Category: Appetizer

Roasted Antipasto Salad

I never thought I’d say this but Tiktok is actually good for SOMETHING. The viral baked feta pasta that took the internet by storm last week got me thinking!

It’s salami o’clock here at Busy in Brooklyn, which means it’s that time of year that I make something WOW with Abeles & Heymann salami in honor of Purim (since salami is hung like the evil Haman in the Purim story!).

So what do you think I did? I roasted up those tomatoes with olives, onions, garlic and yes, SALAMI,  a la ANTIPASTO. I mean, HOW. GOOD. DOES. THAT. LOOK. (no that’s not a question!)

So, I toss up that roasted antipasto medley with some tricolor pasta for a BOMB appetizer that is just perfect for your Purim meal. I am in love. Thank you TikTok.

So, a few things about this “recipe”, it’s not really a “recipe”. Go ahead and roast whatever you like in there – artichokes, mushrooms, peppers, chickpeas. Just give it all a nice drizzle of oil and let it go for a while until it’s all soft and tender.

And feel free to use some bowtie pasta, or whatever shape you like, or for a no-carb version, toss it with some hearts of palm spaghetti!

Or just serve as an appetizer with some crusty bread. SALAMI HAS NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD!

Roasted Antipasto Salad
YIELD: 8 servings

12oz. tricolor rotini, cooked according to package directions
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes
7oz. salami, cut into cubes
1 small red onion, cut into chunks
1 cup mixed black and green olives
handful of garlic cloves
3 strips lemon zest
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place tomatoes, salami, red onions, olives, garlic, lemon zest, olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper into a baking dish. You want everything in one layer, with plenty of room around (my dish was a bit snug!). Bake, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Mix the roasted vegetables with the pasta, and toss gently to combine. Add in the red wine vinegar and lemon juice. Season, to taste with more salt and pepper.

VARIATION: for a carb-free version, use hearts of palm pasta instead of rotini.

Other Salami Recipes:

last year: salami nduja
two years ago: salami tarte tatin
three years ago: salami potato latkes
four years ago: salami babka
five years ago: salami quiche
six years ago: beer battered salami chips with beer mustard
seven years ago: drunken hasselback salami
eight years ago: salami chips

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Tempura Green Beans

Happy Fryfest you guys!!!! Chanukah is upon us and it’s time to heat up your cast iron skillet because latkes, and donuts, and funnel cakes, oh my!!

I love a good fryfest and it’s that time of year when calories don’t count (right?)! Tempura fried greens are literally my FAVE and after seeing a friend have them recently at Soho Asian Bar & Grill in Florida (where I first had them), I decided to fry up a batch myself!

Tempura fried anything is super simple to do and requires very minimal ingredients! As long as you get your temp right (I recommend a deep fry thermometer for frying!), you’ll be on your way to crispy deliciousness.

Keep in mind that having your oil too cold with result in greasy food, and having it too hot will result in burnt food! So get that temp accurate! (that works for donuts, funnel cakes, deep fried oreos or anything else you want to fry for the holiday!)

And once you have that fryer working, feel free to tempura fry everything in your produce drawer! Because if it’s veggies, it doesn’t count right? Right?

HAPPY FRYFEST!!!!!!

Tempura Green Beans

2 lbs. haricots verts (French green beans), trimmed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cold seltzer
1/2 tsp salt, plus more for finishing
red pepper flakes, to taste
toasted sesame seeds, to taste
spicy mayo and sweet sauce, for serving

Add flour, seltzer and salt to a bowl and stir until combined (don’t overmix).

Pour canola oil into a a skillet about 3 inches deep. Heat oil over medium-high heat until temp reaches 375°F or until batter sizzles when dropped in oil.
Working in batches, coat 5-6 green beans in batter and drop in oil. Fry until lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and transfer to a rack set over a baking sheet. Season with extra salt, red pepper flakes and sesame seeds. Serve immediately with spicy mayo and sweet sauce for dipping.

Spicy Mayo

1/4 cup mayo
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sriracha (or, to taste)

Add to a bowl and stir to combine.

Related Recipes:

cranberry sriracha green beans
fritto misto
beer battered pumpkin rings
zucchini parmesan chips

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Thanksgiving Grazing Board

Thanksgiving 2020 is upon us and it’s looking different than usual. Many aren’t able to celebrate with family and the traditional Thanksgiving feast seems excessive for small groups and gatherings.

But it’s still Thanksgiving. And as hard as this year has been, just being here means there is what to be thankful for. Even if that means we don’t get to feast with family. Or we’re feasting over Zoom with a turkey sandwich.

So we adapt. And if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s how to do that. We do the best we can. One day at a time. We do with what we have. And who we have.

This year Thanksgiving might mean putting out a snacking board and playing a game of Kahoot over Zoom. And that is more than ok. We can all celebrate something. Somehow.

This board was inspired by Abeles & Heymann all new cabanossi that come in natural kosher casings in both regular and spicy flavors! The mini’s are super fun, just warm them up for a few minutes at 350 degrees to give that casing some extra snap!

Wishing you and yours a very festive and Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Grazing Board

Abeles & Heymann assorted cabanossi
candied pecans
roasted cashews
grapes
capers
roasted chestnuts
corn muffins (bake in mini muffin tins)

Roasted Green Beans

1.5 lbs. green beans
2 tbsp olive oil
Trader Joes everything but the leftovers seasoning, to taste
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread green beans on a baking sheet and mix with olive oil and seasoning. Roast for 15 minutes.

Variation: use herbs de provence or dried herbs in place of Trader Joes spice.

Maple Cider Cranberry Sauce

1 12oz. bag fresh cranberries, rinsed
3 cinnamon sticks
3 strips orange zest
4 peppercorns
3 cloves
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup maple syrup

Add cinnamon sticks, orange zest, peppercorns and cloves to a spice bag, or create your own using a piece of cheesecloth (just tie the corners together).

Place spice bag, cider and maple syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove spice bag. Add cranberries and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until cranberries burst and the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and rest until completely cooled. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Related Recipes:

stuffed dates with chestnut cream
baklava pumpkin pie
acorn squash with wild rice stuffing
cookie butter pumpkin pie
Mexican hot chocolate pecan pie

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Charcuterie Stuffed Figs

Leftovers! We all have a love/hate relationship with day-old food that we’ve already eaten. I mean we had it once, we enjoyed it, now why have it again, right?

Sunday night is usually our leftovers day because of all the food we have from Shabbosfest. I tend to repurpose the leftovers and find a new, fun way to serve them, because lets face it, the kids will turn their noses at it otherwise! It’s kind of a competition to me and I love to have fun with it – but we never touch it after the weekend.

Mondays is meatless in our house, and Tuesdays is for tacos (duh), which basically means anything with ground beef. Wednesdays I tend to make chicken, but it’s also the day that I’ll go through the fridge and see if there are any leftover ingredients that are going bad before I do my Thursday restock for Shabbat. If I have fruits on the fringe, I’ll know to make a fruit crisp for dessert and if my veggies are not quite crisp enough for salad, then there’s something with roasted veg on the menu.

This week, when I had leftover deli meat, and a couple of fresh figs, I came up with this sweet and salty appetizer – because that combo is my JAM! I won’t say how many I ate but it was many. And I could have probably eaten the whole tray in one sitting.

 

Charcuterie Stuffed Figs

15 fresh figs
2 cups chopped deli meat (see note)
1 tbsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard, plus more for garnish
1 tsp honey
pickled jalapenos, for garnish (recipe follows)

Method:

Trim the tips of the figs to remove the stems. Cut an X shape into each fig, as if you are cutting it into quarters, leaving the bottom intact. Set aside.

Add deli meat to a cold saucepan and saute over medium heat until the meat releases some of it’s fat, 6-8 minutes. Add the mustard seeds and toast for 1 minute. Add brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard and honey and stir until the meat is coated.

Stuff the figs the charcuterie mixture and top with pickled jalapenos and dijon mustard.

NOTE: use whatever deli meat you have on hand. I used a combination of smoked turkey and salami.

Pickled Jalapenos

4 jalapenos, thinly sliced
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Add the jalapenos to a mason jar. In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Pour the hot brine over the jalapenos. Cool and store in the fridge for up to one month.

Related Recipes:

halva and ricotta stuffed figs
orange cardamom malabi with drunken figs

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Malawach Dogs

THIS. MAKES. ME. SO.  HAPPY.
Sigh (the good kind).

If you missed it, there’s big news on the Abeles & Heymann front – they’ve made it to Trader Joes, and at $5.99 a pack, it’s a total steal! Not only that, their hot dogs are now available nationwide, so you can ALL get a taste of the BEST kosher hot dog in town!!

This news had me so stoked that I had to celebrate with something extra special, so I went EN CROUTE (literally: wrapped in pastry). But not just any pastry.

Malawach pastry. The Yemenite stuff of dreams that puffs up into buttery goodness, and gets dipped into the ultimate pairing: resek (grated tomato) and schug (jalapeno dip).

Malawach with resek and schug, plus some hard boiled eggs on the side, is something you’ll find on many Middle Eastern menus, at loads of stalls at the Shuk and AT MY HOUSE. I’m convinced I must have been Yemenite in another life because their food just speaks to my soul.

Yemenite chicken soup, lachuch with butter and honey, jachnun, kubaneh… I can’t get enough. The traditional hawaij-spiced soup has become a Shabbat staple in my home, and whenever I can make it to Zion in Borough Park, I load up on spongey lachuch for my freezer. Jachnun gets stuffed into my cholent, and kubaneh is the one recipe I have yet to master, but consider it done.

And the beautiful, light and refreshing dips of tomato and jalapeno – well they’ve become an essential fridge stock and I always have jars on hand! Paired with tahini and pita, they make a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner, with eggs on the side.

So yes, I am in love with Yemenite food. I am in love with Abeles & Heymann hot dogs. And that, my friends, is what makes the perfect recipe. Enjoy!

Malawach Dogs

1 package Abeles & Heymann beef hot dogs
2 discs malawach dough, thawed
1 egg, beaten
sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and lightly coat with oil. Cut the malawach dough into strips and wrap them around the hot dogs, stretching lightly as you go. If the strips are too short, just continue wrapping with a second strip. Brush the malawach with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Transfer to baking sheet and bake until puffed and golden, 20-25 minutes.

Serve with resek and schug.

Resek
2 plum tomatoes
salt, to taste

Grate the tomatoes on a box grater or pulse in a food processor until finely minced. Season, to taste, with salt.

Schug

5 jalapeno peppers (see note)
1 large bunch fresh parsley or cilantro or a mix
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
salt, to taste

Add ingredients to a blender or food processor and pulse until finely minced.

NOTE: You can control the heat of the schug by the amount of veins and seeds that you put in the sauce. For a mild schug, remove all veins and seeds. For a spicy kick, add a little at a time until desired spice level is reached.


Related Recipes:

bunless fajita dogs
hot dog eggrolls
spiralized spud dogs

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