32 | JULY 4 • 2024
J
N
W
ith no holiday in
the immediate
vicinity, I am focus-
ing on foods for Shabbat. This
year, the JN has been featuring
the Shabbat observance of
local households.
We’ve seen the
diversity of how
people celebrate
as well as what
drives them to
make it a part of
their lives.
Focusing on
Shabbat dinner,
I will say that I personally love
everything about it. I love the
idea of ending a hectic week
and joining with friends and
family around a table to slow
down and connect over a meal.
I love being invited to friends’
Shabbat dinners and getting
to share in their traditions and
connecting with them as well as
others I might not yet know.
I also love hosting Shabbat
dinners, getting to curate a meal
and experience, trying new
recipes and introducing new
friends. But I would be lying if I
said that I didn’t sometimes find
it stressful and, if you’ve been
following along with these col-
umns for the past few months,
you probably know that I can
get a little carried away. And
given the opulence of a tradi-
tional meal, it’s easy to do so.
If I had an infinite amount
of time, my meal would consist
of homemade challah, accom-
panying dips and salads, a fish
course, soup, at least one meat
main, potentially a vegetarian
main, at least one starch, at least
one vegetable and dessert. Even
writing it all out feels taxing,
and it wouldn’t be possible
for me to share recipes for all
these elements in this column.
And, as Ina Garten says, “Store
bought is fine.
”
Instead, I share a few Shabbat
recipes that are crowd-pleasers
without over-the-top effort
to round out a Shabbat meal.
These include an oven-baked
rice side-dish including leeks,
almonds and white beans that
is endlessly adaptable, Chani
Apfelbaum’s viral Hasselback
salami, and some respectable
chocolate chip cookies that are
prepped the night before and
just happen to be vegan.
BAKED RICE WITH WHITE
BEANS, LEEKS AND
LEMON
Adapted from Ali Slagle
Serves 4
Pareve
Ingredients
4 leeks (about 2 pounds), trimmed
and thoroughly rinsed, white and
pale green parts sliced ¼-inch thick
1 lemon
¼ cup sliced raw almonds
½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes or
to taste
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
1½ cups uncooked basmati rice
1 (15-ounce) can of white beans
(such as cannellini or great north-
ern), drained and rinsed
2½ cups boiling water
¼ cup thinly sliced or chopped
basil, chives, mint or fennel fronds,
plus more for serving
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400. Peel
1-inch lemon strips off an
entire lemon.
Toss the leeks, lemon
strips, red pepper flakes,
almonds and olive oil in a
913 roasting pan. Season to
taste with salt and pepper.
Roast until the leeks begin
to caramelize, about 20 min-
utes.
Once the leeks have
begun to caramelize, remove
the lemon strips and finely
chop them, then return to the
pan. Sprinkle the rice evenly
over the leeks and distribute
the beans evenly over the
rice, seasoning with more
salt to taste. Pour the boiling
water over the rice and seal
with aluminum foil. Bake for
another 20-22 minutes.
Remove the pan from the
oven and let it rest, cov-
ered, for about 5 minutes.
Remove the aluminum foil,
toss and sprinkle herbs over
the top or mix in. Taste and
adjust salt and pepper and
add lemon juice to taste, if
desired.
Note: While this recipe
calls for leeks and white
beans, any other type of
onion or legume could be
substituted, and the other
mix-ins could be modified to
incorporate different
cuisines.
DRUNKEN HASSELBACK
SALAMI
Adapted from Chani
Apfelbaum
Serves 8 as a side dish
Meat
Ingredients
¼ cup apricot jam
⅛ cup spicy brown mustard
1½ tbsp. brandy or bourbon
1 tbsp. ketchup
1½ tsp. brown sugar
16 oz. salami
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400
degrees.
Add all ingredients except
Food for
Thought
Joelle
Abramowitz
Contributing
Writer
FOOD
Shabbat Crowd-Pleasers
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