A break-the-fast meal is a dinner. I know it's popular to serve breakfast items for this meal, but that doesn't work for me. I like dinner for dinner.
I still want comfort food after the fast, and, of course, the meal needs to be prepared ahead of time and with minimal fuss at serving time. It needs to be planned out and come together fairly effortlessly. The meal also needs to feed a crowd and be festive. Yikes!
You can even make this meal several days before the holiday and not feel panicked or rushed.
This year, the break-the-fast comes early in October. The weather could be hot or chilly. One thing's for sure-it is not really fall yet. It's my favorite time of the year, when hot days have cool nights and summer produce is still abundant, but with fall creeping into markets. I am not ready for full-on autumn yet. I want to hang on a bit longer to summer, and the flavors of the season.
Savor this menu for a few more weeks and enjoy the comforts of the end of the summer and early fall.
Roman stuffed tomatoes
Tomato season isn't over, and this is a great make-ahead dish. It's Rome's solution for eating a delicious dish when it is too hot to cook. The tomatoes can be prepared several days before serving, usually in the cooler mornings, and then eaten later in the day. For a break-the-fast dish, these tomatoes can be prepared several days ahead of serving and then reheated or served at room temperature.
These savory, umami-rich, and jammy tomatoes are mouth-wateringly delicious, and a perfect comforting dish for a break-the-fast meal or anytime.
I love the soft and aromatic rice filling surrounded by roasted tomato. The potatoes become intensely caramelized and flavorful from all the lovely tomato juices dripping on them. The whole dish is a masterclass in simple ingredients done right. Each forkful is an explosion of flavor.
I like to serve these at room temperature, especially after the fast when all you want to do is dig as quickly as possible!
Serves 6
6 slightly under-ripe, firm Beefsteak tomatoes
Sea salt
1½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
EVOO
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Vegetable stock or water
1 medium shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup arborio rice
¼ cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil, chopped
½ cup grated parmesan
Preheat oven to 350°F.
1. Cut the tops of each tomato, but reserve them. Using a spoon, scoop out the pulp from each tomato and place in a bowl. Lightly salt the inside of each tomato and place upside down on a strainer (to prevent tomatoes from becoming soggy).
2. Place cut potatoes in a 9x13 casserole. Drizzle with EVOO, salt, pepper and chopped rosemary. Roast potatoes for about 30 minutes until barely tender. Set aside.
3. Remove as many of the tomato seeds from scooped tomatoes as possible, but keep tomato flesh. Puree this until smooth, and transfer to a measuring cup. Add enough vegetable stock to equal 2½ cups total.
4. In a medium saucepan lightly covered with EVOO, over medium heat, sweat shallot and garlic until barely soft and translucent. Do not brown the aromatics.
5. Add rice and stir, to coat rice with EVOO.
6. Add wine and reduce until barely any wine remains. Stir rice with tomato paste until coated.
7. Add vegetable stock mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice begins to soften and much of the liquid has been absorbed (about 10 minutes). Stir in basil.
8. Nestle tomatoes on top of potatoes. Fill each tomato with about 2-3 tablespoons of rice mixture. Do not overstuff. Distribute any leftover rice mixture over the potatoes.
9. Sprinkle tomatoes with parmesan and drizzle with EVOO. Cover with reserved tops. Roast tomatoes for about 30 minutes until soft and rice is cooked through.
10. Cool to room temperature before storing in the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days. Reheat in a low oven, or serve at room temperature.
Appetizing cured salmon
Coming off a fast doesn't mean you cannot enjoy an elegant dish. Gravlax or cured salmon offers a luxurious sensation of clean, fresh flavors, and delicate texture. Smoked salmon has its place, but I love the fish's natural flavors that come through in the curing process.
Curing salmon is a simple process that can be done days ahead of serving. Gravlax is rooted in a traditional Scandinavian technique for preserving fish; the name comes from the Swedish words
gravad
(buried) and
lax
(salmon). The first versions of it were probably made in Sweden or Norway sometime in the 14th century, when fisherman found that burying fresh-caught fish in the cold ground, usually along with pine needles (a precursor to the modern recipe's dill), caused fermentation and preserved the fish for as long as a year.
Once people realized that the same results could be accomplished in a few days by curing the fish in salt and sugar, gravlax became a staple on smorgasbords, and a fixture in Jewish "appetizing" (dairy deli) shops along with lox, smoked salmon, and other preserved fishes.
Curing fish in a salt and sugar mix does not make the result salty. The salt draws out moisture, making the fish less hospitable for microbial life. The process extends the shelf-life of the fish for a bit, but not long term. Leftover cured salmon can be frozen for up to six months.
Be sure to use the best quality salmon you can find. I look for sushi-quality wild king salmon. This salmon with a buttery, luxurious texture, and a rich, savory flavor.
I serve the salmon on open-faced sandwiches or tartines with soft pumpernickel and lemony-mustard butter.
Serves 8
1 3-pound wild king salmon skin-on filet, bones removed
½ cup kosher salt
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup finely ground black pepper
2 bunches dill (about 4 ounces each), clean and dry, left intact (no need to pick fronds from stem), coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
Zest of 2 lemons
For the salmon
1. Place salmon in a casserole dish. Mix salt, sugar, and pepper together.
2. Sprinkle the curing mix over the fish. Top with dill and lemon zest. The fish will look like it's covered with grass!
3. Cover with parchment paper and place a heavy pan over the parchment, directly pressing on the fish. Cover the whole set-up and place in refrigerator for 3 days.
4. On day 3, flip the salmon over, recover, and weigh it down again. Refrigerate for 2 more days.
5. Brush off the salmon and pat dry.
6. With a very sharp knife, slice thin slices, with your knife slanted, stopping short of cutting through the skin. Begin slicing from the tail end, working your way up toward the wider belly. Once you have sliced the entire filet, work your knife parallel to the cutting board to release the slices.
For the compound butter
Compound butters are quick and easy to prepare. The flavor possibilities are endless with herbs, flavored mustard, citrus, and other ingredients amping up the flavors. The mustard below is a classic and often served with cured salmon. Leftover butter can be frozen for up to three months.
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
Zest of 2 lemons
1 bunch of dill, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely minced
3 tablespoons Dijon style mustard
1. Mix butter, zest, dill, shallot, and mustard together. Store, covered in fridge.
2. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.
To serve
Soft pumpernickel
Compound butter
Sliced salmon
Thinly sliced red onion
1. Schmear soft pumpernickel bread with butter.
2. Top with slices of cured salmon and thinly sliced red onions.
Buttery Streusel Apple Cake
I love this cake and serve it often during the fall. Simple and elegant, the cake comes together in a bowl without a mixer. It tastes great on day 1 and even better on day 2. I use a mix of apples and purchase whatever looks good at the farmer's market. The crunchy knobs of streusel are salty and sweet, and just add the perfect texture to a simple cake.
Serves 8
For the streusel
I keep a bag of streusel in my freezer to top muffins, ice cream, and this cake.
4 tablespoons butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1. Melt butter
2. Mix with flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt until large clumps form. Set aside.
For the cake
This cake comes together in a snap and can be assembled by hand.
8 tablespoons butter
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
2 pounds mixed apples (about 4 large), peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch dice
2 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°F, heavily butter an 8-inch springform pan or 8-inch cake pan, also lined with parchment.
1. In a pan over low heat, melt and brown butter until nutty and golden brown. Set aside.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, rum, and vanilla until light and foamy.
4. Add apples and half of the flour mixture. Fold together.
5. Add the remaining flour and combine. Add brown butter and stir together.
6. Transfer to greased pan.
7. Top with streusel, and bake 50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
8. Cool on a rack.
Laura Frankel-a noted kosher chef, and cookbook author-serves as Director of Culinary Operations at CJE SeniorLife-Tamarisk NorthShore. She is also a product development specialist and has worked as culinary director for a media company.
