The Smiling Onion

Vegetarian and Gluten-free Cooking

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Giant Veggie Turnover (Grain-Free and Kosher for Passover!)

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I swear that the photos do not do this recipe justice. It wasn’t very photogenic (or needed a better photographer) but it looked strikingly beautiful in real life. So much so that I kept grabbing my phone and taking more pictures of it even after I was technically “done” with the shoot. But there’s much more to this recipe than good looks.

If you are a vegetarian (like me), Passover can be a bit tough. Potato kugels are usually the center piece and then come lots and lots of sides. Not that there is anything wrong with that – I love sides – but sometimes you want something a bit more forward at the center of your seder.

Enter this giant veggie turnover. It’s stuffed to the brim with potatoes, kale, and cabbage seasoned with lots of paprika and dill. The turnover crust is satisfyingly savory, sweet, and bready with a knish-like quality that will surprise you. There’s plenty of extra filling to pile on top or style individual plates with, and it’s super fun to cut off slices for all your guests. And – to add some extra Passover flair – a horseradish-lemon dressing gets drizzled on top.

When I tasted it, I was pretty ecstatic. Who knew plantains could taste so Jewish? And the filling – yum! And the horseradish…oh, man. This was going to be a seder to remember.

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Grain-Free Lokshen Kugel for Passover

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Noodle Kugel for Passover? Am I meshugana? Nope. This kugel is completely Passover-appropriate. It also happens to be grain-free, gluten-free, nut-free, lactose-free, and low FODMAP. (Sorry vegans – I’m working on it.)  Don’t be scared by that long list of “frees” either; this kugel is the opposite of deprivation. Carrot noodles take the place of traditional noodles, which means more flavor. And holding them together? It’s that traditional sweet cream cheese custard we all know and love. In fact, when I first made this, I was almost disappointed by how much it tasted like your standard deli kugel – should I have added some ginger? Orange zest? Something to make it a bit more unique?

Then I realized grain-free noodle kugel was unique, and the fact that it tasted remarkably similar to traditional kugel was probably a selling point. Spiralized carrots are baked with sour cream, eggs, cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a few (optional) raisins. Then the whole thing is chilled overnight, cut into squares, and …voila! It’s that traditional, sweet, Jewish dessert so quintessential to special occasions. And Kosher for passover to boot.

So if you want to experiment with some ground ginger, or orange zest, or cardamom, or whatever sounds good to you – by all means, do it! And please let me know how it turns out. But if you are a traditionalist – look no further. This is your kugel.

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Hipster Hamantaschen Fillings

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Purim is around the corner which means it’s hamantaschen time! Last Purim, I created a 15-minute hamantaschen recipe that happens to be raw, vegan, grain-free, and sugar-free (sweetened with dates), so be sure to check out that recipe if you haven’t yet.  It’s super easy and really delicious!

This year, I decided to focus on fillings, because I feel like there is just so much wasted potential there. I mean, donut fillings have gone way beyond your standard cream or chocolate at this point (dulce de leche, passion fruit….there are a ton of donut shops in NYC that really understand the opportunity that comes with the word “filling”). But hamantaschen? Every year,  I walk past bakeries and see hamantaschen filled with your typical jam and poppy seed. It’s  nothing to complain about of course — those fillings are traditional and delicious — but can we get some creative ones too? Let’s enter the world of “artisan” hamantaschen fillings already!

I’ve attempted to do that here, with three fillings that would probably be on the docket if your favorite hipster joint started selling hamantaschen. (Disclaimer: I don’t consider myself a hipster, so I could be wrong about this.) They are Mexican-Chocolate Chestnut, Salted-Maple Peanut,  and Poppy-Seed Cream Cheese (the least hipster and most Jewish of the lot). They are all low FODMAP as long as you don’t overdo it; the Mexican Chocolate-Chestnut is vegan, and the Poppy-Seed Cream Cheese is nut-free. Last year’s 3-ingredient chocolate filling (vegan and raw) is also worth revisiting if FODMAPs aren’t a concern.

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Savory Waffles with Caramelized Cabbage

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It took me a while to get on the waffle train. Give me a hefty stack of pancakes any day but I never got the fuss about waffles…weren’t they just like breadier pancakes, except NOT fried in butter? What was the point?

Once I got a waffle maker of my own, however, I didn’t just get on the train – I may have taken a turn in the driver’s seat! I think I made a different type of waffle every day for the first week – cornmeal, raspberry-chocolate chip … if you can think it, I probably made it. What makes them so satisfying? It’s hard to say. My waffle maker makes ginormous waffles – like seriously colossal – which definitely helps: sitting down to a gorgeous piece of bready goodness that takes up your whole plate certainly makes for a dramatic meal. Unlike pancakes, waffles also have this fantastic crispy-on-the-outside (if I let them cook a tiny bit past the “ready” light on my machine) soft-and-fluffy-on-the-inside thing going on. And one of the best things about waffles, in my humble opinion, is that you don’t have to stand by the stove frying them OR worry about making them come out the same size and shape. With a waffle, everything goes right into your handy dandy waffle maker, and they are guaranteed to come out beautifully cooked and perfectly shaped every time.

I was so waffle-happy, in fact, that I decided to create a savory waffle that wouldn’t be confined to just breakfast. Don’t get me wrong: these waffles do make a fantastic breakfast, but they are equally lovely for lunch, dinner, afternoon snack, late-night snack, you name it. They will dress up each and every occasion to put food in your mouth, period. The mix of teff, sorghum, and millet flours gives them a hefty dose of protein and whole-grain goodness as well as a wonderful flavor that I’ve spiked with thyme, herbes de provence, and parmesan: think pizza goldfish but swap out the mass production and junk food aspects with artisan bakeries and a dose of elegance and you’ll be halfway there. (I know that’s weird but you’ll see what I’m talking about when you make them!)

You can top these beauties with any number of delicious toppings, but my favorite is the caramelized cabbage in this recipe (which you should really make even if you have no intention of making waffles – it is seriously the best way to eat cabbage!) along with a poached egg. The cabbage is oh-so-buttery and sweet, delicately spiced with dill, paprika, and just a touch of allspice. And when you cut into the whole ensemble, that egg yolk will run all over your waffle and form the perfect sauce.
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16 Passover Recipes

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Passover is around the corner! That means matzoh ball soup, charoset, hard boiled eggs, horseradish, tzimmes, and a whole lot of other Passover staples if you happen to be attending or hosting a seder this year. In fact, planning what to eat at a seder is almost never difficult – there are so many traditional Passover dishes! What can be hard for most of us, however, is figuring out what to eat after the Seder, when you are sick of the staples yet still have almost a week left of restricted eating.

Since I’m gluten-free year round and happen to also follow Sephardic Passover (this means beans and grains are A-okay), the basic change to my diet is restricting oats. Which isn’t super difficult. However, many of my friends follow Ashkenazi Passover, which is much more restrictive – no grains or legumes at all (though quinoa is okay), no poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, or sesame seeds…the list goes on for a while. And it can be difficult if you are vegetarian.

So, instead of giving you yet another version of Matzoh Ball Soup (though I have a pretty great idea for one and will probably post it next year), I’ve decided to list for you all of the delicious and wonderful things you can eat right from this blog even if you follow a strict Ashkenazi style Pesach. (If you follow Sephardic Passover, you can pretty much eat anything on this blog that doesn’t contain oats!)

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Spaetzle (With Caraway-Dill Cabbage and Onions!)

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Twelve long years ago, I met spaetzle for the first time. We were in the Czech Republic, and it was summer. I was 16 – spaetzle was….well…considerably older, but age didn’t matter to us. During our first encounter that summer in the Czech Republic, I fell madly in love.

I remember it like it was yesterday: I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt; spaetzle was cloaked in a sweet sauce of butter and poppy seeds. Neither of us heard the clink of fork on plate as we met for the first time. I remember the moment as tender, with a slight bite (just the right amount.) I remember the rush as my teeth sank into pillowy goodness. And I remember the butter.

That summer was amazing, and we both swore we would not be strangers to each other when it came to an end. But touching down on American soil once more, I was distracted. Years of pizza, tacos, and take-out Thai came and went, my beloved spaetzle momentarily forgotten. During one of those years, I swore off floury food all together: no gluten, no spaetzle! It looked like our love affair might be over for good.

But I’m happy to report that, twelve years after we first met, I’ve rekindled my relationship with spaetzle. Our first meeting on American soil was remarkably similar to our first meeting in the Czech Republic: my new spaetzle is just as tender, just as pillowy, and just as buttery as the one I remember from twelve years ago. But with one major difference: no gluten. Which made our encounter all the more exciting.

If you’ve never heard of spaetzle and just made it through that whole love story without googling it or giving up – you are super awesome!  In case that did happen, let me brief you: spaetzle is a traditional German dish that is somewhere between a dumpling and a noodle. It is normally oddly shaped and can be served in both sweet and savory preparations, with all manner of delicious things.

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Carrot Latkes with Green Apple Sour Cream

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It’s latke time! Whether you’ve just lit candles for the second night of Chanukah, or all you know about Chanukah is the Adam Sandler song (one of my all-time LEAST favorite songs, by the way), you gotta make some latkes. Or at least, find somewhere to go eat them. Because Jewish or not, who doesn’t like crispy fried potatoes with sour cream and apple sauce?

That said, too much of a good thing definitely applies . And if you do happen to celebrate Chanukah, you know what I’m talking about. The first time you eat latkes on Chanukah, it’s totally awesome. But by the time the obligatory latkes hit your plate at the third Chanukah gathering you’ve been to, you may start to get a little…well…rebellious. My solution? Ditch the starchy, heavy potato and bust out your carrots! Need some more reasons to try carrot latkes? I’ve got ’em!

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Apples and Honey Cake for Rosh Hashanah

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On the eve of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), I’m home with my family in Western Massachusetts, soaking up as much countryside as I can get before heading back to city life. And of course that also includes taking advantage of all the delicious local produce! Yesterday, I was dragged around to various farmstands in search of the perfect Hadley corn, which led to a heated argument over what that meant exactly. (My dad insisted he could tell by scent alone; the rest of us demanded he at least take a peek inside the husk before choosing!) The argument was forgotten, come dinnertime, as we dove into the buttery ears, which proved quite delicious. We also enjoyed a lovely cherry tomato and goat cheese salad and some delicious pesto potatoes, courtesy of my mother’s garden (except for the goat cheese, that is!).

And today, it’s all about the apples.

After a lovely morning at an orchard in Easthampton (pictures here), I am definitely in the Rosh Hashanah spirit. Apples dipped in honey are traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashanah to symbolize a sweet new year, as is honey cake. But this year, I decided to combine those two traditions into one scrumptious grain-free, dairy-free Rosh Hashanah apples and honey cake. I guess it was a good idea, because my family told me it was the best honey cake they’d ever had! (Disclaimer: They don’t really like honey cakes to begin with, so I’m not sure how that fact affects the rave review).

While I personally wouldn’t go so far as to call this the best honey cake ever, it’s definitely a great grain-free, dairy-free, Rosh Hashanah option to help you start your year off right. Because everyone (including those with dietary restrictions) deserves to have a sweet new year!

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Crispy Beet Fritters with Leek Cream (Dairy-Free Option)

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Every once in a while, I’m in the mood to cook fancy food.  I’m talking stuffed foods, rolled foods, and fritters! While my cooking style is generally ethnic, simple, and hearty, occasionally I like to pretend my house is a pricey farm to table establishment. I have a blast whipping up fancy sauces, experimenting with unusual garnishes, and plating the finished product. It was during one of these fancy food cooking sprees that these crispy beet fritters with leek cream were born, and while they may look and sound hoity-toity,  they are actually quite delicious and pretty simple to prepare!

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