Jewish flavors 101 Cooking with Masha

Dear cook!

I am in the middle of a sourdough bread making stage right now. As with all my kitchen experiences, there is some success and there are plenty of failures. Since I would not think of throwing away the bread (I did grow up in the Soviet Union after all), I repurpose inedible breads into croutons or, more often, into bread crumbs. You can imagine that there is a surplus of breadcrumbs in my house. And what do you do with breadcrumbs? You bread stuff! Chicken, fish, vegetables.. you name it - we’ve breaded it. It does get boring after a while and I was looking for ways to take it up a notch. Here are my finds.

Chicken schnitzel

Chicken scallopini from 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

¹/³ cup flour (can be gluten-free) salt and black pepper, to taste

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1¹/³ cups bread crumbs

6 tbsp white sesame seeds

2 tbsp black sesame seeds (or extra white, if not available)

4½ tbsp sunflower seeds, roughly chopped

1½ tbsp coriander seeds, roughly crushed

1 tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp cayenne pepper oil, for frying

1. Beat chicken pieces with a kitchen mallet so they would be 1 cm thick.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour with ¼ tsp salt and some black pepper.

3. Put the eggs into a second bowl.

4. In a third bowl, mix the bread crumbs, both sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and ¾ tsp salt.

5. Dip each bit of chicken into the flour and gently shake off the excess. Now dip it into the egg, then into the seed mix, to coat well. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

6. Put enough oil into a large frying pan to rise 1 cm up the sides and place over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken in batches and fry for 5-6 minutes, turning after 2½ minutes, until cooked through and golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate while you continue with the remaining batch and serve hot.

Variation: instead of sesame seeds and spices, use ¼ cup of “all bagel spice”

1. Place the fish in a bowl with the lime juice, coconut cream, and ¼ tsp salt. Mix, then leave in the fridge for about an hour, to marinate (don’t leave it for much longer than that, as the fish will start to disintegrate). Scrape off and discard as much of the cream as you can from the fish, then set aside.

2. Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and, once hot, add the coconut. Dry-fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring from time to time, until golden. Transfer to a medium shallow bowl and set aside to cool, then mix in the breadcrumbs, pepper flakes, and ½ tsp salt.

3. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425°.

4. Coating one at a time, dip a piece of fish into the oil, followed by the coconut mix. Toss until it is coated on all sides and transfer to a wire rack placed on top of a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue with the remaining fish pieces.

Coconut fish fingers

500g skinless and boneless haddock (or other firm white fish), cut into about 12 pieces, each 3 x 10cm

2 tbsp lime juice

¼ cup coconut cream salt

2 cups dried unsweetened shredded coconut

¹/³ cup breadcrumbs

I tsp crushed red pepper flakes

¼ cup of cooking oil

I lime, quartered, to serve

5. Place into the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, turning the pieces over after 7 minutes, until cooked through and golden brown. If the fish is not cooked but the coating is brown and ready, just turn off the oven and leave in the oven for 2-3 minutes; the fish will cook in the residual heat. Serve with the lime wedges.

Sweet potato fries

3 very large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into thick fries

1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika

½ tsp cayenne

3 garlic cloves, crushed

¼ cup breadcrumbs

7 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp sumac

Salt, to taste

I. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

2. Mix the sweet potatoes in a large bowl with the paprika, cayenne, garlic, breadcrumbs, oil, and I tsp salt. Once combined, put the sweet potatoes (and all the oil with breadcrumbs) onto two large parchment-lined baking sheets and roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring gently once or twice, until the potatoes are cooked, crisp and golden brown.

3. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the sumac and I tsp salt, and serve at once. Enjoy!

Until next week and happy cooking!

Masha Rodov