springform pan in oven and bake for 45 to 55 minutes.  Cake will be slightly puffed and barely set in the middle.  Remove cheesecake from oven, increase oven heat to 400° F.

Mix sour cream with vanilla and sugar. After cheesecake cools for 15 minutes, spread sour cream layer within 1/ 2 inch of the edge of the cheesecake and then, return to oven for 5 more minutes. Remove cheesecake and cool on a rack.  At this point refrigerate cheesecake overnight.

Next day, to prepare chocolate ganache, break up chocolate in a medium mixing bowl.  Place whipping cream and butter in a small saucepan.  Warm over medium heat until butter is melted and cream is very hot but not boiling. Pour cream mixture over chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.  Let ganache sit until cool, becoming stiff enough to hold a shape.

When ganache is stiff enough to pipe, remove cheesecake from refrigerator.  Run a sharp knife around the perimeter and release the spring of the springform pan. Unmold cheesecake and place on cake stand or cake keeper base.  Prepare a disposable pastry bag with a large plain tip and fill bag half way with chocolate ganache.  Pipe ganache over top of cheesecake.  If you are not comfortable with a pastry bag, use a small icing spatula to frost the top of cheesecake.  Make it thick!  Garnish cake with candied orange peels.

Chocolate Orange Cheesecake is a post from: The Boreka Diary at The Jewish Global Kitchen

It is Monday, the Seders are passed us and we can take a breather for a few days.  This year went very well.  Out of respect for Noni’s passing I kept it small.  First night there were 11 of us and second night only 13.  I tried to raise the bar on myself by creating mostly healthy menus with a dessert buffet that involved mostly nuts and meringue based goodies instead of butter cream (made with parave, dairy-free margarine).

Tablecloths are dispatched to the laundry, silverware accounted for, and no spoons went into the trash this year.  The Mitzrayim chicken was a big hit with everyone and the veal breast stuffed with a gluten free, all vegetable, dried fruit, and nut filling was positively succulent, with a crisp roasted top portion and melt in your mouth bones to linger over.  The Semifreddo inspired seconds and even third servings, while the Torrone was marveled at and everyone took home little bags with mandel bread and marunchinos.

We started around eight PM and the conversation was still going strong at midnight.  My husband did a fabulous job of providing further enlightenment past what the little Seder books reveal.  I looked around the table and it occurred to me that out of the seven 18 to 29 year old eligible young men at the table only the oldest is married so far.  I will look forward to adding some daughters and nieces in the coming years.  I hope you all enjoyed your Seders or at least some of the good recipes.  Enjoy the Pictures.

Menu:

Matzo

Huevos Haminados

Haroset

Passover Popover Rolls

Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls

Gefilte Fish, Halibut Plaki, Salmon with Tomato

Felichikas

Kufte de Prassa

Roast Baby Beets and pink Turnips

Roast Baby Carrots

Roast Chilean Red and Peruvian Purple Potatoes

Steamed Asparagus

Stuffed Artichoke Hearts

Stuffed Onions

Stuffed Japanese Eggplants

Stuffed Veal Pocket

Mitzrayim Chicken

Dessert:

Lemon Curd filled Pavlova

Semifreddo

Marunchinos

Mustachudos

Mandel Bread

Passover Fruit Crisp

Individual Passover Brownies

Torrone

Fresh Fruit

Passover 2012 Wrap Up is a post from: The Boreka Diary at The Jewish Global Kitchen

Mitzrayim Chicken

Are you almost ready to recline on pillows and enjoy the recounting of the Jewish escape from the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt (Mitzrayim)?  When we were children we reclined and we carried our load, a bogo or embroidered envelope like bag with an extension like a saddle bag designed to fit some Matzo in it.  My mother pinned it on us with a super large safety pin.  The bag was passed from guest to guest, with all taking turns carrying the burden during the Seder.  As the Jewish people grabbed possessions and fled in a hurry to freedom, so the matzo in the bag represented the burden carried into the desert.

Currently with my own family, I think it is fun and important to incorporate thematic elements from the story of Pesach into your table settings and meal.  Celebrate the escape from bondage and the freedom.  With that in mind I decided to make this chicken with blood oranges (think, ten plagues) and date molasses or syrup (think, the sweetness of freedom and liberty).

Serves 2 to 4

1/ 2 cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice

1/ 4 cup date syrup or date molasses

2 minced garlic cloves

1 whole 3 and 1/ 2 pound chicken

Mix orange juice, date syrup and garlic together in a small bowl or pitcher.  Check the inside of chicken for any little bags with liver or gizzards or necks.  Remove these items if you find them.  Pluck any feathers left behind by your butcher.  Place chicken in a zip lock bag and pour marinade into bag.  Let chicken marinate for about 4 hours in refrigerator, turning about every 2 hours.

Heat oven to 400°F.  Remove chicken from bag and place in a small roasting pan. Discard bag juices.  Place roasting pan in preheated oven with chicken uncovered.  Roast until chicken looks dark golden, crisp, with juices running clean, no blood or pink running out of chicken cavity.  Chicken takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Let chicken rest for at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving.    This recipe is easy to multiply and tastes great the next day served cold for lunch.

Mitzrayim Chicken is a post from: The Boreka Diary at The Jewish Global Kitchen

It is the Saturday night before Passover.  Monday I need to start on dessert and I hope to post a couple more recipes before it gets to late.  I love this dish, it is traditional Turkish or Rhodosli Sephardic flavors, parsley, tomato.  It could be more hightly spiced or flavored but I think on Passover the feeling of keeping the ingredients simple runs through as our people were in a hurry to leave and didn’t take much with them.  We have the bare minimum with the matza and Nona used to say you keep the flavoring agents in a dish simple for this holiday.  Fresh green herbs, onions, tomatoes, and things readily available.

4medium yellow onions

2 pounds ground beef chuck

1 cup minced fresh parsley plus 1/3 cup for garnish later

1 and1/ 2 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (about 2 large cloves)

Sea Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1/ 2 cup matzo meal

3 to 5 extra large eggs

Safflower oil for frying (or any kosher for Passover oil you prefer)

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes with added puree or chopped tomatoes

2 cups diced fresh Roma tomatoes (small dice)

1 cup of water

Peel onions and reserve dried brown skins for another recipe.  Cut onions down one side through until the center.  I choose elongated onions more oval in shape not flat round.  Slice bearded end off onion and cut a small piece of the top end.  Carefully remove outer layers in one piece by placing your thumb around the cut edge of each onion to loosen individual layers, then by pushing from the narrow end down to stem end to release.  If onion layers crack a bit don’t worry.  Each onion yields from 5 to 7 shells to stuff.  Set onion shells aside on cutting board for a moment. 

Mince remaining insides of onions and using your hands combine with ground meat, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper, and matzo meal.  Incorporate 3 eggs into meat to complete stuffing.  Stuffing should be fluffy.  If it seems dry and hard add another egg.  Loosely stuff onion shells.  Roll onions tighter into circles and secure with a toothpick.  Place onions on a plate and heat a 12 inch skillet on medium-high heat.

Add about 3 tablespoons oil to pan to a depth shy of 1/ 4 inch.  Place onions open side down in oil. Fry each onion until golden brown on ends and some of the sides.  I use tongs to turn onions.  Onions do not have to be completely cooked as they bake in oven to finish. 

Remove onions from skillet to an oiled 9 x 13 baking dish.  Heat oven to 350° F.  In a large pitcher combine canned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, and water.  Stir to mix.  Pour sauce over top of onions, season with sea salt and pepper, and garnish with fresh minced parsley.  Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.  Bake for 1/ 2 hour covered and then uncover.  Bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, until golden and bubbly.

Passover Stuffed Onions, Saboyas Reynadas is a post from: The Boreka Diary at The Jewish Global Kitchen

This is another favorite Passover recipe of mine.  The little stuffed hearts look like savory lollipops inviting me to bite them.  This makes another great vegetable side dish, evocative of spring, with a delightful velvety texture and a light lemony flavor.  I eliminated the breading and frying and instead just braised the artichokes to lighten the dish.

Serves 6 to 8

4 large artichokes

Water

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Filling:

1/ 2 pound ground beef chuck

1/ 2 cup minced fresh parsley

1/ 3 cup matzo meal

Sea Salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 extra large eggs

2 tablespoons oil

1 cup small diced fresh Roma tomatoes

1/ 3 cup small dice yellow onion

2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Trim and peel stems of artichokes.  Remove all of the outer leaves, until you get down to the heart.  Slice artichoke in half and using a sharp paring knife remove the thistle hairs.  Toss the sliced hearts into water acidulated with lemon juice.

In a medium bowl, combine the filling ingredients, beef chuck through eggs.  Take artichoke hearts out of the water and pat them dry.  Cut each heart piece in half.  Now you have quartered hearts.  Place a walnut size ball of filling on each heart where it indents above the stem.

Heat a large 12 inch skillet with a lid on medium heat.  Add oil, carefully place artichoke lollipops in the hot oil with the filling facing up, not touching the surface of pan.  Sauté until bottoms are turning golden. Season with sea salt and pepper.  Next, add chopped tomatoes, onions, and lemon juice, then turn heat down to low and place the lid on top.

Braise artichokes for about 1/ 2 hour to 45 minutes.  Remove lid to check if there is a bit of cooked down tomato and onion with artichokes cooked through.  Allow artichokes to cool down in the pan and then remove one by one to serving platter or container to store.  Keeps for several days refrigerated.

Serve warm or cold as an appetizer or vegetable side dish.

Passover Stuffed Artichoke Hearts is a post from: The Boreka Diary at The Jewish Global Kitchen