Jewish Life Digital Edition July 2015 | Page 57

MUSHROOMS BERKLEY A great salad that can be served immediately, or cold the next day. Great for Shabbat lunch. INGREDIENTS 500g sliced mushrooms 1 shallot chopped Olive oil for frying 3 garlic cloves chopped 2½ Tablespoons brown sugar 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce Lemon juice from half a lemon 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 red pepper – cut into small cubes 1 green pepper – cut into small cubes Salt and pepper to taste Chopped parsley for garnish (optional) METHOD Heat a pot with the oil and cook the mushrooms – stirring occasionally until all the juice from the mushrooms has evaporated. Remove the mushrooms from the pot, put them into a bowl, and leave on the side. Heat a bit more oil and fry up the shallot and garlic until golden. Return the mushrooms to the pot and mix well. Add the sugar and cook until the mushrooms are glazed and coated. Add the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and vinegar. Add the peppers. As it reaches a boil, stir and remove from the heat. You do not want to overcook the peppers as the salad works when they still have a crunch. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle the chopped parsley over the salad just before serving. PIMENTO PEPPERS These have become my favourite way to eat peppers – eat them plain, add them to an ordinary salad for something different, or even add them to soups. The only catch for this recipe is that you need a gas stove. INGREDIENTS PHOTOGRAPHS: ILAN OSSENDRYVER 1 whole pepper (any colour works, but my favourites are the red ones) METHOD Place the pepper directly onto the fire and keep rotating it (using a pair of tongs) until the entire skin is black – the more black, the better the taste. When you are nearly ready to remove the pepper, get your bowl ready by covering it in Glad Wrap. Carefully remove the pepper from the flame and put it in the bowl and cover it immediately – you want to trap as much of the steam from the pepper as possible. Let the pepper sit for at least 10-15 minutes (or until you are ready to use it). Once you are ready to work with the pepper, remove it from the bowl and place it on your cutting board. Now using a knife, carefully remove all the black bits from the pepper – they will come off very easily, but it does become a bit messy. When you have removed most of the black, cut the pepper in half and remove the seeds – this can be done by scraping the pepper with the knife. It is now ready to be enjoyed in any dish of your choosing! This can be done with as many peppers that fit into your bowl at one time without going over the rim. They can also be kept in the fridge (covered) for about a week – if they last that long! JEWISH LIFE ISSUE 86 53