#8DaysThanksgivukkah: Everything Encrusted Smoked Salmon with Jerusalem Salad

As some of you may know, this year Thanksgiving and the first full day of Hanukkah intercept for the first time since 1888 and won’t happen again for an estimated 77,000 years. Gotta strike the iron while it’s hot! 

Thanksgivukkah as it is now dubbed is a rare event that gives foodies like me an opportunity to play homage to some of my favorite cuisine on the ultimate food holiday. Two Thanksgivings ago I made a Jewish Apple Cake instead of say apple or pumpkin pie. It was a huge hit and I’ve been making it even since. When the blog started getting search hits for “Thanksgiving Hanukkah recipes” it occurred to me this series would work not only for those celebrating both holidays, but also for us gentiles as well.

No, I’m not Jewish. My only claim to the heritage is my Great Grandfather and a deep love for the food from Eastern European Jews to the more Mediterranean flavors of Israel and Morocco. Each cuisine is so different, yet for me they all have a place at the table. Moving from Philadelphia where I lived for four years to Texas, I miss my favorite Jewish delis, and ability to find Dr. Brown’s soda, matzo, challah, lox, and apple cake whenever I needed it. I’m the first person to reach for "Jewish penicillin" (matzo ball soup) when a cold comes along. So with a big stack of cookbooks for inspiration I thought I’d mix it up this year and include some Jewish inspired meals for your Thanksgiving table.

So the next eight posts on the Cuisiner will:

Eight Days of Thanksgivukkah!

See what I did there? I’ll be post everything from cocktails, side dishes, salads, to main alternatives, and of course dessert.

This series is a long time in the making with a lot of trial and error, and a lot of research!  I’ve been so excited to share it with you.

These are recipes for entertaining, so I plan on making most of the serving sizes accordingly. While these are simply Jewish “inspired” and lay no claim of knowing everything about the Jewish food tradition, I also highly respect it. If you adhere to kosher guidelines, you may not be able to eat all the recipes I featured, but if it is, I hope you’ll give it a try. I plan on using some familiar and symbolic ingredients such as olive oil for Hanukkah, and apples and honey-normally associated with Rosh Hashanah.

The first on the list is inspired by two spectrums of Jewish cuisine: that of American Ashkenazi heritage and that of Israel's Mediterranean influences.

 I first got this idea after the first completely Glatt Kosher fine dining restaurant in the Philadelphia- area. opened up a stones throw from me in Bala Cynwyd, PA. While stalking the menu of Citron + Rose, I stumbled across the idea of an everything bagel encrusted salmon lox starter. 

I thought it was brilliant: take the best of bagel and lox and combine it into one bite. So I started by gently coating pieces of salmon lox first in olive oil, and then in a mixture of seasonings you normally find on a traditional NYC everything bagel. This coated lox would be delicious as a starter on garlic challah crostini with a schmear of Greek yogurt or cream cheese mixed with truffle oil and cherry tomatoes.  If you do that, let me know!

For my recipe I added that beautifully encrusted salmon on a mixed green salad, with crunchy cucumbers, halved cherry tomatoes, and a simple balsamic and truffle olive oil vinaigrette with a side of carrot salad. One American classic with a play on an Israeli salad.

After reading the fabulous Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, I was inspired to create a salad from popular Israeli ingredients such as cucumbers, greens, and tomatoes. According to the book, many Israelis see it as “unhealthy” not to have a salad with every meal. 

The carrot salad is a play on another symbolic food and mezze classic from Israel and Jerusalem--Moroccan Carrot Salad. The version I found in both Jerusalem, and Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook, first cook the carrots in boiling water. I prefer them raw and crunchy, but either version is delicious.

Put it altogether and you have an amazing starter for your Thanksgiving meal.

 Everything Encrusted Smoked Salmon  
with "Jerusalem Salad"

Makes 4-6 salads

(Inspired by Citron + Rose, Jerusalem: A Cookbook, and Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 4oz. package of quality smoked salmon lox, pieces, carefully separated

5oz. of mixed greens salad or arugula mix

15-20 cherry tomatoes, cut into halves

1 medium cucumber, cut into slices and halved

Dressing

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2-3 tbsp. Black Truffle infused olive oil

Extra olive oil for coating

1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Everything Spice Blend (double if necessary)

1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

1 tbsp. black poppy seeds

1 tbsp. minced dried onions

1 tsp.  minced dried garlic

2 tsp. kosher salt

Optional: 1 tbsp. black sesame seeds and 1 tbsp. caraway seeds if you want to be NYC authentic

Carrot Salad (Adapted from Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook)

4 large carrots, grated over a boxed grater

2 tbsp. truffle oil

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 

¼ cup, chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 garlic clove, minced

kosher salt and pepper to taste

The recipe is parve

Directions:

For carrot salad, mix all ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate for up to two days before serving. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix together olive oil, truffle oil, balsamic, honey, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add salt to taste if necessary. Set aside.

Arrange lettuce in the middle of the salad plates, while making a ring around the plate with opposite cucumbers and cherry tomato halves.  Drizzle dressing over greens, a tablespoon at a time, until light coated. You may have dressing leftover.

On a flat plate, gently mix all spices for Everything blend, and spread across plate making spices a single layer. With a spoon and your fingers, smear a small amount of olive oil on the edge of each piece of salmon. With oiled side down, carefully coat the salmon edge in the seasoning and arrange 2-3 coated pieces on top of each salad, depending on amount.

Add portion of carrot salad to each plate and serve.

Happy Thanksgivukkah!

The Cuisiner

What's your favorite Thanksgiving starter?