A new cookbook in the mail is some of the best kind of mail out there. I was very excited when the Starters & Sides Cookbook showed up in my mailbox recently. This cookbook, by Leah Schapira and Victoria Dwek of Ami Magazine and CookKosher.com fame, is just as beautiful and just as well laid out as their Passover Made Easy cookbook that I featured this past Spring.
This cookbook features pages and pages of easy to follow recipes for tasty and innovate side dishes, appetizers and salads. This cookbook is totally made for me. I love side dishes! I could make a dinner out of the appetizer menu!
When this cookbook showed up, I quickly ripped it out of the packaging to page through the book. Like the Passover cookbook, the book features some fantastic tips and ideas. The recipes are simple, without complicated ingredients. Every recipe features a full-color photo, which is always helpful.
I especially liked that there were many recipes in the cookbook that were vegetarian and most of the recipes didn’t use processed products. I tried to stick to whole foods as much as possible.
A recipe that caught my eye, that I thought would be perfect for an upcoming dinner I was hosting, were the kishka and zucchini towers. Homemade kishka is a fantastic treat once in a while. This vegetarian appetizer is perfect for shabbat or any other dinner when entertaining. Sharing the recipe with you today.
In addition to the cookbook that the publisher sent me, they have also graciously offered one cookbook for one of my lucky readers. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway below! Good luck! Hope you enjoy the cookbook as much as I did!
- 3 large zucchini, cut into ½-inch slices
- ¼ cup olive oil
- salt to taste
- coarse black pepper to taste
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- ¼cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp paprika
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ⅔ cup cold water
- ⅔ cup oil
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Prepare the kishka: In a small bowl, combine flour, breadcrumbs, brown sugar, paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Stir in water and oil. Mold the mixture into a log that is the same width as your zucchinis. Freeze log for at least 15 minutes.
- Place zucchini rounds on one prepared baking sheet. Remove kishka from freezer and slice into ½-inch rounds. Place kishka rounds on second prepared baking sheet.
- Brush zucchini and kishka rounds with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 45-50 minutes until zucchini is tender and kishka and zucchini are golden on the edges.
- Remove from oven. Create towers by topping a kishka round with a zucchini round, another kishka round, and a second zucchini round.
