Healthy Shabbat Recipes

Fresh Tomato Dressing - Add Some ZING To Your Veggies

This is another recipe everyone loves. I don't serve it as a regular salad dressing. Rather, I use it to season the veggie dish for the main course.  I love it because it allows me to serve beautiful dish of assorted,colorful veggies that have been steamed till crisp-tender and leave them plain for my kids.  Then  I just put a serving dish (like a gravy boat) full of this awesome dressing in the middle, and explain that this is for the grown-ups to 'dress' their own veggies. I also enjoy the leftovers during the week over salad with tuna.

Just throw the following in a food processor and blend till liquified:

* 2 tomatoes, cut in quarters, core removed (The original recipe says to peel and seed them, but I have never found that to be necessary, it all gets liquified in the food processor and works just fine)
* 1/2 cup good olive oil
* 6 tablespoons wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon dried parsley
* 4 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
* 4 teaspoons honey or agave nectar (more to taste)
* 2 teaspoons dried basil or italian seasoning
* 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
* Pinch of salt

Inspired by the recipe called  "French Tomato Dressing" in The Saucy Vegetarian: Quick & Healthful No-Cook Sauces & Dressings.

Addictive Roasted Garlic

Roasted garlic is always a *huge* hit at our shabbos table. Returning guests always request it. It is simply delicious spread on challah.  Everyone always wants to know how to make it. It's embarrassingly simple. Yet when I explain how to make it, people's eyes seem to gloss over...I don't think anyone ever tries to make it at home. Perhaps seeing the easy recipe here will help.

There are two ways to make it. Each is VERY easy.

All you need, for each method is:

* Garlic
* Olive Oil
* Salt & pepper

Method 1 - The Classic Method

Cut the tip off a head of garlic - about 1/4 of an inch down  - to just reveal the top of the cloves. Place the head(s)  in an oven proof baking dish. Coat with oil (put plenty in - the oil develops a delicious flavor too) dust with salt and pepper and roast at 350 or 375 (whatever you oven happens to be at while you're cooking your other shabbos food) for about 30-45 minutes till the top of head is golden brown. Check it when you start to smell the delicious aroma wafting from the oven...it usually needs just about 10 more minutes after that...

Remove from oven and allow to cool.  When cool, simply squeeze the cloves out of the head into a jar or your serving dish and pour the oil over them. This gets a little  messy. If you don't like the mess - see method 2.

You can serve them the cloves  way. You just simply take a clove and spread it on your challah OR you can blend the cloves into a 'paste' with a mini food processor or hand blender.  I love it both ways. 

Method 2 - Easier, Quicker and Less Messy

At warehouse stores like Costco, BJ's and Sam's Club they sell BIG plastic jars of garlic cloves that have already been peeled. I LOVE these jars. I find that the garlic does not lose flavor, and having cloves that are already peeled does save time for all sorts of dishes.

The second method is similar to the first - you just roast the garlic for a shorter period of time. 

Simply take as many cloves (the ones that have already been peeled) as you want to roast and place them in an oven proof baking dish. Cover them with oil, dust with salt and pepper and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until golden. 

Serve as-is, or blend into a more spreadable paste with a mini-food processor or hand blender. Delicious either way.

Let me know if your family gets addicted too. For me, it's just not shabbos without my roasted garlic!

Pasta Salad Ideas for Shabbos Lunch

In looking to simplify my shabbos prep, I decided that cold pasta salads would make an nice low-prep grain dish for shabbos lunch, since we don't use a blech...

Simply boil up the pasta before shabbos and decide on a dressing. I always use whole-grain pasta! Add veggies, nuts, even orange slices where appropriate to add color and flavor.  I also, as usual, keep some pasta plain for the kids, just in case they don't like the sauces or embelishments. Here are my top 5 cold pasta salad ideas. Recipes will follow..but for now...you can google recipes if you need them :)

1) Pesto - store bought or homemade
2) Peanut Dressing (asian dressing  below - just plus peanut butter)
3) Olive Oil & Balasmic Vinegar with a touch of honey
4) Asian - Equal parts soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, honey, plus toasted sesame oil to taste
5) Tahini Dressing

And here's a link with even more ideas:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/pastaandnoodlerecipes/Vegetarian_and_Vegan_Pasta_and_Noodle_Recipes.htm?nl=1

Our Simple Shabbos Standby Chicken

This one never fails -- and it's super simple!

All you need is:

One Whole Uncut Chicken
Montreal Chicken Seasoning (We Use LaGrille by Club House,actually, any spice rub you like will do)
One Whole Onion Peeled

THATS IT.

1. Pour some of the seasoning  into a small bowl.
2. Loosen the skin of the chicken, but do not remove (unless you want to!)
3. Put the seasoning in your hand and RUB it into the chicken, both under and on top of the skin. Don't forget the underside as well as the breast meat. The more seasoning you use, the yummier it will be! (If you don't like touching raw chicken, use rubber gloves.)
4. Place the whole, peeled onion in the cavity of the chicken. As the chicken cooks steam will be released and it will keep the breast meat tender. If the onion is too large, simply cut to fit.

Bake for 1.5 hours at 375 degrees.

ENJOY!

(We like to cook it right in the last 1.5 hours before shabbos, then turn the oven off right before shabbos begins. It keeps the meat warm very nicely.)

Chilled Cantaloupe Soup

The perfect start to shabbos on a hot summer day. It's simple - just dump everything in the food processor! You can even serve it in cups for a simple starter.

   1 cantaloupe - peeled, seeded and cubed
   2 cups orange juice
   1 Tbs fresh lime juice
   1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

   Peel, seed, and cube the cantaloupe.

   Place cantaloupe and 1/2 cup orange juice in a
   blender or food processor; cover, and process
   until smooth. Transfer to large bowl. Stir in
   lime juice, cinnamon, and remaining orange
   juice. Cover, and refrigerate for at least one
   hour. Garnish with mint if desired.

Easy Moroccan Carrot Salad

This is very yummy. However, since my kids aren't into the exotic, I always cook the whole bag of baby carrots and leave some plain for them, then put the dressing over the rest.

INGREDIENTS:

    * 1/2  of a large a bag of baby carrots

Dressing:

    * 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
    * 2 Tbsp. olive oil
    * 2 cloves garlic
    * 1/2 tsp. cumin
    * 1/2 tsp. paprika

Directions:

Boil or blanch the carrots till crisp-tender.
In a small bowl, mix lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin and paprika.
Pour dressing over carrots and mix well.

Optional:
Add toasted almonds for an additional crunch and color contrast

Bombay Tuna Salad

This is a nice, inexpensive fish dish.  Just spread it on the challah for a great appetizer.

Drain a 6-ounce can of chunk white tuna packed in water and place in a bowl.

Mix with:

1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise;
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced;
2 tablespoons minced red onion
2 tablespoons golden raisins;
2 teaspoons curry powder;
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt.