Every year when Purim ends I begin bouncing around ideas in my head for what I want to prepare for Seder night. Should I stick with my family's traditional recipes that I know everyone likes, or should I try something new? Should I also include a variety of dishes from different Jewish cultures, or a combination of old and new? This year I happened upon a new cookbook – The Book of Meat, by Ohad Kvity and Gili Ben Shachar, that focuses solely on meat dishes. As I was flipping through the pages, I realized that a few of the recipes would be perfect to prepare for Seder night. Below I've copied four meat recipes of varying levels of difficulty for you to choose from. In addition, I've included recipes for two sauces and one drink from The Book of Meat that go well with the main dishes. Both authors of the book have very interesting backgrounds. Kvity began his culinary career at Mul Yam, where he worked his way up to sous-chef under the direction of Yoram Nitzan. He then continued as sous-chef at Tapaya and Alba, and as chef at Sergos. Ben Shachar is a food connoisseur, entrepreneur, dairy farmer and former hi-techie who has managed event halls in both Israel and Southeast Asia. The two began holding fun culinary evenings for friends, who gave them such positive feedback that they decided to form a catering business together called Meat Carnival. Soon after, they began gathering their best recipes, which quickly came together in their cookbook. In the book, they also discuss how to choose quality cuts of meat, how to season meat, and of course how to cook meat. In addition, there are recipes for spice rubs and sauces, which enhance the meat's flavors. All of the recipes below are taken from The Book of Meat. Beef candies Makes six to eight servings. 2 kg. beef, such as sirloin, entrecote, shoulder or brisket 1 liter natural apple cider Sea salt 1 lemon Cut the beef into 3-cm. cubes and put in a baking tray. Pour apple cider on top so that it covers the bottom half of beef pieces. If you're preparing beef in a smoker, place a tray in bottom of smoker so that it will catch all the drippings of fat and cider from the meat in the smoker. Stir every once in a while. If you're preparing beef in an oven, place the tray in an oven that has been preheated to 180º. Add a bit of cider every half hour and stir. Cook for 3½ hours. After it has cooked for 3½ hours, stop adding cider so that the liquid can evaporate. The beef candies will be soft and ready after four hours. Squeeze some lemon juice over beef pieces just before serving so that it hides oil. Leg of lamb with Herbs This impressive dish is perfect for holidays when you are hosting guests. You can request that the butcher remove the bone from the meat and insert herbs inside the meat, which provide volume and an extremely aesthetic look. Makes six to eight servings. 3-kg. leg of lamb Bunch of parsley Bunch of mint leaves Bunch of coriander Bunch of basil Strip of lemon grass Small ginger root Half a lemon One green chili pepper Sea salt Black pepper Half a pomegranate Sprinkle lamb with pepper and salt and put it inside the smoker or oven. Cook until meat is very soft and almost falls off bone. With a mortar and pestle, crush lemon grass, lemon, chili, ginger and salt. Chop herbs coarsely and mix. Place on a plate. Remove lamb from bone and cover with crushed mixture. Place lamb on top of herbs and squeeze pomegranate juice on top. Sirloin, bone marrow and nuts This impressive dish requires a substantial time investment, but the incredible results make it well worth the effort. Makes six to eight servings. 1 kg. sirloin 500 gr. mixture of ground beef from rump steak, brisket and rib eye (in equal proportions) 200 gr. marrow bones 100 gr. peeled pecans Sea salt Pinch of black pepper Pinch of Szechuan pepper String for tying up meat Slice the sirloin as thin as possible. Flatten the ground beef evenly on top of the sirloin. Sprinkle with nuts and add marrow bones. Add the salt and peppers.Roll up and tie with string. Put in smoker or oven that has been preheated to 180º for 1 hour. (Internal temperature can be up to 60º.) Remove the string and slice. Chimichurri pineapple sauce 100 gr. parsley 100 gr. red pepper 100 gr. pineapple 5 gr. garlic 10 gr. salt 5 gr. spicy paprika 5 gr. oregano 50 ml. apple vinegar 100 ml. soybean oil Chop the parsley, pepper, pineapple and garlic thinly. Mix the chopped vegetables with the rest of the ingredients.Transfer to a container with a top and store in fridge. It's important that the chimichurri is covered with liquid so that it won't dry out. ORANGE BARBECUE SAUCE This sauce can be used for any meat dish. Once you make it, you'll never want to go back to your old sauces. You can replace the oranges with apples, cherries, pears or any other seasonal fruit. For mustard barbecue sauce, mix with mustard at a ratio of 1:1. For chocolate barbecue sauce, mix with 150 gr. of melted bittersweet chocolate. 5 tomatoes, cut coarsely 2 oranges 3 white onions, cut coarsely Red chili pepper, halved 5 large Portobello mushrooms 200 ml. soy sauce 100 ml. lemon juice 300 ml. water 100 gr. honey 500 gr. crushed tomatoes Heat a large pot and brown the vegetables and oranges. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, lower the flame and continue cooking for another 30 minutes until ²⁄3 of the liquid has evaporated. Shut off flame and blend with an immersion blender. Strain sauce. Transfer sauce to a jar. Let cool and then close with lid. OSSOBUCO Makes six to eight servings. 4 pcs. ossobuco 3 onions 4 carrots Head of garlic 4 stalks of celery Pinch of salt Black pepper, to taste Bottle of red wine Place ossobuco in a pot with vegetables on top. Pour wine on top until it covers meat completely. Bring to a boil. Use a spoon to remove froth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Lower flame and cover pot to prevent liquid from evaporating. Continue cooking until meat almost comes off bone, about four hours. Remove from flame and take meat and vegetables out of pot. Continue cooking the juices until you have a nice, rich gravy. ALMOND ARAK 500 ml. quality arak 200 gr. blanched almonds, halved For adornment: mint leaves With a blender, blend arak and almonds together for 10 minutes on high speed. Strain liquid through a cheese cloth into a bottle. Serve cold with a sprig of mint. Translated by Hannah Hochner.
