Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Sweet potatoes are more nutritious than white potatoes, and prettier, so I decided to give Sweet Potato Gnocchi a whirl. They are fun and delicious. Could be a side, or a main. The ingredients are pretty flexible.

2 medium/large sweet potatoes
3 T (or so) grated parmesan
3 T (or so) ricotta, or 1 egg
1.5 c white flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
salt to taste
dash of nutmeg

For frying:
10 leaves or so fresh sage
2 T. butter + olive oil

For topping: parmesan, + chopped walnut or hazelnuts

Optional: spinach, to fry along in the pan with the gnocchi

Microwave or boil the sweet potatoes til cooked. Let cool. Peel and if you have a ricer, process them with it, or scoop into a large bowl and use a potato masher. You want some texture, not a puree. Add the other ingredients. This is easiest to work by hand. 

On a large board, cut the dough in quarters. Roll each quarter into a log and cut pieces about the size of a small grape. Smaller is better. You can flatten the log and cut it laterally and then in 1/2" pieces.

Flour a gnocchi board, or just the back of a fork. Press your thumb to flatten the dough and roll it from the top. This creates a hollow, ridged gnocchi.

Repeat with each quarter. This makes a lot of gnocchi. I froze half for another meal. 

Boil a large pot of water and then drop the gnocchi in a few at a time. They pop up pretty quickly.

In a large skillet, add some olive oil and butter. Fry the sage leaves. When they're crisp, remove them, and add a few dozen gnocchi. Brown on both sides. Yum!

Serve with grated parmesan, chopped nuts, pesto, or whatever you like.

If you throw some spinach in the pan with the gnocchi, it will be even more nutricious and colorful.

 

Becca's Charred Broccoli

We all love Becca's broccoli. 

I cut the broccoli florets in vertical slices to give it more surface area, like they do to make cauliflower steaks, but much smaller.

Using our 9" Lodge cast iron, heated to 8 on the induction, I put in about 2 T. olive oil, let it heat, and dumped in the broccoli.  I let it singe for about a minute, then stirred it for another minute or two. Then turned off the burner, covered it, and it steamed. Just added salt, as Becca directed.

8 minutes later: perfect!

Cole Slaw

I am a huge fan of cole slaw. Abba's favorite is: a bag of shredded cabbage, a large can of crushed pineapple, mayo to taste, and curry powder to taste. However, I notice it's not that popular with others.

This recipe disappeared! 

1 t celery seed
2/3 C mayonnaise
1 T apple cider vinegar
4 t granulated white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
a 14-16 oz bag classic coleslaw mix

Optional: finely chopped fresh pineapple to taste

Combine all of the ingredients except for the coleslaw mix in a large bowl and whisk it together until it's smooth and creamy.
Place the dressing in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the sugar to completely dissolve and to allow the celery seeds to soften.
After 30 minutes  give the dressing one last quick whisk and then fold into the classic coleslaw mix.

This recipe tastes best if served immediately, but it can also be made the night before or the morning of.

Chetna Makan's Masala Potatoes

 I have become very attached to Chetna's YouTube Channel, and she has taught me some basic Indian cooking techniques.

This is her filling for masala dosa, which I have made a few times on the tawa I purchased. The dosas are quite a potchke, but the potatoes are pretty easy and really good by themselves as a side dish.

2 large potatoes

Oil (she uses safflower)

1 t. mustard seeds

curry leaves (I bought them at an international store)

dried chili (if you have one)

1 t. tumeric

1 t. salt

1-2 large onions, diced

Boil the potatoes. Let them cool. Peel and dice.

In a deep fry pan, heat the oil. Throw in the mustard seeds, chili, and curry leaves and let sizzle for a minute. Add the onions and spices and cook until soft. Add the diced potates, stir (they will turn a beautiful yellow from the tumeric) and heat through, about 5 minutes. These are filling and delicious.

Becca's Beloved Fried Chickpeas

Here's a flexible, easy prep from Bon Appetit. Becca makes it often. It's very flexible. I just paired it w chopped fresh snap-peas instead of herbs.

2 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed (I don't bother to dry them) and DRAINED. The drier the chickpeas are, the better.
4 garlic cloves, crushed
⅓ cup olive oil
salt, freshly ground pepper (other recipes have a wide variety of spicing)
2½ cups chopped mixed tender herbs (such as parsley, cilantro, chives, and/or basil)

Place chickpeas in a large skillet or Dutch oven and add garlic and oil; season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until chickpeas are crisped and some have split open (these will be the most delicious ones), 10–15 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in herbs.

Sweet Potato Spinach Feta Latkes

These combine two superfoods, spinach and sweet potatoes. And if you're making them for Hanukkah, the Greek cheese celebrates that long after the fact, we are eating their food and they are gone!

No exact measures.

2 peeled, grated sweet potatoes
1/2 small onion, minced
8 oz of chopped spinach, microwaved with the moisture squeezed out
2 eggs
a few oz. grated Feta
1-2 T flour
salt, pepper

oil, butter for frying

Mix the ingredients well. Heat the oil and butter to medium high. When the butter is browning, add the batter by spoonfuls.  Fry until browned, and flip. Be patient - these need to brown. The cheese will melt and emit some liquid.

Makes about a dozen.

Cranberry (or Blueberry) Cornbread

This is a new favorite! I've lost track of where I found it. It's always good to have buttermilk recipes, since it's a handy ingredient to have but hard to use up.

Baking it in a flat sheet pan that fits the Breville makes for a very quick bake and a lot of crust.

In muffin tins, it makes 18. I used silicon muffin pans, and the muffins don't look quite the same -- the tops don't round, and they don't brown quite the same, but they're cute!

1 stick butter, softened (7 T. works, but 8 is yummier)
1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. cornmeal
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 to 1.5 c. buttermilk (I just baked it and accidentally used just 1 c. and it was fine)
1 c. cranberries, halved.  This is easiest to do with a small knife.

• In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
• Add eggs; mix well. 
• Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt
• Alternately add with the buttermilk. 
• Fold in cranberries.
• Transfer to a greased small rectangular pan. Bake at 375° until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, ~ 20 minutes in the Breville. 

Another version: 12 oz of blueberries (one and half pints) and some grated lemon zest. It's denser than blueberries muffins, very satisfying.

Baked in the round Lodge cast iron.

Bunny's Yekkeh Style Savoy Cabbage

Here she dictated "grated" cabbage - she probably used the food processor. I just chop it thinly in strips.

Savoy Cabbage

I cook the cabbage in a little oil in a large covered frying pan. It takes quite awhile for the liquid to start accumulating. I saute the onion in a little oil in a separate pan, add the flour to thicken it a bit, and then add it to the lightly cooked cabbage,stir, and turn off the heat.

It would probably be really good with butter. The trick here is to not overcook it or you will have what Uncle Steven refers to as "the wurst dish ever." (I presume Bunny served it with wurst, sausage?) This is  pleasant and super nutritious.  The flour and nutmeg make it quite delectable. IMHO.

There is now a German Jewish Cookbook out.


I bought it, looked it over, and sold it to a happy purchaser on Amazon. Blech. But, I have always liked Bunny's very simple prep for shredded Savoy cabbage. It is around in the fall.

Cranberry Sweet Potatoes

This was part of the Resnick/Rosen/Teutsch Thanksgiving, Shulamit's very first. She was considerably smaller than the turkey.
What I like about this dish is that the colors are really beautiful. Would be nice for a vegetarian potluck - it is vegan/gluten free and both yams and cranberries are extremely nutritious superfoods.
For the 1323 feast, I used freshly cooked cranberry sauce, though the recipe calls for canned.  It is so easy to make, and so much better, but not essential - canned is fine.
It is easily doubled.
I clipped it out of a newspaper decades ago. The onion is an interesting addition.

Note, I don't microwave the yams first.  With a Santoku knife they are not that hard to cut.

Mini Vegetable Kugels

These are from a cookbook Susie Marcus once gave us.  They are very cute, which I think adds to their appeal, as does the fact they each have a nice crust.  The pans need to be VERY WELL OILED or they don't come out.  [or use silicon bake pans.] You could use other vegetables.  Now that chestnuts are around, Kosher for Passover, they are a nice addition.
Like all recipes calling for frozen spinach, thaw it in advance.

6 T. margarine
1 c. chopped onion
½ c. chopped celery
1½ c. grated raw carrot
10 oz. frozen spinach (thawed)
2 eggs, beaten
1½ t salt
dash pepper
½ c. matzah meal - if you're out of matzah meal, just take matzah and run it through the food processor.  Texture is fine for this purpose.  (if it's not passover, probably plain old WW flour)

Saute onion, celery, and carrot in margarine in a large frying pan.
Add thawed spinach.
Add eggs, salt, pepper and matzah meal.
Spoon into a well-greased muffin tin, yielding 12 muffins.  Or skip that altogether and just put it in a WELL GREASED flat pan.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Cool a few minutes before removing them.

Matzah Stuffing

I have the real recipe for this somewhere, but in the meantime, you don't really need a recipe.  You can make it vegetarian, and use some for a turkey and some for a veg side dish.  You could leave out the egg and make it vegan, too.

One box matzah, crumbled into small pieces, or a box of matzah farfel.  I use whole wheat matzah

Onion/s, chopped

Celery, chopped
mushrooms, chopped

Margarine or oil

Apples, chopped (don’t need to peel them)

Walnuts, chopped
Chopped chestnuts would be an awesome addition.

Egg

Broth

Seasonings

In a large frying pan, sauté  the onions and celery in either melted margarine or oil until soft.  Add the rest of the ingredients to create a moist mixture.  I usually bake some and stuff the turkey with the rest.  If you are a stuffing regular, you can figure out the proportions and seasonings you like.  

Chopped chestnuts would be an awesome addition.

Carrot Ring

Carrot ring makes for a very elegant presentation, especially for a vegetarian meal when nothing is quite the star. A carrot ring is only maybe an inch or two high - this picture creates an illusion of it being much larger. First ingredient is a silver tray or other serious serving dish.

This is a Midwestern dish from the post-war era.  It is essentially a carrot bread baked in a ring mold.  I have always used margarine so it's parve but you could certainly use butter for a dairy entree.  My mother liked to make it for holidays and an occasional Friday night dinner.  Molds are always a little temperamental, but fun.

First, grease a ring mold well - spray with oil, and then use the leftover margarine on the wrapper to schmear it some more.  This is what makes it cooperative when you unmold it.

Now you can probably, come to think of it, buy a non-stick ring mold!

1 stick margarine (or butter) - 8 oz
½ c. brown sugar
2 to 3 large carrots, shredded (~ 1 cup)
1 egg
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. water
1 t. vanilla
1 t. salt
½ t. baking power
½ c. whole wheat flour
¾ c. white flour
½ t. soda
Frozen peas (yes, frozen peas.  Also good for Indian dishes, and icing sore muscles!)

It is usually easiest to shred the carrots by hand.  It is not that much work and in my experience, in the food processor there are often large chunks of carrot that don't process.

In a large bowl, cream the margarine by hand or with a hand mixer.
Add sugar and egg.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Place in tablespoons or spatula full clumps in the ring mold, so that it is evenly filled.

Bake at 275° or 300° for about an hour. Cook the peas in a covered sauce pan for 5 or 10 minutes.
Gently, with knife, loosen the carrot ring edges.  Place the serving tray over the mold and then invert it, tapping out the mold.  Serve with the drained peas in the center.
 Hope it worked for you!

Tsimess

I haven't made this tsimess for a long time, but it is a particularly good recipe.  I now have most of my favorites up on this blog and decided adding this one would be a good way to make sure I don't lose this recipe which was from the Teaneck Sisterhood Cookbook back in the day.  The spices are lovely - sometimes you can find them pre-mixed, called Pumpkin Pie Spices.

Basically any combination of carrots, sweet potatoes, prunes, and some OJ would make a good tsimess.  It is a very flexible dish.  I modified this one by adding a can of pumpkin, which thickens it and is extremely nutritious.

1 lb. peeled, sliced carrots or frozen serrated carrots
2 peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
1 can pumpkin
3 T. margarine (or butter, if it's dairy)
1 c. water
½ c. honey
2 T. brown sugar
½ t. ginger
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. cinnamon
1 t. ground cloves
2 T lemon juice or one fresh lemon's juice

Mix all the ingredients in a large covered ovenproof pan.  Cook at 350 for 2 hours.

Stove-Top Roast Potatoes

Small new potatoes are wonderful.  If you spray them with oil, season to taste, and roast them in the oven at 425 for a half hour or so, they are scrumptious.  Turn them over once, so they brown but don't burn.
If you don't want to heat up the oven, here's an alternative:

2-3 T olive oil
[optional but yummy - diced onion]
2 to 3 lbs small Red Bliss or Fingerling potatoes (they come bagged) - each sliced in half
herbs - tarragon or rosemary are nice
salt/pepper

Put oil in a medium, heavy fry pan with a lid, heat, and add diced onions until they soften. Add sliced potatoes, stir and heat for a few minutes.
Cover. Cook over low flame for 10-15 minutes or so.  Uncover, season with salt and crushed herbs (fresh are the best), shaking to cover all the surfaces.  Cover and turn off burner.

The onions carmelize and are super delicious.

They are also great cold, say for a summer shabbat lunch.

Basic Sweet Parve Kugel

Basically there are 2 type of noodle kugels, parve and dairy.  The dairy ones are usually loaded with sour cream and not very healthy, though I'm sure there are a lot of other varieties.  I've just never been that into them.  For the parve variety, you need them to be moist, so they need a lot of fruit and oil. Here's a basic version.  Sray the pan well, the crust is great but sticks like crazy.

In 2025, I asked Eyal and Nadav if they'd prefer a sweet apple kugel or a sweet matzah kugel. They asked for a matzah noodle combo. I tried it and it was pretty great!

8 to 10 oz. wide egg noodles OR 1.5 crumbled, soaked matzahs + 6 oz. noodles
3 eggs, beaten well
½ c. sugar
lots of cinnamon
a dash of lemon juice
1 large apple, peeled and chopped 

1/4 c apple sauce (helps keep it moist)
½ c. margarine or vegetable oil
½ c. raisins
salt

Heat oven to 350°.  Grease a large pyrex pan, like a lasagne shaped pan, or a deep casserole.

Bring a big pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles.  They don't need to cook as long if you're baking them afterwards, usually the directions will be about 6 minutes. If you're using matzahs, crumble and soak them. Drain both.

Peel and chop the apples and put some lemon juice on them, in a large bowl. Add eggs and beat.
Add oil, sugar, salt, cinnamon and raisins

Add the drained noodles and/or matzot.

Pour into a greased or sprayed pan and bake for an hour or more, till browned.  One challenge with kugels is that the top often burns, so keep an eye on it.

Great for a potluck or shabbat/holiday dinner.


from The Jewish Holiday Cookbook by GLoria Kaufer Greene

Fruity Tofu Lokshen Kugel (Noodle "Pudding") 
8 ounces medium-wide egg noodles
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup orange juice, apple juice, or water
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 pound hard (firm) tofu, well drained and crumbled
1 large apple, finely diced (it is not necessary to peel it)
1 cup dark or light raisins
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Cook the noodles as directed on the package, then drain them well.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together the eggs, oil, honey, juice, cinnamon, and salt unitl well combined. Mix in the tofu, apple, raisins, and walnuts (if used). Add the noodles and stir until completely mixed in. Turn out the mixture into a greased or non-stick spray-coated 7-by-12-inch or equivalent baking dish. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes or until set. Serve warm or at room temperature

Makes about 8 servings.

Sweet Potato Kugel

This is a very flexible recipe. DAT loves this.

You can add a sugary/nut topping.  Sometimes you can find Pumpkin Pie Spice which saves time, being a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves.
You really need to boil the potatoes (in a covered pan), because it gives extra moisture and good smooth texture.  Microwaving wouldn't provide that.

This is also good cold - less sweet than sweet potato pie but similar.

2 large sweet potatoes or yams, boiled in their skins, and cooled (you need to do this in advance!!)
2 T. oil
2 T. sugar
3 eggs 
3 T. flour, matzah meal, or almond flour (to make it Pesadik, or gluten free)
pinch of pepper
1 t. cinnamon
pinch of: cloves, nutmeg, ginger - or 1 t. of pumpkin pie spice
salt to taste
Optional: chopped nuts with extra cinnamon for a crusty top

Peel cooled sweet potatoes by just using your fingers.  The peels slide off when they are cooked.  Put them in a large bowl and smush them with a potato masher.

Add all the rest of the ingredients. Spray a pretty casserole well (or a pyrex 2 qt pan) and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes, until it browns.