Redgate Kitchen

something delicious for everyone

I love salmon. It tastes great with salt, pepper, lemon and a splash of olive oil. Yes, toss on some fresh herbs such as thyme and roast it or grill it and you are set. If, however you are looking to change it up a little, the combination of maple syrup, miso paste, and rice vinegar is fantastic. Roasting broccoli florets on the sheet pan around the salmon makes for an impressive, tasty, and best of all, quick dinner with minimal clean-up! I have seen so many versions of this done but my favorite is from the NYT where they prepare it with green beans. I love it best with broccoli as described below.

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street food plated elegantly

I always enjoy eating chicken shawarma whenever we’re in Tel Aviv (and my husband does even more so). Growing up, every Thursday night my family picked it up for dinner from a great Lebanese restaurant in Montreal, where the chicken is piled in layers on a skewer and rotated on a vertical spit. It’s tough to replicate at home without a full-sized rotisserie, but Sam Sifton’s oven-roasted chicken shawarma will get you close.

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Traditions that feel good, especially during a pandemic

Over the last few weeks of being at home I have been baking challah every Friday. It has been a way for me to mark time, differentiating Friday night shabbat dinner from all of the other days of the week which seem to blur into each other. I have tried a different recipe each week in my quest to find the ultimate challah; it had to be easy and delicious.

In February of this year, I read about the passing of a Montreal kosher culinary icon, Norene Gilletz. Most of Jewish Montreal grew up with her famous cookbook, Second Helpings, in their kitchens. She had other cookbooks which were also very popular but one look at that orange book with black bindings and you could smell your mother’s kitchen.

In my quest for the tastiest challah I thought about Norene Gilletz. She must have had a perfect challah recipe. And she did. Here it is. I highly recommend it as does the rest of my family.

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something for breakfast, lunch, or dinner

One of our family favorites, typically enjoyed during weekend brunches. During the days of quarantine, however, it has become a staple for any meal of the day. It has great color, flavor, and is quick to prepare. What is really nice about making it during this era of endless cycles of the dishwasher is that it is a one-skillet recipe! This is my modified version of Melissa Clark’s recipe found in NYT Cooking.

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ingredients and instructions

In response to popular demand from an earlier post, A Taste of Tel Aviv, here is the complete method I use for making hummus tehina.

ingredients

1 29  oz can of chickpeas

1/3 cup of lemon juice (about 1 ½ large lemons)

2 to 4 garlic cloves grated (I love garlic and 2 is enough for me…decide based on your taste)

1 ¾ teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste

1 cup sesame tehina (stirred well)

½ tsp ground cumin, more to taste

Paprika, for serving (optional)

Olive oil, for serving (opitional)

Chopped fresh parsley, for serving (optional)

instructions

prepare tehina sauce

  • In a blender, combine lemon juice, garlic and ¼ tsp salt and let that mixture sit for 10 minutes.
  • Add the 1 cup of stirred tehina, remaining 11/2 tsp salt and the cumin.
  • Blend it until a thick paste forms

the next steps…

  • Add 1/3 to 2/3 cup ice water while the blender is running (a little at a time until the sauce is very smooth and creamy)
  • Add the drained can of chickpeas to the blender and tehina mixture and blend until perfectly smooth and not grainy. You will need to scrape down the sides as you go. Can take approximately 2 minutes. You may need to add a bit of ice water (do it slowly).
  • Taste it and add any salt, lemon juice and cumin as needed
  • Scoop it into a bowl, lightly sprinkle paprika (if desired), drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Serve with veggies, pita bread , laffa, pita chips.
  • Enjoy!

You won’t want to eat it any other way after trying this

Roast a whole head of cauliflower this way and you will tuck into a crispy on-the-outside but tender on-the-inside beautifully golden treat. Sprinkle with fresh herbs, serve it as is, or carve it up. Whichever way you choose, it won’t last long on the platter. This is my take on a method I first noticed described in the cookbook Ready or Not by Michelle Tam from Nom Nom Paleo. When I make it, even the kids come running!

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It’s time for some veg

This is a vegetarian version of a super flavorful recipe for a classic Laos and Thai dish. It boasts great taste and texture. It looks beautiful plated either directly in cabbage cups or in a bowl with cabbage and lime wedges on the side. The recipe calls for roasted peanuts, which are a great addition (but it’s also good without).

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