The first year I moved to Israel I invited a few friends over to my flat for a nice New Year’s dinner. I bought sparklers and really bad champagne in Shouk HaCarmel in Tel Aviv. A few minutes before midnight we went out to my rooftop terrace, lit the sparklers and started yelling out “Happy New Year!”. Much to my chagrin, a neighbor yelled out of his window “Sheket!”, which means “shutup!” I never really celebrated New Year’s Eve again.
New Year’s Eve is not celebrated in Israel like everywhere else. Religious Jews do not recognize it as the new year because the start of the new year in the Jewish calendar is Rosh Hashana, which falls during the early autumn. So, even though you will see people celebrating in restaurants, pubs, and discos around the country, most people do not celebrate it.
Mr BT and I had a quiet dinner at home.
I knew I wouldn’t have a lot of time to cook on Thursday, so I had to find some dishes that I could make quickly, but were gourmet. I found an interesting salmon recipe from Chef Eric Ripert, who is chef of the famous Michelin three-star restaurant, Le Bernardin. I have never eaten there, but I have seen him on few cooking shows and his dishes always looked delicious. The recipe called for the salmon to be wrapped in phyllo pastry, so I went to the supermarket to buy a package of phyllo the day before. I took the box out the night before and when I came home to start cooking I discovered, to my annoyance, that I had bought puff pastry! The dessert I was making also called for phyllo, so what was the Baroness to do?! I improvised, like any good chef would do. I had a package of rice paper wrappers that I hadn’t used yet. I had Mr BT check on the internet if rice paper would crisp up like phyllo, and he reported that it was crispier than wonton wrappers. So, I replaced the phyllo with the rice paper and it was a huge success. The dish is light and delicious and I will definitely make it again. We began the meal with a steamed artichoke with aioli, then I served the salmon on a bed of sauteed mushrooms with a side of Creole Orange Rice. The rice is spicy with a nice hint of fresh orange. It was perfect with the salmon.
- 2 250g or 1/2 lb salmon fillets, boneless and skinless
- 4 large round sheets rice paper
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cut chives
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 lb mixed mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small shallot minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
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For the Salmon:
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Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Soak two sheets of rice paper, one at a time, in warm water for 20 seconds. Place the sheets on top of each other and place one fillet of salmon in the middle. Wrap the rice paper around the salmon like an envelope. Repeat with the next two sheets of rice paper and salmon fillet. Set aside.
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Mix together the soy sauce, mustard, lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir in the thyme and parsley. Set aside.
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Place the oil in a medium frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add the two fillets of salmon and saute for about 4 minutes on each side, until the rice paper is lightly browned or crispy to the touch.
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For the Mushrooms: Trim the ends off the mushrooms and cut them in half, depending on size. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the minced shallot and garlic and saute until soft. Add the mushrooms and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the white wine and reduce adding the butter to create a silky delicate sauce. Add the herbs to the pan and remove from the heat.
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To plate, place a fillet on top of a bed of mushrooms. Sprinkle the soy-mustard vinaigrette on top of the salmon.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 medium navel orange peeled and chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup rice
- 2 cups water
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Saute the onions in the oil until translucent. Sprinkle the salt and cayenne on the onions. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer, cover and cook the rice for 20 minutes.
I wanted to make individual cranberry strudels for dessert, but I didn’t have any phyllo, so I decided to make bourekas instead. Mr BT suggested that I serve them to guests and not tell them what is inside. I would say that I didn’t have time to make dessert and thought we could have a savory dessert instead.
- 1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen
- 1/3 cup water
- 2/3 cup Granny Smith apple peeled and finely chopped
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon chopped candied orange peel
- 1 package puff pastry
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Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line a baking sheet with silicone and set aside. Put the cranberries and water in a small pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, about 3 minutes or until the cranberries pop. Drain them, discarding the liquid and return the cranberries to the pan.
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Add the apple, raisins, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and orange peel; toss gently until mixed.
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Unroll the puff pastry and cut strips about 5cm (2 inches) wide. Place a rounded tablespoon of the cranberry mixture near the bottom edge of the puff pastry.
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Take the bottom right corner and wrap it over the filling and roll the filling up into a triangle. Repeat with the remaining strips.
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Place on the baking sheet and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the bourekas are golden. The bourekas make leak slightly during baking. Transfer the bourekas to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
I just love this blog! Michelle – it makes me feel like I’m still seeing you there at Kemp’s! As a religious Episcopalian I’m happy to share my New Year’s celebration as our friends at Temple Beth El have always shared Rosh Hashana with us. And as for your recipes, I frequently rush out to the pitiful Winn Dixie to get the ingredients to duplicate your masterpieces! Love to you and Mr. BT from me and Mr. HB – Josie
Thanks Josie! That is very sweet. Yes, it was always a struggle to find things in Anniston. Too bad Windsor’s isn’t there anymore.
A lovely meal!
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks Rosa, same to you! Nice to hear from you.
What a lovely salmon recipe; definately a must try-one. Yeah,the New Year isn’t really big deal here, although the Russians here seem to really celebrate it.
Have a very nice and happy year 2010 Michelle!
I just bought rice paper for the first time with no idea what to do with it, thanks for the recipe! It looks
delicious
What an interesting technique! I bet you could try this with vegetables for an interesting “tempura” coating. BTW Sarah, I use rice paper primarily for making Vietnamese spring rolls.
I also use them to make either Vietnamese or Thai spring rolls, which are fried or Vietnamese cold rolls or Thai basil rolls, which you just soak the rice paper and roll them with fresh basil, carrots, and other vegetables. You serve it cold with a dipping sauce.
That would be interesting to try wrapping them around asparagus as a coating. I will have to try that sometime.
hello Baronness
I wish you a happy new year 2010 and if you could not scream because of your neighbour at least you had a good meal
cheers from Paris
Pierre the French foodie !
Thanks Pierre! Bonne année et bonne santé!