Tag: entree

Risk It For The Brisket

Brisket, historically a cheap cut of tough, barely edible meat, has come to be revered by aficionados across the globe. Some call it the “holy grail” of Jewish food, especially when the holiday season rolls around, and even more so when you factor in the difficulty of veganizing such a time-honored culinary tradition. Given the scrutiny placed on such an important centerpiece, it’s one I’ve never even felt capable of attempting.

Until now.

Brisket: A Celebratory Centerpiece

Growing up, Hanukkah dinner meant extra-crispy latkes, two or three types of homemade applesauce, and a heaping serving of brisket, cut into slick slabs that fell apart on the plate, dripping with juice. It was a point of honor when my Nana, the matriarch of meat, passed the torch to my own mother by sharing her secret recipe. The secret being powdered onion soup mix and lots of time. Three hours in the oven, an overnight rest, and then however long it takes to slowly, gently reheat the roast for the festive meal. There’s just not much to it besides meat and onions; every ingredient counts.

On that note at least, the same can be said for my plant-based rendition, a distinct departure from the beef-soaked ghost of holidays past. Where most vegan brisket recipes fail is by using just a big hunk of seitan, meaty but monotonous, without the distinct shredded texture of dissolved sinew cut against the grain, cooked into velvety submission. After the great success of my drumsticks, I knew I had the answer: finely shredded Sugimoto shiitake caps, blending into a matrix of seitan and meaty seasonings, the way to go.

Tasteful Textures

Moreover, this grand roast employs jackfruit and fresh enoki mushrooms to enhance that illusion, adding ample umami and a satisfying bite all the while. It’s a production compared to your average meatloaf, but it still takes less time than the original article. Since there’s no pesky cartilage to break down, you can slash the cooking time in half. Of course, there’s the added benefit of having no pesky cartilage in the first place.

Souped Up Supper

Onion soup mix is still an essential ingredient, but not in the same way as before. Skip the packaged blends with loads of fillers and milk solids; Sugimoto shiitake powder creates an incredibly rich, rounded depth of flavor alongside dried onion flakes, which you can buy ready-made or dehydrate yourself. This could be a stand-alone pantry staple for making instant chip dips, rice pilaf, more flavorful burgers, elevated vegetables, and, to state the obvious, soup.

A Brief Brisket Primer

Brisket means many things to many people, but at its core, simply refers to a prime cut of beef. Jewish brisket is made of the same stuff as Texan brisket; the difference is in the cooking. Texan brisket is the crowning achievement of any pit master, the litmus test determining their ability. Deeply smoked from a low and slow process that can take anywhere from 18 to 24 hours, each bite is intense and heady. Sometimes it comes crusted in a highly spiced rub, or slathered in BBQ sauce, lacquered with that sweet, tangy, spicy finish. Jewish brisket, on the other hand, sometimes called pot roast (especially if made in a slow cooker) is baked, braised, stewed, or slow-cooked for 3 to 6 hours in a flavorful liquid with plenty of onions. Always, always, lot of onions.

If you wanted to take this Jewish-style brisket and make into a barbecue feast, simply increase the liquid smoke to 2 teaspoons and brush it liberally with your favorite BBQ sauce 15 minutes before it’s done baking, and then once more right out of the oven. Or, if you happen to have an actual smoker, do your magic with the roast as is.

Brisket Tips and Tricks

This is not a quick-fix meal; never has been, never will be. Part of what makes it so special is how much time and care it takes to come to fruition. The most important piece of advice I can give you for making a meatless brisket is to have patience, plan ahead, and relish the leftovers. Prep and bake the brisket the day before, so all you need to do is reheat it for the big event. It only gets better as it sits, becoming more tender and intensely flavorful. Leftovers keep beautifully in the fridge for at least a week, and can be frozen for around 6 months. That is, if you’re lucky enough to save a few pieces. It may look like a beast of a roast, but trust me, it disappears fast.

Brisket isn’t just for Hanukkah. It’s a prime guest of honor at any important gathering, from Passover to Thanksgiving, birthdays to summer barbecues. Finally, with a genuinely meatless option that might even make my great-grandparents proud, there’s even more to celebrate.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)14 Comments

Get A Cobb On

Salads shouldn’t just be a side dish or an after thought. Down with wilted iceberg lettuce and stale croutons! I’m all about those hefty, fully loaded meal salads that have tons of color, texture, and flavor going on. The classic Cobb is a good example of that, traditionally piled high with meats, cheese, and eggs. On top of my obvious vegan conversions, I wanted to take a more seasonal approach for a new, novel Autumn Cobb Salad.

Vegan Innovations

To start with the vegan adaptations, we can replace traditional proteins with plant-based alternatives that not only complement the dish but enhance it. Instead of crispy bacon, consider using pecans seasoned with a smoky flavor to provide that quintessential crunch. Hard-boiled eggs can be swapped out for hearty, diced potatoes, seasoned with sulfurous kala namak, which lend a satisfying creaminess without sacrificing substance. For the chicken, chickpeas are an excellent choice, adding protein and a nutty flavor that ties the salad together.

Seasonal Swaps

Seasonality is the secret ingredient that can transform an ordinary salad into something truly special. In this fall feature, pomegranate arils take the place of conventional tomatoes, infusing each bite with a burst of sweetness and vibrant color. Instead of the typical scallions or chives, opt for pickled onions. Their tangy crunch elevates the flavor profile and adds depth.

When it comes to greens, we’re turning to shredded collard greens instead of the usual lettuce. This hearty green not only provides a more robust texture but also aligns perfectly with the season’s bounty. Finally, rather than dressing the salad with traditional ranch, a maple-balsamic vinaigrette introduces a balance of sweetness and acidity, capturing the essence of fall in every drop.

Timeless Staples

Even amidst these changes, there are certain staples that remain unassailable. Creamy avocado adds richness to the dish, while a sprinkle of vegan blue cheese, store-bought or homemade, provides that unmistakable funk, rounding out the flavor experience perfectly.

Salad Days Are Here Again

Salads can be so much more than an afterthought. With a little creativity and a focus on seasonal ingredients, they can take center stage as a nourishing, satisfying meal. Say goodbye to the wilted greens of the past and hello to a vibrant, fully loaded salad that you’ll want to dig into all autumn long.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

Living La Vida Salsa

Saying that stuffed peppers are on the menu is about as descriptive as proclaiming that “meat” is for dinner. Given that there’s well over one hundred types of peppers large enough to be hollowed out and stuffed, having been cultivated across the world for millennia, you’ll start to get the picture before we even discuss fillings. Happily, that same undefinable quality grants stuffed peppers much of their staying power. No matter what else you have on hand, if there are peppers in the vegetable crisper, there’s a meal waiting to happen.

Spice Up Your Stuffing With Salsa

Inspired by the fruity, sweet and spicy interplay of Desert Pepper Peach Mango Salsa, this foolproof entree comes together with just 10 (or less!) ingredients. Boldly seasoned with a kick of heat, there’s already so much flavor contained in each glass jar that most of the work is done for you. Leaning into Tex-Mex territory, they’ll be right at home alongside tortilla chips, guacamole, or refried beans. Down-to-earth yet quietly spectacular, it’s the kind of quick-fix that wins rave reviews.

Stuffing Swaps

Forgot to go grocery shopping? Have a surplus to use up? Simply craving a change of pace? Take a note from the myriad stuffed peppers of yore and improvise freely. Consider this your blueprint to build upon and choose your own adventure. A few easy suggestions for adaptation include:

  • Use any rice you like; white, brown, purple, or a blend. In fact, any cooked grain like quinoa or millet would be great for a change of pace, too.
  • Trade the chili powder for taco seasoning. Add hot sauce if you want more firepower.
  • Instead of black beans, try pinto beans, lentils, vegan chorizo, rehydrated TVP, meatless grounds, or crumbled tofu.
  • Veg out by adding diced celery, carrots, zucchini, green beans, or anything else you like!

Winner, Winner, Stuffed Pepper Dinner

Bursting with juicy fresh flavor, this fully loaded swicy centerpiece is my entry for the inaugural Desert Pepper Blogger Recipe Challenge. You can purchase Desert Pepper Salsa products at Sprouts, Publix, Hannaford, Harris Teeter, Shop Rite, Walmart, Giant Eagle, Market Basket, Jewel, and Meijer. While it would certainly be nice to earn some prize money, the finished dish already tastes like victory.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

Drum Roll, Please

Evolved and intelligent as we may be, there’s something about the primal urge to gnaw into beastly drumsticks that’s irrepressible. At renaissance fairs and Disney parks alike, the oversized turkey legs parading through the crowds are as much an attraction as any games or rides. Is it really our primitive instincts to hunt and gather that draw us in, or the modern spectacle of it now? Certainly, it’s not the seasoning. Bland, dry to the bone, sinewy as a ball of string, these are not the drumsticks of the discerning eater.

THESE are. Entirely meatless, each hefty shank is a plant protein dynamo. Upcycled pineapple cores serve as the “bones,” creating the signature drumstick appearance while infusing their tropical, sweet flavor into every bite. Delicate sheets of yuba encase a blend of shredded Sugimoto Shiitake and jackfruit, bound together with seitan to create a texture you can really sink your teeth into. The tofu skin exterior even becomes crispy while cooking! Then, lacquered with a sticky, tangy, and savory pineapple teriyaki sauce, it takes on a glossy golden finish that would satisfy even the most primordial desires.

Meet Your New Meat

Developing the ideal vegan drumstick took more than the typical amount of trial and error. Instead of just one standard meat substitute, it took the combination of a few crafty swaps working in concert to create the full range of textures and umami flavors.

  • Koshin shiitake caps, broad, flat, and thin, are finely sliced to amplify the natural muscular appearance of shredded young jackfruit. Jackfruit alone can be rather flavorless, if not woody, which is why the meatiness of shiitake is so essential here.
  • It takes vital wheat gluten to act as the “glue” holding it all together. It creates the characteristic chew of meat, while adding moisture and cohesion to the filling.
  • Yuba, pure soy protein, wraps the package up with a bow. While I’ve seen similar concepts using rice paper for the outer skin, yuba is far tastier, easier to work with, and more nutritious.

Tips For Success

Let’s be real: This is no 30-minute meal. It takes time and planning, best saved for a special occasion when you want to go all out. That said, it’s not a difficult recipe, just a bit time-consuming. Prep in stages and think of it as an edible craft project to fully enjoy the process.

    1. Make the teriyaki sauce first… Or don’t. You want it to be cooled and fully thickened before slathering it on your meatless drumsticks, and it keeps in the fridge for 1 – 2 weeks, easily. On the other hand, there’s no shame in taking shortcuts here; you could absolutely buy ready-made teriyaki sauce and skip all that work.
    2. Wrap that yuba up tight! Nobody wants to end up with loose skin.
    3. Reinforce your pineapple cores with skewers, optionally. Unlike animal bones, they become softer after cooking, so you can’t really pick these drumsticks up by the handle and take a chomp out of them. Personally, I feel they’re best suited to the fork-and-knife treatment anyway, so you don’t end up with sauce smeared all over your face. If you’re determined to make these as finger food though, thread a wooden skewer through the core first, to keep it more stable.

  1. Be gentle with your yuba. It’s a fragile, paper-thin sheet of solidified soymilk; of course it’s prone to ripping. Fresh is really best here, since dried tends to be thicker, and more likely to have broken in transit. Soak your fresh yuba in warm water for a few minutes before gently easing the sheets apart. They’re much harder to work with straight out the fridge.
  2. Give them space while steaming and baking. The meatless stuffing inside does expand and plump a bit as it cooks.

March To The Beat Of Your Own Drumstick

Pineapple teriyaki simply made sense as a complete package here, but the options for flavor variations are endless. First of all, don’t feel that you’re bound to using a pineapple core for the bone. Not everyone regularly buys whole pineapples, and maybe that’s just not the vibe for dinner that day. You can omit it entirely to make more of a chicken breast facsimile, or replace it with pieces of sugarcane or simply wooden popsicle sticks.

From there, consider your sauce. You could go in a spicier direction with buffalo sauce, or keep it classic with plant-based butter and herbs. Then we have BBQ sauce for a smokier kick, pomegranate molasses and za’atar for Middle Eastern flare, and so on, and so forth. You’ll run out of drumsticks long before you run out of ideas.

Go ahead, embrace your inner cave-person. Soothe your lizard brain with the meat it’s really craving; healthier, tastier, and happier for all creatures involved. These vegan drumsticks are better than all the rest.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments

Canoodle With A Kugel

Kugel, a staple of classic Jewish cuisine, is frequently weighed down in a stodgy pudding of pasta, cream cheese, raisins, and apples. This sweet intrusion on the dinner table never appealed to me as a kid, which is why I always stuck to the savory side of the street when composing my own casseroles. Further improve upon the concept by swapping out those starchy noodles with wide ribbons of spiralized zucchini, instantly transforming the outdated side dish into a truly worthy dinner guest.

By replacing the typical egg noodles with tender, springy ribbons of spiralized zucchini, we not only lighten the dish but also elevate the flavor. Zucchini adds a subtle sweetness and almost silky texture when baked, creating a kugel unlike any other. As an added bonus, that makes it naturally gluten-free (and of course still kosher, as always), so everyone can freely partake. Would it be equally apt to call it a zucchini hotdish? Sure, but isn’t a conventional noodle kugel just a pasta hotdish, too?

The beauty of the zoodle kugel lies in its ease and versatility. Using a spiralizer, it comes together in a snap while dirtying minimal additional dishes, and you can just as quickly customize it with your favorite savory additions. Think: caramelized onions and garlicky mushrooms, thinly shaved fennel and fresh dill, or roasted red peppers and sun-dried tomatoes. The possibilities are endless, making this kugel a keeper all year round, adaptable for any occasion.

Next time you’re craving comfort food with a twist, consider the humble zoodle kugel. It bridges the gap between tradition and innovation, offering a taste of nostalgia alongside a fresh, seasonal flavor. It’s a kugel that’s worthy of a place at any dinner table, settling the debate between sweet or savory… At least for one course.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

In The Limelight

Mummified fruit is usually the last thing you want to see when you open up your pantry, but dried limes challenge those notions of common food storage. Hard as walnut shells, sometimes black as ink and other times a dusty grey, these oversized marbles conceal a world of flavor inside that forbidding exterior.

What Are Dried Limes?

Dried limes, sometimes called “dried lemons,” are better known as limu amani or noomi basra due to their Iranian and Iraqi origins. An essential ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking, somehow they’ve failed to make the leap overseas to widespread popularity. A positive buzz is growing in large part thanks to one Yotam Ottolenghi ceaseless singing their praises, which means they’re slowly infiltrating specialty markets and boutique grocery stores abroad. Thankfully, we have the internet to fill the gaps, where you can readily purchase both whole and powdered dried limes.

Simply sun-dried until bereft of any moisture, they’re effectively preserved like any other whole spices. To use them, simply toss them into soups or stews whole, then fish them out like spent bay leaves when you’re done cooking. Powdered, they can be blended into other spice mixtures, such as Baharat.

What Do Dried Limes Taste Like?

Everyone knows what a fresh lime tastes like; tart, tangy, fruit, and sightly floral, with just a slight hint of sweetness. Now, take that and remove the sweetness, substituting a more earthy, funky, sometimes smoky flavor, along with a stronger acidic bite like sour candies, and you’ll understand the essence of dried limes. The longer they’re stewed, the more intense and bitter the flavor becomes.

Cooking With Dried Limes

Ghormeh Sabzi and Fesenjan are two top dishes that call for dried limes, though any slow-simmered dish is well suited for a dried lime infusion. They can be added to the water when cooking rice or brines for making pickles. Dried lime tea is also excellent for settling the stomach, though that often involves the leaves, too.

The easiest way to get started with dried limes, in my opinion, is to stick with soup. Chicken soup with rice is a beloved savory staple the world over, so it’s easy to enjoy a new twist on the classic. Persian Chicken and Rice Soup adds a handful of chickpeas and of course, dried limes for some extra sour power. It’s the kind of flavor combination that will take off the chill, beat any cold, and generally comfort the hungry in any condition.

My version uses soy curls instead of poultry, of course, which also rehydrate in a snap. You can pretty much make this meal entirely from pantry staples on the fly, even when the fridge is otherwise bare.

Those who crave the bracing acidic bite of fresh citrus but sometimes neglect to stock their produce bin would be wise to invest in a surplus of these dried diamonds. Just like salt and pepper, you’ll find that they go with everything, and no dish is quite complete without that subtle seasoning. Trust me, you can expect to see a whole lot more instances of dried limes in my recipes from here on out.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)3 Comments