Still worried what you will feed your family during the Nine Days? Here are more recipes from popular kosher bloggers that are sure to keep perspectives on mourning for the right reasons (ahem—not because they can’t eat meat).
Be sure to visit the blogs for more step-by-step photos and anecdotes for each recipe.
Please keep in mind that fresh herbs and vegetables may require checking for infestation, and certain cheeses require waiting before eating meat (yes, not relevant for the next few days but to keep in mind if these recipes are prepared in the future). Please consult the OU’s guidelines for checking fruits and vegetables, as well as the OU aged cheese list.
Enjoy!
More Quiche, Please!
Vegetarian “Meatballs” (Pareve)
Yields 25 to 30 meatballs
Ingredients:
- 6 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carton fresh mushrooms, chopped
- 1 medium/large eggplant, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Black pepper, to taste
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cups matzah meal (not whole wheat — too dense)
- Tomato sauce, for serving
Instructions:
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Sauté the onion for 10 minutes, until just starting to brown. (Give them a stir halfway through the cooking time to make sure they don’t burn.)
- Add the mushrooms and continue cooking another 10 minutes. Scoop the onions and mushrooms into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Add 2 more tablespoons of oil to the skillet. Add the eggplant, stir to lightly coat in the oil, and cook (covered) for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through. When you stir, scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan and mix them back into the eggplant. I like to add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil at this point, though you could probably skip that if you’d like.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside while you finish the meatball batter.
- Scoop the eggplant into bowl with the mushrooms and onions. Mash everything with a potato masher. It doesn’t need to be a totally smooth mixture, you just want to help everything come together a little.
- Add the salt, basil, oregano, black pepper, eggs, and matzah meal and mix just until everything is incorporated.
- Roll the mixture into 25-30 balls and place on the prepared baking sheet, as close together as needed. Bake for 15 minutes.
- To finish, bring the sauce you’ll serve with the meatballs to a boil in a large pot. Add the meatballs and simmer on low, covered, for 30 minutes. Once in a while, stir gently to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom and burning.
- Serve hot with mashed potatoes, zucchini noodles, or your favorite grain or pasta.
Inspired by The Gush Gourmet and many others
Cheesy Pierogi Lasagna (Dairy)
6 servings (measurements are for an 8×8 dish)
Ingredients:
- 10 small potatoes (about 2 lbs.), peeled and quartered
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup cottage cheese or sour cream
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese, divided (*please consult OU aged cheese list)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole milk, plus extra for splashing (see directions)
- 6 lasagna noodles, uncooked
Directions:
- Fill a large pot about two-thirds of the way with water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes (they should be covered by the water by at least an inch) and reduce the heat the medium-low. Cook for 20-30 minutes; when a knife passes easily through the larger pieces, they’re done. Drain and return to the pot.
- While the potatoes are cooking, heat oil in a non-stick skillet and sauté onion until soft and lightly browned.
- Mash potatoes to a smooth consistency with a potato masher (that one’s a shocker, huh?), adding 3 tablespoons of butter, cottage cheese/sour cream, about two-thirds of the mozzarella/cheddar, and the sautéed onion. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Cover and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF
- Make béchamel sauce: Melt one tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan and whisk in flour, stirring constantly over low heat for 30-60 seconds.
- Remove from heat and slowly add ½ cup milk, continuing to stir constantly to ensure a smooth sauce. Return to heat and stir until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Pour all of the sauce into an 8×8 baking dish and spread across the bottom to create the first layer of the lasagna. Top with lasagna noodles (two fit perfectly side-by-side in my dish).
- Layer mashed potatoes and lasagna noodles until you reach the top of the dish or run out of potatoes.
- Follow each layer of potatoes with a small splash of milk, about 2 tablespoons’ worth. Finish with a layer of potatoes, then top it off with the reserved one-third of the shredded cheese, a final splash of milk, and a sprinkle of dried parsley, if you like (or even better, use fresh).
- Bake uncovered for 40 minutes, or until the cheese on the top starts to brown.
- Delicious when served right away, but also great after being reheated in the oven.
Based on How Sweet It Is
Mexican Potato Bake (Dairy)
8 servings
Ingredients:
- Cooking spray
- 1 cup tomato paste mixed with ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- Pinch Mexican chili pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled
- 1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed (or 1½ cups cooked, from ½ cup dried beans)
- ½ cup sliced green olives
- 1 bunch cilantro or parsley, stems discarded and leaves roughly chopped (*fresh herbs require checking)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella (or cheddar) cheese (*please consult OU aged cheese list)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, mix tomato paste with salt, cumin, paprika, and Mexican chili flakes. Spread half of it over the bottom of the dish.
- Slice the potatoes very thinly with a mandolin (if you don’t have one, use a very sharp knife and try to cut them about the same thickness so they’ll cook evenly). Arrange half of them on top of the sauce, slightly overlapping each other. You should get two layers of potatoes.
- Sprinkle the black beans, olives, cilantro or parsley (reserve a small handful for the topping), and half the cheese over the potatoes.
- Top with the rest of the potatoes (you should get another two layers). Finally, spread the rest of the sauce over the top and add the rest of the cheese and the parsley.
- Cover with a greased sheet of aluminum foil (to avoid the cheese sticking to it) and bake for 2 hours. Remove the foil and return the dish to the oven for another 15 minutes, or just until the cheese is golden brown.
More Quiche, Please! is the result of three loves: writing, editing, and cooking. For blogger Tali Simon, food is never only about what’s on your plate — there’s always some story behind it, some little bit of life peeking through. More Quiche, Please! Offers a variety of kosher vegetarian recipes and stories from the stove top, but also a glimpse into what life is like here on a yishuv near the Dead Sea.
ChallahCrumbs
Grilled Cheese & Vegetable Wraps (Dairy)
6 servings
Ingredients:
- 6 tortilla wraps
- 12 mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 red peppers, cut into thin strips
- 1 onion,
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- Grated yellow cheese (*please consult OU aged cheese list)
- sweet chili sauce
Directions:
- Sauté the mushrooms, peppers and onions.
- Divide equally among the tortilla wraps. Place the vegetables in a line in the center of the wrap.
- Sprinkle liberal amounts of grated cheese on the vegetables. Roll up the tortilla.
- Place in a sandwich maker until lightly browned.
- Serve with sweet chili sauce on the side.
Summer Gazpacho (Pareve)
8 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 onion
- 1 green pepper
- 1 cucumber
- 1 (15 oz.) can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15 oz.) can of V-8, spicy tomato or regular tomatoes
- Salsa to taste (optional)
Condiments:
- Tabasco Sauce
- Worcestershire Sauce (*be aware that some Worcestershire sauces are made with fish, which cannot be eaten together with meat)
- Croutons
Instructions:
- Chop up the vegetables in a food processor.
- Add the tomatoes, the V-8 and the Salsa.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Serve with an assortment of condiments.
Vegetable Frittata (Pareve)
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ lb. fresh asparagus spears, cut into 1-inch pieces (*asparagus needs to be checked depending if it is green or white)
- 1 medium yellow pepper, cut into ¼-inch strips
- 1 medium orange pepper, cut into ¼-inch strips
- 1 medium zucchini, cut into ¼-inch round slices (approximately 1 ½ cups)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pepper to taste
- 10 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 2 Tablespoons minced parsley (*requires checking)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place vegetables in a single layer on the cookie sheet, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. Cool.
- Reduce oven to 350ºF. Transfer vegetables to a greased 9×13-inch pan.
- In a separate bowl, mix beaten eggs, half-and-half, and parsley.
- Pour over vegetables and bake for 35 minutes.
Devorah Katz is the founding editor of http://www.challahcrumbs.com/, a website for Jewish families with young children. She is the mother of five and lives with her family in Israel. When she is not writing for challahcrumbs, she can be found writing curriculum for the iCenter in Chicago and overseeing the curriculum for the Global Day of Jewish Learning. She also estimates that she has over 800 crayons in her house on any given day.
Seven Bites:
Tuna Shells (Pareve)
8 to 10 servings
Ingredients:
- 4 cans of tuna (solid white-Albacore tuna in water)
- Pasta-jumbo shells
- 7 tablespoons of light mayo
- 2 teaspoons of sweetener (Sweet 10-sugar substitute)
- 3 teaspoons of lemon juice
- Olive oil
- Onion powder
Directions for Tuna:
- Drain tuna cans and mix so that there are no chunks of tuna stuck together.
- Add in the mayo, mix. Repeat with sweetener, and lemon juice.
- Mix well.
Directions for Pasta:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF
- Boil water. Pour the box of pasta in. Drain.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and mix lightly making sure that the pasta shells don’t break.
- Take a 13x9x2-inch baking dish, and lightly coat the bottom with olive oil
- Take a scoop of tuna and put it into each shell. Repeat this process until all shells are filled.
- Sprinkle some onion powder over all of the shells.
- Place baking dish in the oven for 30 minutes.
Sautéed Butternut Squash Pasta (Dairy)
6 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. of angel hair pasta
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
- 2 cups of frozen cubed butternut squash
- ½ cup of olive oil
- 1/3 cup of white wine
- 3 Tablespoons of milk
- 1 cup of parmesan cheese (*please consult OU aged cheese list)
Directions:
- Cook pasta as directed from box. Set aside and let cool
- Wash cherry tomatoes and cut each in half
- In a saucepan, sauté the cherry tomatoes in the olive oil. Once the consistency of the cherry tomatoes have become soft enough that they are considered to be “mushy”, place the butternut squash in the saucepan
- After about 5 minutes, add the white wine to the cherry tomatoes and butternut squash and leave on medium low until the wine has cooked down
- Blend the cherry tomatoes and butternut squash with an immersion blender. Add milk to create a creamy consistency
- Once placing the tomato-butternut squash sauce onto the pasta, place cheese to your liking
- Serve warm
Seven Bites encompasses the concept of cooking with Kosher food while using minimal ingredients. Lindsay Wess and Sara Yitzhaky want to share with our audience that creativity in the kitchen doesn’t have to be complicated. From appetizers to desserts, we offer tips and tricks to help get you through some of the most difficult dishes, while only using seven ingredients. Cooking should be fun and effortless. We love sharing ways to make your dishes taste and look great while keeping it simple. If you hated being in the kitchen before, hopefully Seven Bites can show you how simple and stress free cooking can be.
The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.