Fish Nachos

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I made fish tacos, prepared a beautiful picture, but when I bit into them, I realized that the taco shells were expired and rancid. So what do we do for dinner? …
Make fish nachos instead! We loved them and they were actually easier to eat than fish tacos!

Ingredients:
Here’s a rough recipe. There are a few different parts, but they’re all very simple. 
Ingredients:
1 salmon filet, large enough for 2 people, skin removed 
1 tsp mayo 
Taco seasoning 
Chili lime seasoning 
Juice of 1 lime (divided)
1/2 head broccoli, cut up into florets (washed and dried very well)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
1 avocado 
Handful of cherry tomatoes (and optional golden berries)
Parsley 
Purple cabbage, thinly cut
Kale, chopped into small pieces 
Tzaziki Greek yogurt dip 
Tortilla chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F
On salmon, spread mayo, sprinkle taco seasoning and chili lime seasoning and drizzle on a bit of you lime juice. Place on one side of greased baking sheet. 
On remaining half of baking sheet, place broccoli, drizzle on oil and sprinkle with additional taco seasoning and chili lime. 
Bake for 20 minutes .
In the meantime, prepare your salsa and slaw. 
For salsa, mix together, avocado (mash slightly), tomatoes (and golden berries if using), most of the remaining lime juice, chili lime seasoning and chopped fresh parsley. 
For slaw, mix together kale, purple cabbage, some oil, remaining lime juice and chili lime seasoning. .
Break up salmon into smaller pieces. Spread on serving plate, interspersed with broccoli, slaw, salsa and drops of tzaziki Greek yogurt. .
Enjoy with your tortilla chips! 

5-ingredient chocolate chip halva cheesecake hamentaschen

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Ingredients:
1 package (250 gram) cream cheese 
1/3-1/2 cup crumbled halva 
1/4 cup sugar 
1 tsp vanilla 
2 rolls of chocolate chip cookie dough (the packages I used were each 468g)

Directions:
Mix together cream cheese, halva, sugar and vanilla. 
Roll out dough as thinly as possible on floured surface (the chocolate chips will limit how thinly you can roll them). Using a 2.5-3 inch cookie cutter, cut out circles, fill with 1 tsp each of cheese mixture. Form hamentaschen. 
Chill for 1 hour
Bake at 325°F for about 15 minutes

Israeli Stuffed Hasselback Eggplant .

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Don’t be scared off by how elegant this dish looks, it’s actually quite easy to make

Ingredients:
1 medium sized eggplant
1 tbsp zaatar (I used from @all_shuk_up – it’s fabulous and not sponsored)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp smoky paprika
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
Drizzle of lemon juice .
Stuffing:
1/4 cup babaganoush
1/2 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup each sliced olives and chopped cooked beets
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Garnish:
Tahini (I used @mightysesamecosqueezable tahini thanks to @kosherdotcom )
Zaatar
Additional parsley
Humus (omit for passover)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Slice eggplant almost all the way through into 1/4” slices (you can place chopsticks on either side of the eggplant to avoid cutting all the way through). Mix together zaatar, oil, paprika, salt and pepper. Brush scantly onto eggplant, on all slices.
Bake on greased baking sheet for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare stuffing, by mixing all ingredients together.
When ready to serve, carefully place eggplant on serving dish. Separate each eggplant slice and fill each opening with some of the stuffing.
Spread some humus on platter. Drizzle with tahini, sprinkle with zaatar and parsley. .
The eggplant can be cooked and the rest of the dish can be assembled at a later time.
You can add shawarma chicken or a sautéed meat blend to the plate, to make a more substantial meal.
For Passover, omit the humus and serve with babaganoush instead.

Tacotaschen

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Ingredients:
1 tbsp grapeseed oil 
1 can black beans, drained, rinsed and gently mashed with potato masher 
1 cup crushed tomatoes (I used fresh but canned works well too)
1.5-2 tbsp taco seasoning
Grated cheese (I used a blend of mozzarella and cheddar)
10 puff pastry squares
1 egg, beaten OR melted butter

Salsa
8 grape tomatoes, chopped 
1/2 small mango, chopped 
1 avocado, mashed gently with a fork 
1/2 tsp chili lime seasoning
Freshly ground pepper 
Juice of 1/4 lemon 
Parsley or basil or cilantro for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. 
Heat oil in large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add beans and tomatoes and cook for a 2-3 minutes, add seasoning and continue to cook for another few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste (**if you use unsalted beans, you will more likely have to add salt)
Use a 3.5-4” round cookie cutter to cut puff pastry squares into circles.
Spoon 1.5 tbsp bean mixture in center of puff pastry rounds and top with some grated cheese. Fold to form hamentaschen. 
Brush with egg or melted butter. Top with additional grated cheese. 
Bake for about 20 minutes, until puff pastry in nice and golden. 
In the meantime, make salsa, by mixing together all ingredients. .
Top hamentaschen with salsa and enjoy! 

Zaatar Rainbow Carrots

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Ingredients:
2 lbs rainbow carrots, peeled, washed and dried well 
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
1 tbsp silan (date syrup, you can use maple syrup or honey alternatively)
1 tsp dijon mustard 
1 tbsp zaatar
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (optional)
1 tsp sea salt 
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. 
Mix together all ingredients and coat on carrots. 
Spread on baking sheet (I lined with parchment but probably best to use non stick cooking spray for improved caramelization). Roast for about 45 minutes, turning halfway through, until all carrots are soft and a fork can easily go through. 

Tu Bishevat Chocolate Bark

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Ingredients:
2 cups dark chocolate chips 
2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 cups chopped mixed dried fruit and nuts (I used almonds, pecans, pumpkin seeds, craisins, dried blueberries, figs, dates, apricots, dried mango)
Unsweetened desiccated coconut (optional)

Directions:
Fill a small saucepan with about 1 1/2 inches water. Water over low-medium heat. Place a heat safe bowl on top of the pot and melt chocolate inside. 
Once melted, mix in honey and remove from heat. 
Mix 2/3 of fruit and nut mixture into chocolate. Spread chocolate on parchment-lined baking sheet. 
Spread remaining fruit nut mixture on top of chocolate and sprinkle with coconut if desired. 
Refrigerate for at least an hour, until chocolate hardens. Break up into pieces. 
This can be stored on the counter in a sealed container. 
Freezes well.

Sweet and smoky rosemary grilled chicken

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Ingredients:
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp silan (date syrup)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary 
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp smoky paprika
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp sea salt 
Freshly ground pepper 
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each cut in half to form 2 cutlets.

Directions:
Mix together mustard, silan, oil, rosemary, garlic, smoky paprika, lemon zest, salt and pepper. 
Spread over chicken. Allow to marinate for up to an hour. 
Grill on BBQ or grill pan over medium-high heat, flipping when edges get white and chicken starts appearing slightly opaque. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. (Cilantro just for picture purposes, I actually dislike it and accidentally bought it).

Pretzel Crusted Maple Mustard Salmon with Broccoli

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This recipe can be made as fish sticks or as a salmon filet – or both, whichever you prefer!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp dijon mustard 
1 tbsp maple syrup 
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for broccoli)
1/3 cup flour (for fish sticks) 
1 salmon filet, large enough for 2 
1/2 cup crushed pretzels 
1/2 head broccoli, cut into small florets

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F
For fish sticks: 
Mix together maple syrup and mustard. You can add a bit of mayo to this mixture if you’d like. 
Dredge salmon in flour. Then coat with mixture of mustard and maple. Finally dip in crushed pretzels. 
Spray generously with non stick cooking spray. 
Bake for 10 minutes. .
For salmon filet and broccoli:
Mix together maple syrup and mustard. 
Spread half of mixture onto salmon. 
Mix remaining mixture with oil and coat broccoli. 
Generously sprinkle salmon with crushed pretzels. 
Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on thickness of salmon.

Quick and easy halva pecan babka (2 ways)

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I rarely make yeast doughs and love any hacks to make desserts that are quick and easy, but look elegant! I tried both methods and they worked well. The texture of the dough was obviously different, but both results were delicious.

Instructions:
1 whole challah dough or 1 pizza dough, defrosted (~20 oz)
1.5 cups crumbled halva
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp silan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll out dough thinly to form a large rectangle. (It is much easier to roll out the pizza dough, the challah dough is much more challenging)
Mix together halva, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and pecans. .
Thank you to @naomi_tgis for teaching me how to do this. Spread over rectangle. Roll up so it’s long and thin (as opposed to short and thick). Slice down the middle to form 2 even skinnier ropes and twist them together.
Brush exposed dough with silan.
Bake for about 30 minutes.

I preferred challah dough but the pizza dough was much easier to work with.