Today I bring you one of my most favorite recipes of all time. I don’t want to oversell anything buuuuuuuut, this is so good it’ll make you wanna slap your mama (that’s a real expression, by the way). I only made this casserole this past Sunday but I subsequently ate it the following 2 days, which brings us to today. Today is Wednesday and we are officially out of challah breakfast casserole leftovers. I’m really not sure how I’m supposed to go about my days without this beautiful new friend in my life. Seriously. Help!
Sunday has become THE day for cooking now that I’m back at work full-time. After 3 months of maternity leave and 2 months of being back at work I think we’re finally into some sort of schedule and rhythm at home. And since we have a baby and a toddler, my experience tells me that now that we’ve found a rhythm to our days, it’ll all blow up in our faces momentarily. That’s how these things work, right? I think the hardest lesson I learned as a new parent when I had my first was that every. single. moment. is a transition. Once I accepted that the only constant in my life as a parent of a small child is that there is no constant, I found a bit of peace. I think it was already having been through that that allowed me to wholly and easily fall in love with my second. But that’s what experience does, right? It teaches us that the things we freaked out about and that caused us ample amounts of stress and anxiety didn’t really need the ‘panic’ stage. And if we’re reflective and mindful enough of our processes, we can use those tough lessons to navigate the next potential panic in a more positive way.
As it’s late February on this high school campus I work at, my seniors are heavy in the waiting period for college acceptance. Their anxieties are so palpable and so valid and yet, no matter how much my co-counselor and I try to explain to them that this period of anxiety and “living in the gray” will eventually pass, they’re just not buying it. They are just SO in ‘it’ right now. So instead, we help them lean into the process and try our best to help guide them through it with empathy. Man, as much as it’s hard to be a parent of two small kids, I am SO glad to be out of high school. Yikes.
Lately, on the Jewhungry Instagram page . . . (TOP L – R: A GIANT bowl of vegetarian spaghetti carbonara, my sweet Eden on a hike. Bottom L – R: Me and a few AMAZING bloggers – Gaby Dalkin, Aida Mollenkamp, and Catherine McCord; my lunch in a jar!).
Preheat oven to 400˚F. Peel and cut the sweet potato into 1/4-inch cubes. Toss them with the onion, olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet or roasting pan, and roast until the sweet potatoes are tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Add chopped broccoli about 10 minutes into cooking so they get a bit of the roast.
Once done, place the broccoli, sweet potatoes and onions in a bowl. Next, add the cubed challah to the bowl, along with 4 ounces of cheese and chives. Toss the mixture until well combined.
Lightly grease a 9x9-inch (or 2 1/2 quart) baking dish. Scoop the bread mixture into the pan, evenly distributing the broccoli and sweet potatoes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, heavy whipping cream, nutmeg, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pour over the bread mixture, pressing down on the bread to submerge it completely in the egg mixture. Cover with foil and let sit for at least 20 minutes so that bread can have time to absorb the eggs, milk and cream.
Change oven temperature to 350˚F. Bake the covered casserole for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle with remaining 2 ounces of cheese, and continue to bake uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes until the casserole has puffed and the cheese is browning. Top with an extra sprinkle of chives before serving.
Friends! It’s us, the 4 Bloggers who dish, otherwise known as Amy from What Jew Wanna Eat, Liz from Kosher Like Me, Whitney from Jewhungry and Sarah from The Patchke Princess. If you follow any of our blogs, you know that about one and a half years ago, we co-authored a Passover Recipe entitled, “4 Bloggers Dish: Passover; Modern Twists on Traditional Flavors“. We had a ball writing that book and have shared a special connection ever since. We share in our success, both food and non-food related. It’s pretty awesome.
So, to celebrate this holiday season, our second as 4 Bloggers who do, in fact, dish, we decided to get 8 of our favorite latke recipes together to share with you. Check them out below and, if you’re interested, you can also check out our book by clicking on the title listed in the paragraph above. Chappy Chanukah!
I am so very honored to have the talent that is Chani from Busy in Brooklyn as a guest blogger today. If you haven’t seen her blog, then I’m assuming you’ve been living under a rock or are new to solids because homegirl has talent. She also always, ALWAYS takes the most beautiful pictures, which are so obviously on display with this post. I love that she made her variation of shakshuka and one that is quick and easy (and elegant to boot)! It’s perfect for my time and food-starved life right now. Thank you so much, Chani!
It’s such an honor to be filling in for Whitney here on Jewhungry! I’ve been a follower from the early days and I love Whit’s spunk, both in her food and her writing. We share a love of Middle Eastern food, from tahini to za’atar and everything in between. Since Whitney is expecting baby #2, I wanted to make one of her favorites, so I’m dishing up my secret to quick and easy shakshuka!
Like many people worldwide, I have a full-blown obsession with everything Ottolenghi. Jerusalem is my favorite of his cookbooks, but they all serve as an inspiration to me and the dishes I create. One of the things I hear often is how his recipes are so complex, with so many ingredients and steps. They are definitely not the quick & easy kind of recipes that I often make for my family of six (yes, I have four kids!).
One of the things I have learned from many years in the kitchen, is how to deconstruct dishes so that they are packed with the same flavor and wow factor as their gourmet originals, while bypassing the detailed steps it takes to layer the flavors. I like to call my style “Fake It Gourmet” and this shakshuka is just the thing to demonstrate how!
The slow-cooked chickpeas on toast with poached eggs from Plenty More is what inspired this dish. Of course Ottolenghi cooks his chickpeas for FIVE hours with a tomato-based sauce, but who’s got that kind of time? Canned chickpeas fill in just fine for me, and store-bought marinara creates a robust base minus all the hassle. Canned chickpeas and jarred marinara? – oh the blasphemy! Sounds crazy, I know, but marinara allows me to build on a saucy tomato base, without all the chopping and sauteing. I add a bit of harissa, which deepens the flavor and gives it that oomph it needs so it tastes homemade with a hint of spice. Once you’ve got your sauce down, it’s all uphill from there. Poached eggs practically taste good on cardboard. Same with za’atar. So all in all, you’ve got a winner – minus 4 hours and 45 minutes. Just don’t tell the Israeli’s!
dollop of labneh (may substitute with Greek yogurt)
za'atar, to taste
Instructions
In a large skillet, mix the marinara and harissa and add the chickpeas. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for a few minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper and add more harissa, if desired. If the mixture is very thick, add a splash of water to thin it out. Crack the eggs into the sauce and simmer until the whites are set (I like to cover the skillet to help it set faster). Garnish with a dollop (or two) of labneh and sprinkle generously with za'atar. Eat immediately, preferably with fresh pita!
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