Jewish Fusion

The thrifty Italian Jewish cook wasted no part of the chicken. And it’s easy for us to buy inexpensive giblets for this rich and delectable risotto. Donatella Pavoncello, in her delightful Dal 1880 ad oggi: la cucina dalla mia famiglia, cooks the rice in the giblet sauce and spoons some reserved sauce on top. I find it’s easier to make the sauce, cook the rice, and then combine the two. That way you don’t run the risk of gummy overcooked rice. Incidentally, this sauce is also wonderful tossed with pappardelle.

Ingredients:

• ¾ pound assorted chicken giblets (gizzards, hearts, and livers)
  5 tablespoons olive oil, plus oil for sautéing livers (optional)
  2 onions, diced
  2 carrots, peeled and diced
  2 celery stalks, diced
  2 cloves garlic, minced
  2 cups dry red or white wine
  7 cups chicken broth
  2 cups Arborio rice
  Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced plum tomatoes (fresh or canned)

Directions:

• Trim the livers, cutting away any connective pieces and any dark spots. Cut into large bite-sized pieces, keeping the lobes in tact as much as possible. Refrigerate until needed. Trim the chicken hearts of fat.
  Trim all the fat, connective tissue, and gristle from the gizzards, leaving just the meaty parts.
  Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 of the onions, the carrots, and the celery and sauté until softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and the gizzards and hearts and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the wine and let it bubble up in the pan. When it is reduced by half, add enough of the broth to barely cover the gizzards and hearts (about 2 cups). Simmer over low heat until tender, about 1 hour or so. Remove the giblets from the pan with a slotted spoon, transfer to a cutting board, and chop coarsely. Set the giblets aside.

• Pour the remaining broth (about 5 cups) into a saucepan and bring to a simmer; adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining diced onion and sauté until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the rice and stir until opaque, about 3 minutes. Add a ladleful (about 1 cup) of the simmering broth and stir for 3 to 4 minutes until the broth is absorbed. Reduce the heat and continue to add the broth a ladleful at a time, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding the next, until the rice kernels are al dente at the center and creamy on the outside, 18 to 20 minutes in all.
• Meanwhile, cook the chicken livers: If you want to keep this kosher, broil the livers until cooked through. If not, you may sauté them in a separate pan in olive oil until golden on the outside and still pink at the center. Season with salt and pepper and set aside; keep warm.
  Just before the rice is ready, stir in the giblets and tomatoes and warm through. Transfer to a warmed serving dish and garnish with the chicken livers.

Serve immediately.
From “Cucina Ebraica: Flavors of the Italian Jewish Kitchen” by Joyce Goldstein, Chronicle Books

This is simply the best apple pie I have ever tasted. It is very rich, since it is made with sour cream. It is also very easy to make and virtually foolproof. The crust works perfectly every single time.

• Crust:
  1 ¾ cups flour
  ¼ cup sugar
  1 tsp cinnamon
  1 ¼ sticks of butter
  ¼ cup water or apple cider

• Filling:
  8 Macintosh apples, peeled & sliced
  1 2/3 cups sour cream
  1 cup sugar
  ½ cup flour
  1 egg
  2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  ½ teaspoon salt

• Topping:
  1 cup chopped walnuts
  ½ cup flour
  1/3 cup brown sugar
  1 Tablespoon cinnamon
  a pinch of salt
  ½ cup butter, room temperature

• For Crust:
  Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt.
  Cut in butter. Add water.
  Toss with a fork until moistened.
  Gather into a ball. Roll larger than a 10” deep pie plate. Place into a lightly greased pie plate.

• For Filling:
  Preheat oven to 450°F.
  Combine all ingredients and spoon into the unbaked crust.
  Bake 10 minutes.
  Reduce temperature to 350° F. and continue baking until filling is slightly puffed and golden brown, about 40 minutes.

• For Topping:
  Combine dry ingredients and mix well.
  Blend in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.
  Spoon over the pie and bake 15 minutes longer.

Although not “officially” a Jewish recipe, lamb shanks long have been popular with traditional Jewish cooks. What makes this recipe more interesting than the usual comfort-food variety is the addition of black bean garlic sauce, a pungent and thoroughly delicious sauce available at all Asian markets and also 5-spice powder, a richly aromatic seasoning which adds an additional layer of flavor.

Ingredients:

• 12 Shiitake mushrooms
  2 ½ cups boiling water
  1 3-inch-long piece fresh ginger, peeled, thickly sliced
  3 garlic cloves, peeled
  ¾ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
  4 ½ Tablespoons black bean garlic sauce*
  6 teaspoons peanut oil
  1 ½ teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder**
  6 large lamb shanks
  ¾ cup thinly sliced green onions
  ¾ cup dry sherry

Directions:

• Place mushrooms in bowl.
  Pour boiling water over; let soak until mushrooms soften, at least 45 minutes and up to 4 hours.
  Strain the mixture, reserving 1-½ cups soaking liquid.
  Cut stems from mushrooms and discard; thinly slice caps.
  With food processor running, add ginger and garlic and finely chop.
  Add cilantro, black bean sauce, 2 teaspoons peanut oil, and five-spice powder.
  Process until paste forms, occasionally scraping down sides of work bowl.
  Using sharp knife, cut 5 small shallow slits into each lamb shank, spacing apart;
  Rub generous 1 Tablespoon black bean-cilantro paste into slits and all over surface of each shank. (Mushrooms and lamb shanks can be prepared 6 hours ahead.
  Cover mushrooms, soaking liquid and shanks separately and chill.)
  Preheat oven to 325F.
  Cut six 18-inch squares of aluminum foil; place on work surface.
  Place green onions and sliced mushroom caps in center of each foil square, dividing equally.
  Heat remaining 4 teaspoons peanut oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add lamb shanks and cook until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch.
  Place 1 lamb shank atop green onions and mushrooms on each foil square.
  Pour reserved mushroom soaking liquid and Sherry into same skillet.
  Boil until liquid is reduced to 3/4 cup, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet, about 10 minutes.
  Spoon 2 tablespoons reduced liquid over each lamb shank, pulling up foil around shanks to prevent liquid from spilling out.
  Enclose shanks completely in foil, twisting foil to seal; place on large rimmed baking sheet.
  Bake lamb shanks until very tender and meat almost falls off bones, about 2 hours.
  Open up foil packets; place each atop bowl of steamed rice, allowing diners to remove foil.

Available at Asian markets and in the Asian foods section of supermarkets. ** A blend of ground anise, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and ginger; available in the spice section of most supermarkets.

Makes 6 servings.