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Last week, I was delighted to give you Nora Ephron’s recipe for Tzimmes along with Lemon Pot Roast from Melissa Clark’s mother for Rosh Hashana dinner (“A winning feast,” Sept. 6).
The weather dictates what my holiday menu will be. If it is hot and humid, we nix the matzo ball soup. I always make between 16 to 20 pieces of gefilte fish. I simply doctor up Rokeach’s canned fish and voila — it tastes almost homemade. I also make Chopped Liver.
An 8-pound roast capon takes pride of place on our table along with whatever green vegetable is fresh and local and some kind of potato dish, usually kugel.
Still, there are those of you who do not wish to roast a whole bird. I came up with this recipe thinking of the sunny Mediterranean.
Chicken with Artichokes, Olives and Capers
Ingredients:
2 whole chicken breasts, split, cut in half and wiped well with paper towels
6 chicken thighs, wiped well with paper towels
Enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a 7-quart pot
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Sweet smoked paprika, imported from Spain
1 large onion, diced
2 large shallots, diced
6 fat garlic cloves, sliced
2 15-ounce cans of artichokes packed in water
2 large handfuls of pitted olives of choice
6 tablespoons of capers, rinsed and drained
2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of dry white wine
2 heaping tablespoons of tomato paste
Rosemary leaves from 4 large sprigs
Handful of fresh Italian parsley leaves, snipped with scissors
Directions:
Heat the oil over medium-high. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. Add the chicken, in batches, skin side down and cook for about eight minutes. Turn them over and cook for an additional eight minutes.
Place the chicken in a bowl. Raise the heat to high and add the onion, shallots and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent, for about five minutes. Add the artichokes, olives and capers and sauté for about a minute or so.
Return the chicken to the pot, add remaining ingredients, bring the contents of the pot to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pot with the lid askew and simmer for about one hour depending upon the thickness of the chicken.
Serves eight.
Oven Roasted Vegetables with Honey
Ingredients:
1 pound of carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch chunks
1 pound of parsnips, peeled and sliced into 1-inch chunks
4 large Idaho potatoes, scrubbed clean, dried and cut lengthwise into 8 slices each
Olive oil for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Drizzle of honey, to taste
Fresh Italian parsley leaves, chopped and snipped
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Place the vegetables on the pan. Drizzle with the oil and toss well to coat evenly. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Drizzle on the honey.
Roast, uncovered, for about one hour. Place in a pretty serving bowl, snip on the parsley leaves and serve.
Serves eight.
Note from Phyllis: You can substitute 2 yams or sweet potatoes for the Idaho potatoes.
My Chopped Liver
Ingredients:
2 pounds of chicken livers
1 large onion, cut into chunks
Chicken fat, duck fat or canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
2 hard-cooked eggs
1 heaping tablespoon of Hellmann’s mayonnaise
Dash of Cognac or brandy
Directions:
Place the chicken livers in a 3-quart pot. Cover them with cold water. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. Drain in a colander and allow to cool.
Heat about 1 inch of the fat or canola oil in a 10-inch skillet. Add the onion and sauté for about eight minutes over medium heat. Season with the salt and pepper.
Working in two batches, add 1/2 of the livers, 1/2 of the onions and an egg to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse on and off to desired consistency. Some people prefer a more coarse chopped liver while others prefer it smooth.
Remove the first batch to a bowl and process remaining chicken livers, onion and egg. Remove to the bowl. Blend well.
Add the mayonnaise and Cognac or brandy and stir to blend well. Taste and correct for seasoning.
Serves eight.
Note from Phyllis: Chopped chicken liver is Jewish pate. You can buy chicken fat from most butcher shops. I buy mine from Godshall’s in the Reading Terminal Market. Although canola oil works in this recipe, there is no substitute for chicken schmaltz for flavor.
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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