You can try these ‘Kosher by Design’ recipes at home

Here are a few recipes from Susie Fishbein’s final book in the “Kosher by Design Series.”  Published earlier this year in “Kosher by Design: Brings it Home” these recipes promise the same quality of other recipes in the series. Enjoy!

Root Vegetable Apple Salad

Dairy or Pareve

Yields 6-8 servings

Kohlrabi is a knobby purple or green vegetable with a taste and texture somewhere between cabbage and broccoli stems. They were all over Machane Yehuda market when I was there in February, and I knew I wanted to include them somewhere in this book. Cut off the leaves and use a vegetable peeler to remove the thick green skin.

Celery root is another ugly duckling at the produce department but once you trim off both ends and cut away or peel off the thick skin, you will love the distinctive flavor – think: combination of celery and parsley. I turn to it again and again for cooking in creamy soups, roasting as a side dish, or crisp and raw in salads like this one.

This recipe was inspired by Ali Mafucci, of the Inspiralized website, which is a great website for recipes that use a Spiralizer, or spiral slicer.

The apples work great on that machine and add a fun texture to the salad. If prepping in advance, soak the peeled vegetables and apple in water with some lemon juice added. This acidulated water will keep everything from turning brown.

Ingredients

Salad

1 small kohlrabi, peeled and trimmed

1/2 celery root (celeriac), peeled and trimmed

1 small turnip, peeled and trimmed

1 Granny Smith apple, not peeled

2 handfuls baby arugula leaves

Handful sweetened dried cranberries

Handful chopped walnuts

1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese, optional, for dairy meals

Dressing

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons Country Dijon mustard

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

Cut the kohlrabi and celery root into thin matchsticks. Grate the turnip on the large holes of a box grater. Cut the apple into small chunks or use a spiral slicer to make it into “noodles.” Place into a large mixing bowl.

Toss with the arugula. Sprinkle in cranberries, walnuts, and cheese, if using.

Prepare the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, vinegar, mustard, oil, salt, and pepper.

Dress the salad to taste.

Pumpkin Braised Short Ribs

Meat

Yields 5-6 servings

If autumn had a celebrity dish, this would be it. These short ribs will be the reason your sukkah or Thanksgiving table is the place to be. The long, slow cooking time yields rich, succulent results.

If the ribs don’t come tied, you can use kitchen twine or silicone bands. It’s just for prettier presentation so that they don’t fall off the bone.

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 pounds (10-12 large ribs, each 4 x 2 inches) thick short ribs, each tied

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 onion, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice

24 ounces (2 [12-ounce] bottles) pumpkin ale or other beer

1 1/2 cups or 1 (15-ounce) can canned pure pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons dark molasses

3 cups chopped curly kale

Method

Combine the flour, sage, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish or tin. Coat the ribs on all sides with the seasoned flour. Shake off excess.

Heat a large Dutch oven over high heat for 3 minutes. Add the canola oil; wait a minute or two, until the pan is very hot and almost smoking. Place the short ribs into the pan; sear until they are nicely browned on all three meaty sides. You will have to sear the meat in batches. Do not crowd the pot. Be patient; allow 4-5 minutes per side. When the ribs are nicely browned, transfer them to a plate to rest.

Reduce heat to medium; add the onion. Stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up all the browned bits in the pan. Cook  3-4 minutes, until the onion just starts to soften. Add 12 ounces of beer. Stir. Add the pumpkin. Stir in the tomato paste, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, vinegar, and molasses. Mix well. Bring sauce to a boil.

Return ribs to the pot. Stand them up if needed to fit all. Add the remaining 12 ounces of beer to almost cover the ribs. Add as much of the chopped kale as fits. Cover the pot. Simmer on low for 3 hours.

Transfer the ribs to a large platter. Spoon lots of braising juices over the ribs.

Almond Chocolate Chip  Sticks

Pareve

Yields 20-25 cookies

The recipe for chocolate chip sticks in the Kosher Palette cookbook became a standard in thousands of homes. Somehow, they came out differently for all bakers, with my friend Marisa’s being my favorite. This year for Passover, I tinkered with the recipe to use it on the holiday and my family declared that the cookies were so great, I “ended the suffering of the Jews.” I was so pleased to cut out white flour, that I have started making them this way all year round. Gluten-free people, rejoice!

These cookies get a bit softer overnight. If you don’t like that texture, store them in the freezer.

Ingredients

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (5-ounces) quinoa flour

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2-ounces) finely ground almond flour

2 tablespoons potato starch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup good-quality chocolate chips

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the oil, sugar and brown sugar. Mix well. Stir in the egg and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, combine the quinoa flour, almond flour, potato starch, baking soda and salt. Stir into the egg mixture. Blend well. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Divide the dough in half. Place on the prepared sheet. Form the dough into 2 (3 x 12-inch) logs. Wet your hands if needed to manipulate the dough.

Bake for 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool; cut while slightly warm into thin sticks.

Store in an airtight container.