Grandma Bertha's Latkes

I remember sitting at my Grandma Bertha's kitchen table and watching her grate the potatoes, onions and carrots by hand. I love the simplicity of this recipe - no flour, no baking soda or fancy seasonings - just simple basic ingredients.

[Rating – easy]

[Serves – This makes about 12-16 Latkes depending on the size]

You will need a food processor or a hand vegetable grater.

Preparation time: 

15 minutes – to peel the potatoes (place them in a bowl of cold water so they don’t turn brown), carrots and onion.

15-25 minutes to fry the Latkes, depending the how many you make

Ingredients:  

3 medium sized potatoes (peeled)

2 carrots (peeled)

1 large onion

3 eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ to ½ cup Canola Oil for frying

 Eggs, onion, carrots and potatoes

Preparation: 

• Use the small grating blade on your food processor
• Add the carrots, potatoes and onion until everything is grated (processed)

Onion, carrots and potatoes - processed

• As you take the mix out of the processor – give a squeeze to remove any liquid - also check for large pieces of carrot, onion or potato that were not processed 
• Place the squeezed mixture into a medium size mixing bowl
• Add the eggs
• Add salt and black pepper to taste

Onion, carrots and potatoes - with eggs, salt and black pepper

• Mix everything together

Onion, carrots, potatoes, and egg - mixed together

• In a large frying pan – add about half the oil – heat the pan
• Drop a small tendril into the oil to see if it is hot enough - it should sizzle
• Drop 4 spoonfuls into the hot oil
• [There will be little tendrils of potato escaping from your Latkes they will NOT be perfectly shaped]

Latkes frying

• Fry about 4 to 6 minutes on each side.
• Remove and drain on paper towels
• Continue until all the mix is fried.
• Latkes can be kept warm in the oven.

Latkes 

Serve with:

Cold applesauce; Sugar and cinnamon; Sour cream or yogurt.

[Add chopped chives to the sour cream or yogurt]

Additional Options:

You could substitute sweet potato for white potato - but is that really a "Latke"?

You could add grated nutmeg or chopped garlic or chopped parsley or chopped mint - but is that really a "Latke"?

Send me your favorite Latke recipe and your comments to: capricorncooks@gmail.com.

Happly holiday!!!

Quick Left-Over Dinner #1 - Trout and Mushrooms with Pasta in Cream Sauce

I was not planning on blogging this meal but it was too easy to prepare and it tasted too good not to share – so here goes. I used what I had at home. As you can see - everything came out of a container or the freezer.

Left-Over Trout 

[Rating – very easy]

[Serves – 4 ]

Preparation time: 

15 minutes if you heat everything up [this includes the 5 minutes you need to pull things out of the frig]

[20 minutes if you need to cook the pasta]

Ingredients:  

About 150 grams of curly pasta or any left over pasta (2 to 3 cups cooked pasta)

4 pieces of left-over trout or any cooked fish – broken into pieces

7 cherry tomatoes cut in half (that's all I had in the house!! you can use more)

A handful of frozen green beans

A handful of frozen peas

1 cup left-over braised mushrooms (½ can of sliced mushrooms or more)

1 generous tablespoon chopped garlic 

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 cup (250 mil) cooking cream (10% fat)

¼ to ½ cup of grated Pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (depends on what you have around)

Optional – pesto sauce 

Frozen pesto

Pesto (30 seconds in the microwave)

Preparation: 

·        Cook the pasta as directed – drain and set aside

In a large frying pan:

·        Add peas

·        Add green beans

·        Add mushrooms

·        Tablespoon of garlic

·        Gently stirring together just until they heat up and thaw out

Mushrooms, frozen peas and green beans

·        Add the fish (broken into bite-sized bits)

Trout fillets crumbled

·        Add the cherry tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes cut in half

·        Stir together

·        Add the pasta into the mixture – mix well

·        Pour the cream over everything

·        Add the black pepper

·        Stir everything together until the cream begins to bubble

·        Add grated cheese and sprinkle with kosher salt to taste

The Transformation of the Left-Over ingredients!!!

From the frying pan onto the table.

Trout and Mushrooms with Pasta in a Cream Sauce

Of course you could bump this up by serving a green salad, garlic bread and a glass of red wine!!! We added a bit of pesto sauce from the freezer (see Sept 16 2011 blog) - which gave this left-over meal an added kick. 

Needless to say there were no left-overs!!!

Next week – Grandma Bertha’s Latkahs - Enjoy!!! 

Pasta and Broccoli in Olive Oil with Anchovies and Almonds

This recipe comes with a story. About a year ago an Australian Chef was cooking on a television cooking show. He was making Pasta with Broccoli in Olive Oil. What caught my eye was the fact that he added a few anchovies to the olive oil and sort of let them melt into the oil. He swore the anchovies would not overpower the taste of the sauce but would add richness and depth to the Broccoli and Olive Oil. To make a long story short – my oldest daughter and her boyfriend were joining us for dinner and that seemed to be a perfect time to try this recipe. Needless to say it was a great success, served it with garlic bread and a simple green salad and it has been a favorite meal ever since. By the way, the original recipe had zucchini and additional herbs. This recipe is quick and simple. 

HINT: up until about 2 months ago I always discarded the thick broccoli stems, found out one day that my youngest daughter and my youngest sister both loved the stems – so now they are peeled, sliced or chopped and used.

[Rating - easy]
[Servings: 4 servings as a main course or 6 servings as a side dish]
Preparation time:
15 minutes to cut and chop. 20 minutes to cook.

Ingredients:

Half package of spaghetti or any long pasta [of course, you can use any type of pasta you prefer, I like to stab a piece of broccoli and then wind the pasta around my fork]

1 medium size head of broccoli (about 2½ cups of florets and about 1 cup stem, peeled, and cut into small pieces)

2½ cups of Broccoli florets

1 cup broccoli of stems - trimmed and chopped 

4-6 cloves of garlic - sliced

4-6 tablespoons Olive oil

1 tablespoon of Chili flavored oil (optional)

2-4 small anchovies

2-3 tablespoons of almonds slivers

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Kosher salt

Grated Parmesan Reggio or Peccorino Cheese

(top) salt and black pepper; olive oil; anchovies and chili oil; sliced garlic(bottom) Pasta

Preparation:

·  Cook the pasta as directed [cook until al dente]

·  Gently melt the anchovies in the oil [see below]

Olive Oil - anchovies just added

Olive Oil with melting anchovies

· Add the garlic and the broccoli stems

· Stir occasionally for about 5 to 8 minutes until they begin to soften

·  Add the broccoli florets

·  When broccoli starts to soften
·  Add the black pepper and the slivered almonds 

Almonds slivers

·   Stir together for about 10 minutes 
  [or until the broccoli florets start to soften]

·   Add the pasta into the pan with the broccoli mixture – mix well

·   Place on serving dish

Almost ready

 ·  Generously add grated cheese and sprinkle with kosher salt to taste

Grate this over the Pasta and Broccoli for the finishing touch
{Thank you Peter and Loredana for this thoughtful gift}

Pasta and Broccoli in Olive Oil with Anchovies and Almonds

Serve with a simple green salad and garlic bread.

Note: a few grains of kosher salt enhances the flavors without making this dish too salty; the almonds give the recipe a bit of a crunch; the chili flavored oil adds a whisper of a tang while the anchovies add depth to the sauce – without overpowering the flavor of the Broccoli. If you are lactose intolerant then leave out the cheese and add a few more grains of kosher salt.

Nava's Moroccan Soup (Harira)

This soup is my sister-in-laws take on Harira, a Moroccan soup basically made with tomatoes and lentils. The soup is mild in seasoning but thick, filling and most of all delicious. Don't let the number of ingredients or cooking time put you off - it is really worth the effort. The soup is simple to make - and is usually eaten to break the fast. There are many variations, some include meat. One note of caution - don't add too many noodles as they tend to expand and overtake the rest of the ingredients. We consider this a meal in bowl and eat it with fresh bread. 

  

[Rating – easy]

[Servings: 8 to 10 hardy bowls of soup]

Preparation time: 

20 minutes to cut and assemble the ingredients

Cooking time: 

Approximately 2 hours from start to eating!

(clockwise - Chopped tomatoes, chopped fresh coriander, diced onions,
diced carrots, black lentils, short flat egg noodles,
diced celery and (ctr) chickpeas

 Ingredients:

¾ cup fresh chickpeas (soaked overnight) or ¾ cup canned chickpeas

¾ cup black lentils (soaked for an hour)

4 tablespoon oil

2 large onions - chopped

2 large tomatoes - peeled and chopped

1 carrot - peeled and diced

4 celery stems - diced

½ cup rice

1 large handful of fresh coriander - chopped

Spices:

1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons black pepper, 1 tablespoon turmeric, 1 tablespoon soup mix or 2 cubes, 1 tablespoon of sweet paprika; 

Optional spices: ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper and/or ginger and or cinnamon 

1 large tablespoon regular flour (dissolved in ½ cup of cold water)

½ cup angel hair pasta/short egg noodles

Juice of ½ lemon (substitute about ¼ cup of bottled lemon juice)

Preparation:

·       Cook the chickpeas in a separate pot for ½ hour – cool and peel off the skin. (I usually substitute canned chickpeas, you will still need to peel off the skin) (see photo)

Skinless chickpeas (skins on right)

·  Fry the onions in the oil and add the tomatoes, carrot and celery

Onions, tomatoes, carrots and celery frying

 · Add the chickpeas, lentils and 8 cups of water. 

Chickpeas and lentils added

Mix Chickpeas and lentils 

· Cook for 1 hour (add water if needed)  

Short flat egg noodles (add last), chopped fresh coriander, 
rice, spices, lemon (add last)

      · Add the rice, coriander and spices. Mix well and cook for 15 minutes.

Soup with fresh coriander and rice added

Vegetables, lentils, rice, carrots
 and celery  cooking

·       Mix the flour in ½ cup of cold water & add to the soup.
·       Mix well.

flour and water mix

·       Add noodles and juice from ½ lemon or ¼ cup of bottled lemon juice.

·       Close the heat and let rest of 30 minutes.

 Nava's Moroccan Soup (Harira)

Shredded Chicken with Cucumbers, Almonds and Sweet Chili Sauce

This recipe is my take of one of the most surprisingly delicious chicken dishes I ever ate in a restaurant. There were two surprises in this recipe, the addition of fresh coriander leaves and Sweet Chili sauce from a jar which I had never used before. The original dish had peanuts in it, we don't use peanuts because my favorite brother-in-law is allergic.

All I can say is give this recipe a try – the results are worth the effort.

Shredded Chicken, Sweet Chili Sauce, Chopped Almonds,
Fresh Coriander,  Cucumbers

[Rating – easy]

[Servings: 4-6 main courses or 6-8 appetizers]

Preparation time: 

20 minutes to poach, cool and shred the chicken

20 minutes to cut and mix the remainder of ingredients

Ingredients: 

4 whole chicken breasts

Unpoached Chicken Breasts

2 whole cloves of garlic peeled and cut in half

1 – chunk of fresh ginger (about an inch) - peeled

Garlic and Ginger

100 grams or 3/4 cup almonds chopped or diced

1 large handful of fresh coriander – chopped

6 large cucumbers – sliced (see picture – I used a simple mandolin)

1 small bottle (250 grams) of ready-made Sweet Chili Sauce

Chopped Almonds, Cucumbers, Sweet Chili Sauce,  Fresh Coriander

Preparation: 

POACHING THE CHICKEN

• In a medium size pot - fill with water and add the whole garlic cloves and ginger
• Start heating the water and immediately add the chicken breasts
• The water will begin to heat up and the chicken will begin to turn whitish
• When the water starts to boil the chicken will begin to float
• Give it about 5 more minutes to poach and - it should be fully cooked
• Remove it from the pot – rinse under cold water

Poached Chicken Breasts

• Start shredding the chicken by hand (see photo) into a large bowl                         [to shred pull small strips from the breast]

Shredded Poached Chicken Breasts

 CUCUMBERS

• Slice the cucumbers in thin strips or use a mandolin type cutter (see picture of an example of one) 

Simple Mandolin 

Cut Cucumbers

CORIANDER

• Chop the coriander

COMBINE – large bowl

• Shredded Chicken
• Diced Almonds
• Chopped Coriander (and some ground black pepper)
• MIX together
• ADD – Sweet Chili Sauce – a whole small bottle (~250 grams)

Shredded Chicken with Cucumbers, Almonds and Sweet Chili Sauce

Shredded Chicken served on a lettuce leaf

Shredded Chicken served on a lettuce leaf -
just roll it up and eat it by hand!!!

You can store this dish in a closed container in the refrigerator – if you do there will be some liquid on the bottom –gently spill that out before you serve it (the excess liquid is from the cucumbers).

Options and Substitutions

Chopped peanuts instead of almonds