Around the Passover Table (29 page)

Rhubarb-Prune Tsimmes

yield:
About 4 servings

When it comes to combining foods, I'm not one for hard and fast rules. I've been seduced by cheese cake made supernal with a zap of ground chiles, and I adore savory meats, poultry, and even fish perfumed and mellowed by fruits. But unmitigated sugariness makes my mouth say dessert; fruits must have a spicy or tart accompaniment to segue gracefully into a main course. To me, a tsimmes (sweetened, festive fruit and vegetable stew, with or without meat) of sweet fruits is one-dimensional without some tang or heat.

To provide well-nuanced character here, I add the sprightly bloom of fresh rhubarb to sweet-and-sour prunes and fragrant honey for a meatless tsimmes irresistible as a side dish or condiment for poultry or meat. Make this tsimmes in spring or early summer with big-flavored field rhubarb or year-round with the milder lipstick-pink hothouse variety.

2 cups chopped onion

2 tablespoons mild olive or canola oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (2 teaspoons)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

¹
⁄
₄
cup fragrant honey (floral like lime or orange blossom, or herbal like lavender or thyme, would be perfect)

¹
⁄
₄
teaspoon ground cinnamon

1
¹
⁄
₂
cups carrots, scrubbed (and scraped if desired), cut into 1-inch chunks

1 cup prune juice

1 pound rhubarb, ends trimmed (discard leaves—they can be toxic), tough strings removed with a vegetable peeler, and stalks cut into 1-inch pieces (4 cups)

1
¹
⁄
₂
cups pitted prunes, halved, or quartered if large

IN
a 10-inch, heavy skillet, sauté the onion in the oil over medium heat until wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper to taste, turn the heat down to medium-low, cover, and sweat the mixture slowly, stirring occasionally, until the onions are quite soft but still pale-colored, 10 to 15 minutes.

ADD
the honey and cinnamon, and mix until well distributed. Add the carrots and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes.

ADD
the prune juice and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the rhubarb and the prunes and simmer over moderate heat, stirring every once in a while, until the rhubarb is soft and the carrots are tender but not falling apart, 12 to 18 minutes.

TURN
the heat up to high and boil the mixture, uncovered, until the liquid in the pan is thick and syrupy. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Caramelized Onion and Carrot Tsimmes with Candied Ginger

yield:
About 6 servings

Spicy, sweet, and tangy-sour notes harmonize beautifully in this meatless vegetable-fruit melange. Serve it as a side dish or offer it as a condiment with chicken, turkey, or brisket.

3 tablespoons mild olive or canola oil

1
¹
⁄
₂
pounds onions (preferably red), thinly sliced (6 cups)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 or 5 medium carrots, scraped and sliced (2 cups)

1 tablespoon minced candied ginger

1 cup fresh orange juice

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 tablespoon fragrant honey

¹
⁄
₄
teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup pitted prunes, quartered

IN
a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet, heat the oil and add the onions. Salt and pepper lightly and stir well. Cook, covered, over very low heat, stirring occasionally so the onions do not burn, for 30 to 40 minutes, until they are meltingly tender and almost transparent.

ADD
the carrots, ginger, orange juice and zest, honey, cinnamon, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Let it bubble for a few minutes, then reduce the heat and continue cooking, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are tender and the onions are golden and syrupy, about 15 minutes.

ADD
the prunes and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until the prunes are quite soft. If necessary, boil for a few minutes over high heat to evaporate any liquid remaining in the pan. Adjust the seasoning. Keep the mixture warm, covered, until ready to serve.

THE
tsimmes tastes best if allowed to stand for at least 10 minutes to blend the flavors (or prepare in advance and just reheat before serving.)

Classic Chicken Soup

yield:
2
¹
⁄
₂
to 3 quarts

One 5- to 6-pound fowl or stewing hen (not a roaster) and its giblets (reserve the liver for another use)

2 chicken feet or 1 pound chicken wings

4 quarts cold water (quality is important here so if you use bottled water to make coffee or tea, use it here)

Salt

2 large onions, 1 peeled and quartered, 1 washed and roots trimmed but left unpeeled, and quartered

2 parsnips, scraped and cut into chunks

3 celery stalks, cut into large chunks

¹
⁄
₂
cup celery leaves

5 large carrots, scraped and halved

2 or 3 garlic cloves, peeled

6 fresh parsley sprigs, preferably flat-leaf

1 parsley root (
petrouchka
), peeled and cut into chunks, optional (often found in greenmarkets and specialty stores, as well as supermarkets with well-stocked produce departments)

2 large leeks, trimmed (reserve long green leaves), washed of all traces of sand and cut into large pieces, or

1 sweet red onion, peeled and quartered

10 to 12 peppercorns, lightly crushed

1 Turkish bay leaf

Several leaves of mild-flavored lettuce such as Boston or iceberg, if no leek greens are available

About
¹
⁄
₂
cup snipped fresh dill

Accompaniments: kreplach, matzoh balls, cooked fine egg noodles, rice, or kasha

PREPARE
the chicken: I find it easier to work with the chicken when it is cut up, so I divide it roughly into quarters. Remove all visible fat from the chicken and giblets. Remove the skin from the neck and the neck and tail openings. Wash all the pieces thoroughly, including feet or wings, and place in your largest stockpot, which should be tall and straight-sided. Add the water and about 1
¹
⁄
₂
teaspoons of salt to begin with.

TURN
the heat to medium and bring to a simmer. As the soup cooks, keep skimming off any scum and fat that rise to the surface. When the soup begins to “smile,” that is, tiny bubbles open and close along the edge of the pot, turn the heat down to very low. Skim the soup constantly; at this point, you really need to fret over it. When the soup is just about clear, add the onions, parsnips, celery stalks and leaves, carrots, garlic, parsley sprigs, parsley root, leeks, peppercorns, and bay leaf, and raise the heat slightly to bring it back to a simmer. Continue skimming any froth or scum.

WHEN
the soup is again clear, turn the heat down as low as possible. Cover the surface of the soup with the leek greens or lettuce leaves, and put the pot lid on, leaving it slightly askew. Simmer the soup for at least 2
¹
⁄
₂
to 4 hours longer—overnight is better still. (Some cooks simmer their soup in a 200°F oven overnight.) Never let the soup boil; if necessary, use a blech (flame tamer), or put it on top of two burner grates stacked together. (But do make sure the bubbles are breaking very gently on the surface. If there is no surface movement at all, the soup might spoil.)

ADJUST
the seasonings. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and carrots and set aside. Let the soup cool to room temperature in the pot,
uncovered.
(Hot soup in a covered pot may turn sour.)

WHILE
the soup is cooling, pick over the reserved chicken and discard the bones, skin, and other inedible parts. Reserve the chicken for another use or refrigerate along with the carrots to serve in the soup.

STRAIN
the cooled soup through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing down on all the vegetables to extract as much of their juices as you can, then discard the vegetables.

REFRIGERATE
the soup covered overnight, or until all the remaining fat has congealed on the top. Carefully scrape off the fat and discard it. If the soup still seems fatty, line the sieve with a layer of paper towels and pour the soup through it into a clean bowl or pot (if the soup has jelled from chilling, bring it to room temperature first). If the paper towels become thickly coated with fat, you might want to change them once or twice during the process.

BEFORE
serving, reheat the soup. Taste for salt and pepper and add lots of fresh snipped dill. If you feel the soup is not strong enough, reduce it over high heat to concentrate the flavors. Serve the soup very hot, with additional fresh dill, the reserved carrots, and, if desired, shreds of the soup chicken. It is delicious with kreplach, matzoh balls, egg noodles, rice, kasha, or just plain.

CHEATER'S CHICKEN IN THE POT AND ALMOST-HOMEMADE SOUP

yield:
6 to 8 servings

When I want chicken broth that tastes homemade, but haven't time enough to prepare it, I turn to this recipe. It produces a broth fine enough for a festive dinner or soothing elixir and excellent, silky poached chicken.

Serve the soup and chicken together plain, or for a substantial chicken-in-the-pot, embellish with matzoh balls, cooked rice, or other starches.

You can also present the tender chicken as a separate course, moistened with a little broth and accompanied by coarse salt, horseradish, and pickles. Or reserve it for chicken salad or other dishes that call for poached chicken.

8 cups good-quality, low-sodium purchased chicken broth

6 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley and/or a few celery leaves

1 small onion, peeled and sliced

1 medium carrot, scraped and coarsely chopped, plus 1
¹
⁄
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cups scraped carrots cut into bite-size chunks or 2-inch lengths