deeply flavored, as the juices exuded by the vegetables will continue to dilute it.
WHEN you are ready to serve the salad, discard the juice the tomatoes have released, and pat them dry. Rinse the cucumbers lightly, squeeze to rid them of as much water as possible, and pat them dry. Add the cucumbers and the remaining salad ingredients to the bowl, and toss with enough dressing to moisten all ingredients thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning. If desired, finish with a liberal dusting of zaâatar (1 tablespoon or more, to taste). Pass any remaining dressing separately.
RHUBARB-PRUNE TSIMMES
yield: ABOUT 4 SERVINGS
When it comes to combining foods, Iâm not one for hard and fast rules. Iâve been seduced by cheese cake made supernal with a zap of ground chiles, and I adore savory meats, poultry, and even fish perfumed and mellowed by fruits. But unmitigated sugariness makes my mouth say dessert; fruits must have a spicy or tart accompaniment to segue gracefully into a main course. To me, a tsimmes (sweetened, festive fruit and vegetable stew, with or without meat) of sweet fruits is one-dimensional without some tang or heat.
To provide well-nuanced character here, I add the sprightly bloom of fresh rhubarb to sweet-and-sour prunes and fragrant honey for a meatless tsimmes irresistible as a side dish or condiment for poultry or meat. Make this tsimmes in spring or early summer with big-flavored field rhubarb or year-round with the milder lipstick-pink hothouse variety.
2 cups chopped onion
2 tablespoons mild olive or canola oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (2 teaspoons)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 â 4 cup fragrant honey (floral like lime or orange blossom, or herbal like lavender or thyme, would be perfect)
1 â 4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1 â 2 cups carrots, scrubbed (and scraped if desired), cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup prune juice
1 pound rhubarb, ends trimmed (discard leavesâthey can be toxic), tough strings removed with a vegetable peeler, and stalks cut into 1-inch pieces (4 cups)
1 1 â 2 cups pitted prunes, halved, or quartered if large
IN a 10-inch, heavy skillet, sauté the onion in the oil over medium heat until wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper to taste, turn the heat down to medium-low, cover, and sweat the mixture slowly, stirring occasionally, until the onions are quite soft but still pale-colored, 10 to 15 minutes.
ADD the honey and cinnamon, and mix until well distributed. Add the carrots and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes.
ADD the prune juice and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the rhubarb and the prunes and simmer over moderate heat, stirring every once in a while, until the rhubarb is soft and the carrots are tender but not falling apart, 12 to 18 minutes.
TURN the heat up to high and boil the mixture, uncovered, until the liquid in the pan is thick and syrupy. Taste and adjust seasoning.
SPINACH CHEESE SQUARES
yield: 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
Mediterranean Jews so adore fresh spinach that little mountains of the leftover emerald âtailsâ are a hallmark of their holiday cooking. Called ravikos by Sephardim and testine di spinaci by Italian Jews, these stems are slow-braised until they turn almost red. They are usually served Thursday nights, when it is customary to eat lightly in preparation for the next dayâs feasting, and a large stockpile of them has accumulated from the Sabbath preparations.
The leaves often end up in light, eggy vegetable gratins, a Sephardi specialty, especially popular at the desayuno, a festive brunch served after morning services on Sabbath and holidays.
Notwithstanding spinachâs bad rap, even kids seem to love these crustless, cheesy squares, here freshened up with plenty of green herbs. Good hot, warm, or at room temperature, they make a fine lunch, brunch, or light supper. Or cut them into bite-size pieces for
WHEN you are ready to serve the salad, discard the juice the tomatoes have released, and pat them dry. Rinse the cucumbers lightly, squeeze to rid them of as much water as possible, and pat them dry. Add the cucumbers and the remaining salad ingredients to the bowl, and toss with enough dressing to moisten all ingredients thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning. If desired, finish with a liberal dusting of zaâatar (1 tablespoon or more, to taste). Pass any remaining dressing separately.
RHUBARB-PRUNE TSIMMES
yield: ABOUT 4 SERVINGS
When it comes to combining foods, Iâm not one for hard and fast rules. Iâve been seduced by cheese cake made supernal with a zap of ground chiles, and I adore savory meats, poultry, and even fish perfumed and mellowed by fruits. But unmitigated sugariness makes my mouth say dessert; fruits must have a spicy or tart accompaniment to segue gracefully into a main course. To me, a tsimmes (sweetened, festive fruit and vegetable stew, with or without meat) of sweet fruits is one-dimensional without some tang or heat.
To provide well-nuanced character here, I add the sprightly bloom of fresh rhubarb to sweet-and-sour prunes and fragrant honey for a meatless tsimmes irresistible as a side dish or condiment for poultry or meat. Make this tsimmes in spring or early summer with big-flavored field rhubarb or year-round with the milder lipstick-pink hothouse variety.
2 cups chopped onion
2 tablespoons mild olive or canola oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (2 teaspoons)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 â 4 cup fragrant honey (floral like lime or orange blossom, or herbal like lavender or thyme, would be perfect)
1 â 4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1 â 2 cups carrots, scrubbed (and scraped if desired), cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup prune juice
1 pound rhubarb, ends trimmed (discard leavesâthey can be toxic), tough strings removed with a vegetable peeler, and stalks cut into 1-inch pieces (4 cups)
1 1 â 2 cups pitted prunes, halved, or quartered if large
IN a 10-inch, heavy skillet, sauté the onion in the oil over medium heat until wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper to taste, turn the heat down to medium-low, cover, and sweat the mixture slowly, stirring occasionally, until the onions are quite soft but still pale-colored, 10 to 15 minutes.
ADD the honey and cinnamon, and mix until well distributed. Add the carrots and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes.
ADD the prune juice and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the rhubarb and the prunes and simmer over moderate heat, stirring every once in a while, until the rhubarb is soft and the carrots are tender but not falling apart, 12 to 18 minutes.
TURN the heat up to high and boil the mixture, uncovered, until the liquid in the pan is thick and syrupy. Taste and adjust seasoning.
SPINACH CHEESE SQUARES
yield: 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
Mediterranean Jews so adore fresh spinach that little mountains of the leftover emerald âtailsâ are a hallmark of their holiday cooking. Called ravikos by Sephardim and testine di spinaci by Italian Jews, these stems are slow-braised until they turn almost red. They are usually served Thursday nights, when it is customary to eat lightly in preparation for the next dayâs feasting, and a large stockpile of them has accumulated from the Sabbath preparations.
The leaves often end up in light, eggy vegetable gratins, a Sephardi specialty, especially popular at the desayuno, a festive brunch served after morning services on Sabbath and holidays.
Notwithstanding spinachâs bad rap, even kids seem to love these crustless, cheesy squares, here freshened up with plenty of green herbs. Good hot, warm, or at room temperature, they make a fine lunch, brunch, or light supper. Or cut them into bite-size pieces for
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