Our lockdown due to the global pandemic officially entered a new phase last week. Restrictions were eased allowing Israeli citizens to travel the country a bit more freely – provided face masks were worn. Stores with streetfront access were open (forehead temperatures were taken before entering).  Restaurants, malls, cinemas, sporting events, all remain closed. Religious services were allowed with masks and proper social distancing. Schools began to open up.

But then, as quickly as the easements were occurring, the next plague swept in with a vengeance! Schools were closed again. Few dared leave their homes. Heat! Searing heat with over a week of extreme temperatures soaring well into the triple digits Fahrenheit – the 40’s Centigrade!. The winds were hot. The skies blistering. So we “sheltered in place” as best we could. You know it’s a scorcher when you go to take a cold shower, put the water on full cold, and tepid/lukewarm water at best comes out. We have one tiny air conditioning unit (mahz-GAHN) in our living room (for the whole house) and an even smaller mazgan in our master bedroom. The best we could manage was to bring the internal temps to a “balmy” 94 degrees Fahrenheit!!! Even the dog was lethargic. This was one time I was glad our scheduled houseguests from the States had to cancel their travel plans. Venture outside? I think NOT!!!!

Heat up the house even further by running the oven? NO WAY!!!! Inspired by the weeks of cooking shows by my favorite chefs (and I found a slew of new favorites) during the stay-at-home period, I decided to get creative with whatever I had left in the freezer, fridge and pantry. And I harvested most of my lettuces and the rest of my citrus fruits before they could burn up in the sun. Along with my new found organic produce delivery, we were good to go. So, I thought I’d share with you some of those recipes for when the weather heats  up in your area (Most I posted on Instagram and Facebook without recipes).

                    COOLING CITRUS PAVLOVA

I started with dessert first, because, hey! Why not? This was by far the easiest, throw together; the most beautiful, colorful, juicy, sweet, creamy dessert ever. I harvested and wanted to use up all my grapefruit, lemon, oranges, and clementines. Luckily, I had bought package of miniature meringue puffs ages ago, thinking they were marshmallows. So now, to use them! Check your local supermarket to see if they carry pre-made meringues. Here in Israel, they come in all different shapes and sizes (and colors). If not, meringues are fairly easy to make – just requiring stiffly beaten egg whites (or aquafava, the juice left over from your canned garbanzos or kidney beans) and sugar with a little cream of tartar.

Ingredients:

• peeled, de-seeded, and sliced (crosswise) segments of your favorite citrus fruits –
• meringues (I used pre-packaged)
• high quality vanilla ice cream
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 3 TBSP white sugar
• 2 TBSP vanilla extract, Chambord or St Germain liqueur (optional)

Line a serving platter with the meringues – this could be one large pouf, mini meringues, or meringue cups. On top of that, lay the sliced citrus fruits – the more varied the colors, the prettier. Whip the cream (I used 38% milk fat) with the sugar until it holds its shape. Add in the flavoring, optional, but yummy. This time I used St. Germain, which imparts a lovely elderflower taste – virgin Elderflower Syrup (non-alcoholic) is available at IKEA. Spread on top of the citrus. Add as many scoops of vanilla ice cream to the top as you have people.

               PEACH and CARPACCIO SALAD

 

Sometimes, you just never know what you’ll find in your freezer!!!! Going through for odds and ends and recipe ideas, I found two tiny packages of beef Bresaola I got from my Italian friends last summer. Usually made from horse (uuggghhhh), Daniel and Claudia bring me Kosher beef bresaola from Milan. It’s an air-dried, salted beef that has been aged two or three months until it takes on a dark reddish purple hue. It’s lean and tender and sweet. Altogether delicious. Claudia served it wrapped around melon, so I’m guessing if you can’t find Bresaola, a prosciutto would work well here. It can be eaten as an appetizer or main course (for a luncheon or light dinner).

This is another easily assembled recipe that looks amazing and is super delicious. Especially on a hot, no-cook day. Here, I was able to harvest the last of my arugula/rocket leaves, and also use the basil from my garden. I even used the crumbs from the fresh garlic croutons I make each week. Amazing!!!!

Ingredients:

• Arugula/rocket
• Sliced peaches
• Thinly julienned Italian basil
• Beef Bresaola, Procsciutto, or Carpaccio
• High quality Balsamic vinegar (I use the one with three coins on the front of the bottle for extra richness/sweetness)
• Bread crumbs

All you do for this one is to arrange the arugula/rocket leaves on a plate. Alternate the peach and bresaola slices. Scatter the basil on top. Drizzle with balsamic and sprinkle with those crunchy, salty, garlicky crumbs. If this is not an umami explosion, I don’t know what is!

                          AVOCADO SALAD

This was another winner as a side salad requiring no heat and little time to put together. If you keep Kosher, this is a good one because it is neither dairy nor meat, and can be eaten with either food group. As you can see, I’m really not giving quantities here as I was using up all my produce and odds and ends – and it depends on the number of people you are feeding. These are easy enough to eyeball, guesstimate, and assemble.

                                BEET SALAD

Because of the influx of Russian, Ukrainian, and other Eastern European immigrants to Israel, beets are a most popular food here. They are ubiquitous on the Israeli table – in borscht, in salads, as side dishes, even pickled beets. Very cheap, and easy to grow (I’m growing both red and golden as well as the candy-cane striped chioggias which I shave raw into salads). I always have at least 4-6 roasted beets in my fridge for put-together recipes…

This recipe can be made with the addition of feta cheese (or bulgarit cheese) crumbles, if you are serving a dairy meal. I left it out as we were having a salad with smoked duck (recipe to follow) that evening.  Also, it used pickled onions, a really easy thing to make that is a staple in our home. I use the pickled onions on sandwiches, and in salads as a random garnish. Quite deliciously tangy and sweet.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large red beets
• 1 golden/yellow beet (if available)
• 1 orange zested, peeled, seeded & segmented
• squeeze of orange juice
• pickled onions (recipe follows below)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper
• rosemary of thyme

Wrap the beets in foil and roast in a 200*C/400*F oven for about 30 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool fully. Remove the skin and any “burned bits.” Slice into a bowl. Squeeze about 1/4 cup orange juice over the beets. Add about 1 teaspoon of the orange zest, and the segmented orange bits (you can also use canned mandarins, which are impossible to find here). Drizzle with about a tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with the slat and pepper. You can add about a teaspoon of fresh rosemary or thyme or just use it as a garnish Both work well in this salad. Top with a scattering of pickled red onions. Serve cold.

Pickled onions:

• 2 large red/purple/Bermuda onions
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup white wine/champagne vinegar
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1 Tbsp pickling spice
• 1 tsp coarse salt

Peel the onions and slice thinly. In a medium saucepan, heat the vinegar sugar, salt mixture to boiling, then let simmer five minutes. Remove from heat and add in the sliced onions. Add the pickling spices. Store in a glass jar. Keep refrigerated. This will stay good for weeks and I add extra sliced onion as the quantity diminishes with use. The pickled onions will be ready to use in as little as half an hour after they are made – but keep getting better as they sit in the fridge.

                     SMOKED DUCK SALAD

This was our favorite salad ever. I found a smoked duck breast in my chicken just hiding out under the frozen peas. So glad!!!!! Don’t even remember when I bought this pre-packaged little gut, but it was a life-saver. The inspiration for this one takes me back to one of our favorite San Francisco restaurants, Cinema Cafe. Served with a crusty slice of sourdough, and its a winner of a meal – great for company!!!

I’m just giving ingredient list here as you can determine how much you want to make to feed a hungry crowd. I was using everything I had left in my pantry (literally) and fridge, so….

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 smoked duck or chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
• arugula/rocked/ baby lettuce leaves
• sliced cherry tomatoes
• pitted kalamata olives
• 1 can drained garbanzo beans
• pickled onions (see recipe above)
• garlic croutons
• lemon juice
• extra virgin olive oil
• pepitas/pumkin seed (sunflower seeds, nuts, whatever you can find)
• poached eggs
• salt and papper

Arrange the first five ingredients on a platter fairly artfully. Drizzle with freshly squeezed lemon juice and olive oil. Sprinkle on croutons and pepitas. On the top add one or two perfectly poached eggs per person, keeping the yolk fairly runny.

It’s fun to break the egg yolk into the served salad and mix it up with the other ingredients as kind of a warm sauce. Quite fancy. Very easy to make and super tasty!