Sundays with Marlena Spieler

We know what you are thinking, how does liver and vegetarian even come in the same sentence?  Marlena has made this wonderful appetizer just for vegetarians. Let’s be  honest here, We may have not been adventurous enough to try this if we were glancing through a cookbook.  This project is indeed a blessing! In her cookbook, Marlena mentions that vegetarian versions of chopped liver is very popular in Ashkenazi kitchens.

This appetizer can easily be a conversation piece at a dinner table once the hosts says what it is and a neat to have your kids have some veggies too

We made a few changes to the recipe, we noticed that the chicken liver recipe had dill and scallion to it, so we decided to add that to the vegetarian version as well. We also changed some of the proportions.

Vegetable oil- 3 T

Onions – 2 cups, roughly chopped

Peas- 2 cups

Green Beans- 2.5 cups, roughly chopped

Walnuts- 1 cup

Hard boiled eggs- 3

Dill- 2 T, finely chopped

Scallions-  2 T, thinly Sliced

Salt & pepper to taste

Matzo crackers or Rye bread to serve.

• Heat oil in a pan and when the oil is hot, saute the onions until till they turn slightly golden brown.
• Add the peas, beans and season with salt and pepper.
• Continue to cook until the beans are tender.
• Switch off the stove and allow it to cool.
• Transfer to a food processor, add the walnuts and eggs and process until it becomes a thick paste.
• Transfer to a bowl and garnish with dill and scallions.
• Serve with toasted rye bread or matzo crackers.

If you are a vegetarian who does not consume eggs, omit the eggs and try dried tofu instead. We can also try adding different fresh herbs for garnish. A dash of lime juice might also give it an added kick!

Watch Mel’s space for some Fragrant Beetroot and Veggie Soup with Lamb Kubbeh & Eileen’s for Roasted chicken with grapes and fresh ginger. Come back on Wednesday for another heart warming soup.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!

Inspired by Indira’s Hara kababs, I tried my hand at these with a twist and I was very happy with the outcome.

When I was in Mumbai recently I saw this on the menu and every time I wanted to order it, the guy would go,”time lagega“(it takes time to make it). I would go nah and order something else. On the last day, I called and ordered 45 minutes before lunch and thus got to have this tasty treat.

I asked the guy who served me to find out what were the ingredients in the dish was and he looked at me like I was out of my mind. In a place like Mumbai where everything is so fast paced, here I was asking him the recipe. He came back and said the chef is busy, but it has peas, channa and potatoes.

I followed Indira’s recipe , but added cooked spinach and green peas to white garbanzo beans and cooked it longer and did not add besan.

As I mentioned earlier my niece and nephew are with me for summer vacation and it is a lot of fun having them around. Just like me, they love food, so my niece gave me a list of what she and her anna likes so that I can cook them for here. She likes to see me cook and wants to help me too. So we decided that we make mini Pizzas as finger food before our Italian dinner.
I was too lazy to make the dough from scratch, I went to a local pizza shop and bought fresh dough from them. We decided to make them with different toppings. All the pizzas had the same tomato sauce base and cheese. I rolled the dough and my niece helped me making small rounds with a cookie cutter and sprinkled the topping.


1st Topping
Bell Pepper
Tomatoes
Garlic

2nd Topping was Indian style which we love the most.
Tomatoes
Ginger
Garlic
Coriander leaves
Green Chillies

3rd topping
Sun Dried tomatoes

All of us loved it. We are now on our way to camp for 2 nights and then off to Yosemite, so will be back on Monday to blog about our trip and the food ofcourse!