GRANDMA KNOWS BEST

I know what you’re thinking. Jewish grandmothers cook for Christmas?

But if you look in our book Just Add Love, you’ll find inspiration and confidence, in all aspects of life, and especially the kitchen. You will also see a number of dishes that can grace any holiday table - colourful, healthy and of course delicious to add to the festive feel!

I’m including a new recipe too - a vegan main course, of stuffed peppers, which meets all the necesary requirements - colourful, healthy and really tasty.

So here are some suggestions for your Christmas table. If you want more Channuka inspiration including all kind of fritters check out the Just Add Love Facebook page and Instagram account next week, we’ll be sharing them there each day.

BUY THE BOOK

Or buy our book, which is a beautiful meaningful holiday gift. You can buy Just Add Love on our website, here. And since it’s sold out on most other sites, this is one spot you can be sure to find it!

Inspirational Ideas

MEZZE

A table spread with salads, pastries and baked vegetables for people to choose from is very inviting! It can also be a simply delicious vegetarian or even vegan option.

Open your copy of Just Add Love. The first food section is Mezze (p22) you will find recipes for Samousek, a cheese pastry, Matbouha, a cooked tomato salad, and spicy Roasted Red Pepper salad, which is also cooked and goes well with anything from pastries to meat dishes.

In the Fried section on p 120 you will find a recipe for a cauliflower fritata which would go well in this first course spread. You can also find the recipe here on our blog.

Plus a healthy Beetroot and Carrot salad and my favourite Tomato and Pomegranate salad, which improves every meal, including a Southern hemisphere Christmas dinner! (You can also find the recipe here on our blog.)

MAIN MEAL

In Just Add Love, under Bird on p 142 you will find 2 great duck recipes, from 2 grandmothers Rita Ross and Ruth Scheuer who are great friends and live around the corner from each other in Melbourne, Australia.

One is for a whole roasted duck, slathered in a garlic paste. You can find the recipe here on our website.

The other is for a jointed bird, roated with onions and brushed with hoi sin sauce amd grilled at the end.

Both are lovely served with braised red cabbage, a simple dish to prepare with a very European taste, which is a natural partner for duck or turkey. You can add steamed rice, brown or white, or baked potatoes if you would like a carb accompaniment.

And here is the new vegan recipe, for this Christmas dinner.

Stuffed Peppers (vegan)

These roasted bell peppers are filled with a mix of lentils and rice, a mejadara of sorts, to which you add fennel, currants and green herbs, then top with tomato sauce and bake. Many meat eaters will want to taste this healthy delicous dish too!

You do have a lot going on for a little while there, as you haee to prepare in 3 phases – tomato sauce, peppers, and filling – so it is a bit ‘patshcke’ as Jewish grandmothers say to describe a recipe with lots of steps. But once you put it in the oven, you’re basically done.

Prep Time 45 minutes / Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

PEPPERS

• 6 large bell peppers

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

FILLING

• ½ cup brown lentils

• ½ cup brown rice

• 3 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 fennel bulb, chopped

• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

• 3 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped

• 2 teaspoons dried thyme 

• ¼ teaspoon chili flakes

• ½ cup currants, dried sour cherries or barberries

• salt and pepper

TOMATO SAUCE

3 cups tomato sauce – store bought or make using the following ingredients

• 6 large ripe tomatoes or 400 g can whole tomatoes

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 cup water 

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1 tablespoon paprika

• 4 tablespoons fresh basil, around 20 leaves, finely chopped

• salt and pepper to taste

• Optional: ½ a preserved lemon, rinsed and chopped

METHOD

TOMATO SAUCE

1. Do this first, if not using a store bought marinara. If using fresh tomatoes, peel them first. Chop tomatoes, fresh or tinned, into large dice. Chop fresh chili finely.

2. Add olive oil to a large pot, set over moderate heat. Add fennel seeds and cook till fragrant – about 1 minute. If you are using fresh chili, add now and fry till coloured, about 1 minute more. Add peeled tomatoes, fresh or tinned, and cook 4-5 minutes, till they start to break down. Slice garlic into halves or quarters and add to pot, along with paprika and tomato paste. Mix and add 1 cup water. If using dried chilli or preserved lemon, add now.

3. Cook for 5 minutes. The sauce needs to remain liquid, as it will cook further in the oven. Add more water if necessary. Taste and adjust seasoning. Sometimes, half a teaspoon of sugar can improve the taste here. When you turn the heat off, mix in the basil leaves. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the dish.

PEPPERS

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F/ 180 C. Cut peppers in half lengthways, and clean out the seeds. Rub the outside with olive oil and place cut side up on a baking tray that fits them all and bake for 15 minutes.

2.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

FILLING

1.  It’s best to boil the lentils and rice separately, so they won’t colour each other, and then combine them. Do that whichever way you prefer – boiling in a pot, or steaming in a rice cooker. While they are cooking, prepare the peppers, as described below and then the remainder of the filling.

2.  Chop the onion, fennel and green herbs finely.

3.  Coat the bottom of a medium pot with olive oil. Place it over medium heat and add the fennel and cumin seeds. Fry for one minute till fragrant, then add the onion and cook, for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent.

4.  Turn heat down to low and cook for another 5 minutes until turning brown. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute more.

5.  Turn off heat. When lentils are cooked, tip into a colander. When rice is cooked, let sit for 5 minutes. When both are ready, stir rice and lentils into the onions and mix. Add the dried berries, chopped green herbs and red pepper flakes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

COMPILE

1.  When peppers are cool enough to handle, fill each one with stuffing up to the top. The peppers will be soft, but still hold their shape

2.   Spoon 2 cups of the tomato sauce into the bottom of the pan, around the peppers. Spoon the remaining sauce on top of the filled peppers.

3.  Return the dish to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes more, until the sauce and fillings are hot. Sprinkle with fresh basil or parsley to serve. You can figure on one pepper ie 2 halves per person, but it is surprisingly filling and with all the other dishes on the table, half a pepper may be enough.

The book is full of sweet options, too, of course. If you follow this blog, or have our book, you will know what great bakers these women are …

In the meantime, Merry Christmas from Jerusalem!

Hope it’s a wonderful holiday full of family, warmth and love. There is so much to celebrate.

And yes, I will do a Jerusalem donut tour for you this year…