Twice-Baked Potatoes with Labaneh and Za’atar

 

 

I can’t believe this is real but there was a time in my life when I did not like labaneh and za’atar — together or apart. I did not like it. I’m so ashamed to admit this about myself because they are such an integral part of Israeli cuisine and I am 100% on board with all things Israeli cuisine. I distinctly remember once, in 2008, when I was living abroad for the year studying at the Pardes Institute of Judaic Studies, a trip I went on for Shabbat. I cannot remember exactly where I was but I know it was a small Arab village that was known for it’s labaneh and I was determined to give labaneh another try. Folks had raved about this tiny village and their labaneh and by golly, I was going to like it! In case you don’t, labaneh is technically a yogurt only it’s been has been strained to filter or remove the whey. It’s a classic Middle Eastern dairy spread that tastes like if Greek yogurt and sour cream had a delicious, creamy baby. And while I did try that tiny village’s labaneh, I still didn’t like it at the time.

I am happy to report, however, that times and tastes have changed in the last 11 years since I tried that labaneh. I don’t know what happened. Maybe I’ve actually matured in taste palette as well as in life!? Maybe it was all that labaneh I’ve seen on some of my most favorite Israeli cuisine chefs (shalom, Adeena Sussman!). Whatever it is, my new Shabbat morning breakfast is labaneh, roasted cherry tomatoes, Israeli salad, and pita chips. I now have this little breakfast every Shabbat morning; I love labaneh that much.

Therefore, when the folks at Tnuva asked me if I would be interested in partnering on a few recipe posts I was more than happy to be ALL in!

Fun Fact: Since 1926 (almost 100 years!) Tnuva has been the world’s leading premium kosher cheese provider. They’ve expanded to include many other products like puff pastry and harissa, all made in Israel! GIMME ALL THE HARISSA AND PUFF PASTRY!

My first recipe in this dream partnership is a Twice-Baked Potato with my old friends, labaneh and za’atar—a flavor match made in heaven! I don’t want to trigger anyone into an anxiety spiral but the Jewish holidays this year just destroyed me. There was so much cooking and grocery shopping and meat consumption that I decided that for Thanksgiving this year, we would host a vegetarian potluck Friendsgiving and I will FOR SURE be making these delicious twice-baked potato friends for that dinner. Twice-baked potatoes are so creamy, filled with flavor and are the perfect canvas for Tnuva’s rich and delicious 5% labaneh. The creaminess of the labaneh is an easy and scrumptious way to create the smoothness needed for pipping back into the potato skin boat. If you don’t have a star piping tip or piping bags, feel free to just scoop the labaneh + potato mixture back into the potato skins. The piping is just to up the fancy factor.

 

 

 

Twice Baked Potatoes with Labaneh and Za’atar

Ingredients:

1 ½ tsp olive oil

4 6-ounce Russet potatoes, scrubbed

¾ cup Tvuna Labaneh

½ cup half and half

3 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp finely chopped chives

3 tbsp finely chopped dill

1 ½ tbsp za’atar

1.5 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp garlic powder

 

Directions:

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 375°F. 

Rub oil over potatoes. Pierce in several spots with a fork. Place directly on oven rack; bake until very tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool 10 minutes. 

Using oven mitts, grasp 1 potato in hand. Using a serrated knife, cut off top 1/4 of potato. Using a spoon, scoop out potato, leaving 1/2-inch-thick shell; transfer potato flesh to a large bowl. Repeat with remaining potatoes. Mash potatoes until smooth. Mix in labaneh, then half and half, butter, za’atar, dill, and chives. Season with salt and garlic powder.

Spoon about 3/4 of potato mixture into shells, dividing evenly. Transfer remaining potato filling to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe filling atop potatoes. Place potatoes on a baking sheet. 

*All of the above can be done ahead by a day. Just cover loosely with pastic wrap and refrigerate.  

Position rack in center of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake potatoes until filling is heated through and tops brown, about 20 minutes.

 

*This post was absolutely sponsored by Tnuva, a company whose products I genuinely love to eat. 




I Heart Cheese: 18 Vegetarian Recipes featuring CHEESE!

If you’re new to this blog and are vegan and/or not so much a dairy eating then I need to give you a bit of a heads up —- I LOVE CHEESE. I mean, we are in a long-term committed relationship and have been since I was about 6 years old. Since I’m a kosher-keeper (and therefore, don’t mix dairy with meat), I can’t have cheese at every meal, which is probably a good thing. I don’t want to jinx anything, but it is a wonder that I’m not on the floor in the fetal position suffering from a kidney stone right about now . . . that’s how much dairy I eat. For us Jews, the holiday of Shavuot is upon us and it’s traditional to dig into the dairy for our Shavuot meal. As such, I thought it’d be fun to put out the call to my fellow food bloggers for some vegetarian recipes featuring cheese! I’ve got some of my own thrown in there for funsies and I do hope you enjoy.

Also, don’t forget! Jewhungry swag is up on Etsy and running! I’m getting a restock in in about 10 days with bonus toddler sizing for the Israeli version. Click here to check it out — there’s still time to get your order before Father’s Day.

Za’atar White Bean Salad on Malawach from Jewhungry the Blog

Roasted Red Pepper Oven-Grilled Cheese from Dizzy, Busy, and Hungry

Cheesy Spinach Stuffed Shells from Peas and Crayons

Classic Thin Crust Three Cheese Pizza from Baked by Rachel

Cheesy Carrot Casserole with Bread Crumb Topping from Courtney’s Sweets

Everything Bagel Cheesecake from Sweet Recipea

Marinated Cana de Cabra (Spanish Goat Cheese) from Everyday Maven

Easy Scalloped Potatoes from Recipes from a Pantry

Slow Cooker Beer Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwiches by The Beeroness

dinner irl: the best roasted vegetable lasagna from Sheri Silver

WARM ZUCCHINI NOODLE SALAD WITH TOMATOES AND HALLOUMI from Hey, Nutrition Lady

Airfryer Honey Goat Cheese Balls from The Creative Bite

Homemade Pimento Cheese Dip from Julie Blanner

Cheesy Pesto Farro from The Lemon Bowl

Cheesy Vegetarian Tofu Enchiladas from Vanilla and Bean

Crispy, Gooey Fresh Mozzarella Steaks from Foodie with Family

Dill and White Cheddar Sourdough from Karen’s Kitchen

Savory Mashed Purple Potato Pie with Garlic Cream Cheese from Jewhungry the Blog




Funfetti No-Churn Cheesecake Ice Cream Sandwiches

no churn cheesecake ice cream sandwich jewhungry kosher

no churn cheesecake ice cream sandwich jewhungry kosher

Ya’ll. Do not adjust your screens. I have made a post for this blog. It had been quite a while since I baked anything as the school year is winding down but the side hustle is winding up now that I’ve got this sweet t-shirt thing happening so I hadn’t had too much extra time to get creative with the baking. But, alas, the new season of Nailed It FINALLY came out and it got my baking bug ticking (is that a thing? We’ll say it’s a thing). Also, it’s almost Shavuot and I super love Shavuot! What’s Shavuot, you ask?

Well, Shavuot is the celebration of when the Jewish people received the Torah at Mt. Sinai. The word, Shavuot, translates to ‘weeks’ in English. And, as with all of our festival days, Shavuot is also a celebration of a harvest — the summer harvest, to be exact. Super fun times, no? Common modalities of celebration for Shavuot range from all night long learning fests, the telling of the story of Ruth, and/or the eating of dairy foods (and now you get why this is one of my most favorite holidays). In classic Jewish tradition, no one REALLY knows why dairy is eaten on Shavuot. The first true attempt at an explanation came from Rabbi Moses Isserles (a.k.a. “The Rema”). In his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch – Orach Chaim (1564), Isserles explains that the consumption of dairy commemorates the “Shtei HaLechem” (“Two Bread”) sacrifice given at the Temple on Shavuot.

His explanation is a bit a little wonky, but it goes something like this: You eat a dairy meal, then mid-way through the Shavuot feast, the table is cleared to make way for a meat meal (under the laws of kashrut, dairy can be eaten before meat, but not meat before dairy). The meal switch requires a new loaf of bread to be put on the table. But, because we’re Jews, we are never satisfied with just one explanation so this thought has been disputed several times over so truly, I honestly do not know why dairy is eaten.

no churn cheesecake ice cream sandwich jewhungry kosher

no churn cheesecake ice cream sandwich jewhungry kosher

But eaten it is and since I’m NEVER one to shy away from a dairy anything, the girls and I decided to make ya’ll these homemade, no churn cheesecake ice cream sandwiches. However, we wanted to take it up a notch (or 5) and so we decided to sandwich this cheesecake ice cream BETWEEN TWO SUGAR COOKIES. Look ya’ll, we’re celebrating here. It’s the Feast of Weeks! Let’s enjoy! Here’s why it works — the ice cream doesn’t have any added sugar. It gets its yumminess from the cream cheese and the vanilla bean paste. As such, the sugar cookies don’t overpower and become one big sugary mess.

Anyway, I’m really excited about where things are going with Jewhungry and in terms of my work in dismantling diet culture. I’ve got some workshops and travel in the work — doing some teaching with parents and teens on mental health and wellness and it feels really good to be engaged in this meaningful. I’m really grateful for your support and all the messages you’re sending me on Instagram regarding the diet culture work. Happy May! Keep fighting the good fight!

no churn cheesecake ice cream sandwich jewhungry kosher

no churn cheesecake ice cream sandwich jewhungry kosher

Funfetti No-Churn Cheesecake Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients for No-Churn Cheesecake Ice Cream

  1. 8 oz cream cheese, light or regular, at room temperature
  2. 14.5 oz sweetened condensed milk, regular or fat free
  3. 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  4. 1 pint heavy cream, well chilled
  5. 1/2 tsp natural food coloring (if you want)
  6. Sprinkles

Directions for Ice Cream

  1. Place a large glass or metal bowl in the refrigerator or freezer for whipping the cream.
  2. Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla bean paste or extract until smooth. Set aside.
  3. In the chilled bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the heavy cream to soft peaks. Add the food coloring about 3 minutes into whipping.
  4. Gently fold the cream cheese mixture and sprinkles into the whipped cream.
  5. Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 baking pan that you can freeze and has an airtight lid, cover (you can also use tin foil), and place in the freezer until frozen.

Ingredients for Sugar Cookie Bars

  1. 2 1/2 cups baking flour
  2. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  3. 1 teaspoon baking powder
  4. 1/2 cup salted butter (softened)
  5. 3/4 cup sugar
  6. 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  7. 1 tsp vanilla
  8. 1 egg
  9. 1 egg white
  10. 1/4 cup sour cream

Directions for Sugar Cookies

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
  2. With a mixer, combine butter, sugar and powdered sugar until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Pour in vanilla, eggs and sour cream and mix until combined. Then pour dry ingredients into this bowl and mix until combined.
  3. Place mixture in a buttered 9×13 aluminum baking pan. Press down on the dough with hands (or a piece of parchment paper or a big spatula sprayed with cooking oil) to smooth out the surface to avoid lumpiness.
  4. Bake for 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Do not overcook.
  5. Once completely cooled, use a biscuit cutter to cut out the cookies and set aside.

Assembly

  1. Once the ice cream has completely frozen, remove from freezer and be prepared to work quickly as the no-churn ice cream melts quickly.
  2. If you find that your cookies are too thick, cut them in half with a sharp knife (this is what I did) and lay out the cookies. If you plan on rolling your sandwiches in sprinkles, have your sprinkles out and in a small dish that you can easily and quickly access.
  3. Using the same biscuit cutter you used for the cookies, cut out rounds of ice cream and place between two cookies for the sandwich. Roll into the sprinkles and gently remove any excess sprinkles from the cookies as it should only be on the ice cream.
  4. Working quickly, assemble your sandwiches and place on a cookie sheet. Cover with saran wrap and freeze for at least another 30 minutes. Serve frozen and enjoy!