SILKE CEPTS AR SIPOLI MERCE (Fried Herring In Onion Sauce)

To serve 2 to 4

4 fillets of schmaltz herring (1 pound). Any Jewish deli should have them. Pickled herring may be used as a substitute.

1 cup of flour

1 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Dip the herring fillets into the flour, coating them well on both sides. Then shake off the excess flour. In a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over high heat until a light haze forms above it. Droop in the herring and fry about 2 minutes on each side, turning them over carefully with a large spatula. When they are golden brown on both sides, transfer them to a heated serving plate and cover them loosely with foil to keep them warm while you make the sauce.

SAUCE
2 tablespoons of butter

6 tablespoons of finely chopped onions

½ teaspoon of flour

1 teaspoon of prepared mustard (avoid American mustard always)

¼ cup of sour cream

¼ cup teaspoon of salt Freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon of freshly strained lemon juice

In the same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over moderate heat. Add the chopped onions and, stirring frequently, cook for about 5 minutes, or until they are soft but not brown. Stir in the flour, then the mustard, sour cream, salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Stirring constantly, simmer over low heat for about a minute, or until the sauce thickens lightly. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and taste for seasoning. Pour the sauce into a small bowl and serve at once with the herring as a first course or as part of a zakuska table.

TAIDETUD VASIKARIND (Roasted Stuffed Shoulder of Veal)

To serve 8 to 10

½ pound of ground lean veal

½ pound of ground lean pork

½ pound of ground lean beef

½ cup of bread crumbs (white bread)

1 cup of finely chopped onions

2 eggs

Salt Freshly ground black pepper

A 5-pound boned shoulder of veal

4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled

1 ½ to 2 cups of cold water or 1 ½ to cups of chicken stock, fresh or canned

½ cup of sour cream

To make the stuffing, combine the ground veal, pork and beef in a large mixing bowl, and add the bread crumbs, onions, water, eggs, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Mix with your hands or a large spoon until all the ingredients are well combined. Then vigorously knead the mixture for 3 to 5 minutes, or until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F. Skin-side down, spread the veal should flat on a table and, with a small, sharp knife, make small cuts in the thickest areas of the meat so that it lies even flatter. Lay a sheet of wax paper over the veal and with the side of a cleaver or meat pounder, pound the meat to a fairly uniform thickness. Remove the paper and sprinkle the veal liberally with salt and conservatively with pepper.

Spread half the stuffing on the veal, leaving a 2-inch border of the veal exposed all around the sides. Lay the hard-cooked eggs in a row down the length of the stuffing and spread the remaining stuffing in a layer over them. Bring one long side of the veal over the filling to the middle and tuck in the two ends. Now bring the other side over the filling, enclosing it snugly. With a strong kitchen cord, tie the rolled veal crosswise at 2-inch intervals, then with more cord tie it lengthwise.

Place the rolled veal seam-side down in a shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold it comfortably. Pour in 1 ½ cups of cold water or chicken stock and roast for 2 hours, undisturbed, basting the veal from time to time with the juices in the pan.
When the meat is a deep golden brown, carefully transfer it to a serving platter and cut off and discard the cords.

Bring the juices remaining in the pan to a boil over high heat. If most of the liquid has cooked away, add the remaining ½ cup of water or chicken broth to the pan, meanwhile scraping into it any brown bits that may be clinging to the bottom and sides of the pan. Off the heat, stir the ½ cup of sour cream into the sauce, a tablespoon at a time. Taste for seasoning and pour into a sauce dish.

Slice the roll crosswise into 1-inch rounds and arrange them slightly overlapping down the center of a large heated platter. Moisten them with a few tablespoons of sauce and serve the remaining sauce separately.

BULVIU MALTINIAI (Fried Potatoes Patties)

To serve 8 to 10
3 pounds of potatoes, peeled and quartered

4 egg

½ to ¾ cup of flour

5 teaspoons of salt

6 tablespoons of butter for frying

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a 6- to 8-quart pot and drop in the potatoes. Boil briskly, uncovered, until they are soft enough to be easily pierced with a fork. Drain them thoroughly in a large sieve and force them through a ricer or mash them in a bowl with a fork. Beat in the egg, ½ cup of flour and salt, and continue to beat vigorously until the mixture is smooth and dense enough to hold its shape almost solidly in a spoon. (If the mixture seems too fluid, beat in the remaining flour, a tablespoon at a time.)

Gather the potato dough into a ball, place on a heavily floured surface and pat it into a thick rectangle. With a floured rolling pin, roll it into a larger rectangle about 1 inch thick, dusting it frequently with a little flour to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin or board. With a sharp knife or pastry wheel, cut 2-inch wide strips down the length of the dough, then slice diagonally into 2 ½-inch wide lengths. Gently score the top of each diamond-shaped patty by making shallow lines down its length.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet set over high heat. When the foam has almost subsided add 6 or 8 of the patties and brown them 3 to 5 minutes on each side, turning them over carefully with a large spatula. Transfer the patties to a serving platter and cover them loosely with foil to keep them warm while you fry the rest of the patties, adding more butter to the pan as needed.

PORSKINTI RAUDONI KAPUSTAI (Braised Red Cabbage With Sour Cream Sauce)

To serve 6 to 8

3 pounds of red cabbage, cut into quarters, cored and coarsely shreded

½ cup of coarsely chopped onions

1 teaspoon of finely chopped garlic

2 tablespoons of tomato paste 3 cup of cold water

2 teaspoons of salt 6 tablespoons of butter, cut into small pieces

3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, strained

1 tablespoons of sour cream

In a 4-quart enameled or stainless steel casserole, combine the shredded cabbage, chopped onions and garlic. Mix the tomato paste in the water and stir into the cabbage. Add 1 teaspoon of slat and butter and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat to low, cover the casserole and simmer 45 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender. Stir in the lemon juice and the other teaspoon of salt and remove from the heat. Stir in the sour cream and taste for seasoning. Serve directly from the casserole or mound the cabbage in the center of a large serving bowl. Braised cabbage makes an excellent accompaniment to chopped meat patties or stuffed shoulder of veal.

Aleksander Torte (Raspberry-Filled Pastry Strips)

To make about 4 dozen

½ pound of butter, chilled and cut into pieces or bits

3 to 3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

1 tablespoons of sugar

2 egg

1 ½ cups of (12 ounces) of raspberry preserves

2 tablespoons of softened butter

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chilled butter, 3 cups of flour and the sugar and, with your fingertips, rub until the mixture resembles flakes of coarse meal. Beat in the egg and continue to mix until the pastry is smooth. Shape it into a ball, wrap it in wax paper, and refrigerate 1 hour, or until the dough is firm.

With the back of a spoon, rub the reserves through a fine sieve set over a 1-quart saucepan, then cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until they thicken into a thin purée. Set aside off the heat.

Preheat the oven to 250 deg. F. Cut the chilled dough in half and shape each half into a rectangle. One half at a time, roll the pastry between two sheets of lightly floured wax paper into a rectangle approximately 10 inches wide and 15 inches long. With a pastry brush, coat each of 2 cookie sheets with 1 tablespoon of butter and sprinkle them with flour, tipping the sheets from side to side to coat them evenly. Then invert the sheets and tap them against a hard surface to dislodge any excess flour.

After you have rolled the pastry between two sheets of wax paper in rectangles 10 x 15 inches, fold in any excess edges, cover with was paper again and roll smooth. Peel off the top sheet of wax paper and use the bottom one to lift the pastry onto a cookie sheet. Similarly roll the remaining dough and bake each separately. Spread one layer evenly with raspberry purée. Gently slide the second layer of pastry off its cookie sheet onto the raspberry-covered layer. Cover the top layer of pastry with lemon-flavored sugar icing (see below), cool, then slice into 1- to 2-inch strips. You should bake for 40 minutes, or until the pastry begins to turn a pale gold. Watch carefully for any sign of burning and regulate the heat accordingly.

WHITE ICING
3 cups of confectionery sugar

¼ cup of cold water

1 teaspoons of lemon juice

With a spoon stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a large mixing bowl to form a thin paste. Spread the icing smoothly over the top layer of pastry with a spatula, and set the cake aside to cool to room temperature. With a small, sharp knife or pastry wheel, slice the torte into strips 1 inch wide and 2 inches long.