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Dairy Delights: These are very easy to prepare for Shavuous or any time you want a dairy meal:
Dairy noodle kugel
10 oz. med. egg noodles
1/4 c. butter
2 cups (that’s one 16 oz. container) cottage cheese
2 cups (that’s one 16 oz. container) sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
Cook and drain noodles. Place the butter in a 9”x 13”: baking pan to melt in 350 degree oven to melt it. Mix noodles with the remaining ingredients. Combine the mixture with the melted butter and bake about 1 hour until golden brown and firm.
Spinach & cheese frittata
1/4 c. butter
3 eggs
1 c. flour
1 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
6- 8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
4 c. fresh spinach, torn into pieces or the equivalent of frozen chopped spinach, thawed.
Melt butter in 8” or 9” square baking dish. Beat eggs and add remaining ingredients, blend well. Pour spinach mixture over melted butter. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown You can make this ahead, freeze it, and heat it before serving.
Vegetarian lasagna
(This recipe eliminates the step of cooking the noodles before layering. Note if you have guest who don’t like spinach, you can substitute grated zucchini or you can eliminate the vegetables altogether – the recipe still works)
1 lb. package lasagna noodles
16 oz ricotta or cottage cheese
32 oz tomato sauce
8 oz bag shredded Mozzarella
10 oz frozen chopped spinach or grated zucchini (optional)
Garlic and onion powder (optional)
Preheat Oven to 350.
If using spinach, first thaw it under warm water and strain thoroughly. In mixing bowl, combine ricotta or cottage cheese, half of the shredded Mozzarella, spices and spinach. Spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom of a 13” x 9” pan; put a layer of dry (uncooked) lasagna noodles, then a layer of half of the cheese mixture, another layer of sauce, noodles, and mixture; end with a layer of noodles, and layer of sauce. Reserve some cheese for top! Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 50 hour. Then remove the foil, sprinkle remaining shredded cheese over the top, and bake uncovered for 10 minutes.
Crustless cheesecake (it happens to be kosher for Pesach, too)
(Note that you bake this BEFORE adding the topping. Allow sufficient time to chill. Additional option: cherry pie filling or strawberries to add on top, but I always serve just the cake itself.)
1 lb. cream cheese (it works with reduced fat versions, too)
1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1/8 tsp. vanilla
Topping
1/2 pt. sour cream (low fat works fine)
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. sugar
Cream the cream cheese. Add eggs, one at a time. Add sugar and vanilla and mix well. Pour batter into a 9-inch greased pie plate. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes Let cool.
Combine topping ingredients and pour over pie to within 1/2 inch of edge of the plate. Allow topping to firm in refrigerator at least 4 hours (overnight is best).
For directions on baking challah, click here
There’s No Place Like Home for Pesach
Personally preparing for Pesach includes spiritual preparation, learning halachos and inspirational Torah., but physical preparations are also of value. Those of us who stay home for the holiday put in a lot of preparation with the shopping, shlepping, cleaning, and cooking. We need not envy those who only shop for a wardrobe befitting their hotels. Like the Tanaim who would personally prepare for Shabbos in some way (and my husband did more than his fair share of preparing the kitchen for Pesach) we can feel accomplished for our personal exertions for the honor of the Yom Tov.
Pperhaps the hotel goers should really envy those of us who stay at home. Yes, they may have it easier. But that does not mean they have a better Yom Tov experience. Aside from the satisfaction of personally preparing for the Yom, Tove, there is another benefit to staying home for Pesach: the food. Every Pesach hotel ad I’ve seen proclaims its menu to be non- gebrokts. That means that at every single meal will involve potatoes. They may be baked, boiled, fried, mashed, made into kugel or reduced to starch, but they are bound to be there in some form or other. From the soup accompaniment to the pastries served for desert, it is probable that every course will include some manifestation of potato based foods. It must get pretty wearying to roll from one meal to the next without much noticeable difference. After a while you may feel like a potato yourself.
If you opt to stay at home, on the other hand, the menu is completely in your own hands. You have access to far more ingredients than the hotel and so are not limited to the standardized fare of brisket and chicken with potato kugel followed by potato starch cake. Doing your own cooking and baking allows you to be in control of the cuisine. If you do eat gebrokts, you can base your cakes on the fine matzah meal called cake meal . Even if you don’t eat gebrokts, you can achieve better texture and flavor by using ground nuts in the batter than by using potato starch. And for your side dishes, consider sweet potatoes or carrots or squash for more nutrition and variety than nother serving white potatoes. Quinoa is something else you may want to introduce to your Pesach menu. It can be cooked and served like rice. But because it is of the chenopod family of plants (like beets and spinach) it is neither classified as a grain or as a legume, making it appropriate for Pesach consumption.
As I have a longstanding family tradition of enjoying gebrokts on Pesach, my Pesach menu includes not just matzah balls and matzah brei, but matzah kugel, matzah lasagna, and desserts made with matzah cake meal. I’ve included some of my favorite recipes for you to try this Pesach. I guarantee that they are all easy and delicious
(unless you don’t follow the recipe correctly). But before you stock up on matzah meal, I advise you to consult your significant other about expectations and family practice with respect to type of matzah used, as well as views on cotton seed oil, a key ingredient in Pesach margarine, mayonnaise and salad dressing. Once you clarify you’re your family practice is going to be, you can adapt Pesach recipes accordingly and built up your own repertoire of favorites. Here are some to get you started.
Gebrokts recipes.
Note if you don’t have cake meal, you can make your own by putting your matzah meal through the food processor or blender to make it finer. You can also, of course, start with whole matzahs and grind them fin.)
Apple cake (a mezonos cake is good to have around for Kiddush – non-gebrokts Pesach cakes and cookies are shehakol, which does not fulfill the obligation of eating after Kiddush)
1 c. sugar
1 c. cake meal
1/2 c.oil
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tbsp. lemon juice
4 egg whites, beaten to stiff, glossy peaks
5 lg. apples, sliced
1/3 to 1/2 c. chopped nuts
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 8 inch square pan. Combine first 5 ingredients, stir until well blended. Fold in beaten egg whites; gently, but thoroughly. Pour 1/2 of batter into greased baking pan. Arrange sliced apples on top. Carefully spoon remaining batter over apple slices. Stir nuts, sugar and cinnamon together. Spoon on top of cake. Bake 40 to 50 minutes.
Apricot squares (really, as good as anything chametz)
Dough ingredients:
½ lb. softened margarine
2 egg yolks
2 c. cake meal (that’s extra finely ground matzah meal)
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla ot vanilla sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon rind (you could skip this in pinch)
Filling
1 lb. jar apricot preserves
½ to ½ c. lemon juice
½ c. chopped nuts (may be omitted according to taste)
Combine all dough ingredients. Spread ¾ of it in a 9 x 13 pan. Bake 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Refrigerate remaining dough.
Spread filling over crust while hot. Put nuts on top, then crumble remaining dough to form a crumb topping. Bake again for 30 to 35 minutes. Cut into squares when cool.
Kiglach (parve)
4 c. matzah farfel
salt and pepper to taste
3 c. boiling water
6 eggs beaten
Combine farfel, salt, and pepper with boiling water. After water is absorbed add beaten eggs. Spoon into greased muffin tins.
Bake for ½ hour at 400 degrees. Serve as muffins with jam or syrup.
Matazah Lasagna (Dairy)
(I recommend that once you open the cottage cheese, you use the whole thing by doubling the recipe
and preparing two tins.)
4 square matzahs
1 15 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
8 oz. cottage cheese
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
Spread sauce on bottom of 8” square pan, to with one quarterof cottage cheese, sauce, shredded cheese. Repeat until ingredients are used up. Top with last matzah, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
Matzah Farfel and onion sauté (great side dish, meat if you use real chicken soup)
2 lg onions, minced.
½ lb mushrooms, sliced (may be omitted if you don’t like mushrooms)
¼ c. margarine or oil
3 ½ c. matzah farfel
¼ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 c. chicken soup
1 c. water
Sauté onions and mushrooms in margarine or oil until soft. Add farfel and stir until lightly browned. Add seasonings then the liquid. Cook over low heat and stir often until all liquid is absorbed.
Zucchini kugel (parve)
3 medium zucchinis cut into chunks
2 extra large eggs
¼ cup matzo meal
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
½ packet dry onion soup mix
Boil zucchini until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Mash it into a colander. Mix the other ingredients together and then add the mashed zucchini. Put it into a greased 8” or 9” pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.
Non-gebrokts recipes
Baked Vegetables (parve)
Note: This recipe does not reheat well, so only make it right before you serve it, and be sure to put it in the preheated oven immediately after assembling the ingredients so that the potatoes do not have time to discolor. I use the food processor to slice the potatoes and zucchini. This comes out on the mild side, so you may want to add more spice or garlic if you like a stronger flavor.
1 clove garlic, peeled and halved
2 lbs. baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
4 small zucchinis, sliced
2 red bell peppers, cut into strips or thin rings
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper (optional)
Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Rub a 9 x 12” or equivalent size baking dish or pan with garlic. Use about 1 teaspoon of the oil to grease it lightly. Layer half of the potatoes in bottom of dish, overlapping slices if necessary. Season lightly with the thyme, salt (and optional pepper). Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil over the potatoes.Add a layer of half the red peppers, then half the zucchini. Season again with salt and thyme. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil over the vegetables. Repeat layering and seasoning. Drizzle any remaining oil over the top. Cover securely with aluminum foil. Bake until vegetables are very soft and tender, 1 hour. (Serves 6)
Zucchini and Tomatoes (parve)
2 large zucchinis, peeled and sliced (I slice them in a food processor)
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. tomatoes (beefsteak or plum work) chopped
Oil
½ tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful of fresh dill (optional)
Sauté onion in oil until golden, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, salt , pepper, and dill and stir. Cover pot and cook over medium heat until tomatoes soften, about 7 minutes. Add zucchini and stir together, cook an additional 10-12 minutes until zucchini is done. This is delicious with meat and chicken.
Roasted Peppers (tasty, easy, and completely guilt-freem oareve)
Mini sweet peppers in assorted colors (that’s all you need)
Lay the peppers out in a single layer in a shallow baking pan and broil until they are softened and just slightly charred. Serve warn as a great accompaniment to your main dish.
Easy Vegetable Soufflé (pareve)
1 ½ lbs frozen broccoli or spinach, completely defrosted (You can substitute sliced or chopped zucchini that has been boiled for about 10 minutes until it is softened)
3 eggs, beaten
3 T. mayonnaise
3 T. onion soup mix
1 can mushrooms (omit for those who don’t like mushrooms)
Mix all the ingredients aside from the vegetables together and pour over vegetables. Pour into a greased 8” or 9” pan and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
Chocolate Torte (I get requests for this even when we can have chametz cakes)
1/2 cup pareve margarine
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, (you could use chocolate chips or break up a bar)
5 eggs, separated
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup ground almonds (it works with other types of nuts, as well)
Melt margarine and chocolate over low heat. Stir until smooth and let cool. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat whites until stiff; about 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat together yolks and sugar until thick and pale; about 1 minute. Blend in chocolate mixture and stir in almonds. Fold in beaten whites, 1/3 at a time, into chocolate. Place in greased 8” or 9” round pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Cover the torte with foil for last 20 minutes of baking. You can also put a baking with 1 inch of water on the bottom rack of the oven while baking to help keep the torte moist. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and then carefully remove sides of pan. Invert onto a serving plate and cool completely.
Parve Strawberry Ice Cream (you should have a stand mixer because it has to whip for up to 20 minutes. )
1 egg white
juice of ½ lemon
3/4 cup sugar
½ lb strawberries
Beat egg white until foamy; continue beating as you slowly pour in the sugar. Wash the berries, and cut into quarters or slice. Add the berries and lemon juice to the egg white when it is in peaks. Keep the mixer going at a medium-high speed for an additional 15 minutes. It will triple in volume. Store in freezer.
Additional recipes in the online Pesach issue
From Levana Kirschenbaum for Kallah Magazine:
Looking Forward to Passover Cooking
I grew up in a very modest household but I remember fabulous food at every meal, especially on Pessach. So much so that I actually wait for this time of year to showcase my culinary stars.
So, what’s wrong with me? Instead of looking for Pessach to be over, I wait for it to come around. I can hear all of your concerns about cooking for Pessach: “I have to cook with my hands tied behind my back. Groceries are triple the price. I don’t have my regular amenities at my disposal. This is such slavery, I’ll need a week’s vacation to recuperate and get back to normal.” And on and on… Is this your idea of celebrating freedom?
On the other hand, I am thinking, “This week is my gastronomic week. On Pessach I can go for broke (a life-long habit I am not even trying to shake; why should I? I credit it in great part for making me the cook and hostess that I am). I get to work with only the best and most seasonal ingredients. Here is my chance to streamline recipes and ingredient selections. I get to stay away from bread and rice and ice cream and pizza and other delicious nemeses because they are halachically verboten.” And on and on….
Goodness knows I have a great incentive to lock up that whole week, and come back to a clean house, tanned and rested. Levana Restaurant runs five Passover programs all over the world; where the food is, by all accounts, a food fantasy come true.
Would you believe I have never been at any of them? And I will not anytime soon.
Call me a masochist if you would like, but I absolutely love the Passover week at my house, and of course, so do my guests.
I will make just one concession; I wish it were not so tiring; but then, the lion’s share of the exhausting part is that we must clean our house thoroughly, whether or not we spend the holidays at home.
This holiday, keep these tips in mind to ease your Pessach cooking.
On Pessach we naturally turn to all fresh seasonal produce and fresh herbs.
I totally ignore all those dreadful mixes manufactured for our “convenience.” As a result, I am stuck with only the best ingredients.
Now that quinoa has been approved for Pessach, I make tabouleh and pilaf with it, which liberates me from the compulsory potato dish at every meal.
I organize my cooking by making two or three large batches of soup which I then divide and freeze. Rather than serve the same soup at several meals in a row, I serve a different soup at each seder meal, and then take out the rest of the batch for the last days.
Same goes for condiments, salad dressings and side dishes. I make a variety in bulk so that the menu is different throughout the holiday.
Many Passover desserts hardly suffer from not being made with flour, if at all. I like to make sweet endings such as fruit compote and fruit molds, brownies, nut cake, nut truffles, and meringues.
When baking with chocolate, keep in mind that the best European chocolate brands come out of the woodwork on Pessach, allowing your chocolate treats to be real delights.
And follow this simple lead: work hard in the kitchen the two days that precede the seder, and the great bulk of your cooking will be done by the time seder night rolls around.
Here is one of my favorite seder meals. Last year I showcased these dishes in my classroom at Lincoln Square Synagogue, Williams Sonoma and Bloomingdales, and ended up with many very happy diners: Tilapia-stuffed seabass with watercress horseradish sauce. Roasted garlic artichoke soup. Lamb shanks dry fruit stew. Roasted asparagus. Endive and apple salad with walnut dressing. Almond wine cake with strawberry sauce.
Tilapia-Stuffed Sea Bass
1 large sea trout, butterflied, about 3 1/2 pounds after cleaning. (other options: salmon, snapper, sea bass, carp, striped bass etcY). head cut in large chunks and reserved.
1 2 pounds tilapia, white fish, cod or scrod fillet, thoroughly boned.
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced.
1 medium onion, quartered.
2 ribs celery, peeled and cut in large chunks.
2 eggs.
1/3 cup olive oil.
dash nutmeg.
salt and pepper to taste.
cooking liquid.
reserved head.
3 cups water.
2 lemons, sliced.
2 tablespoons peppercorns.
4 bay leaves.
salt and pepper to taste.
1 bunch flat parsley.
preheat oven to 375 degrees. clean and dry fish thoroughly. in the food processor, grind all stuffing ingredients to a smooth paste. stuff the fish and fold back. place fish in a pan just big enough to hold it snugly. add all cooking liquid ingredients to the pan. bake 1 hour. let cool completely. strain the liquid over the fish.
serve the fish sliced, chilled, with some of the broth (it will thicken slightly during chilling) over each serving.
Serve it alone or with watercress horseradish sauce (recipe follows)
Watercress Horseradish Sauce
1 small bunch flat parsley 1 bunch watercress, stems and all.
1 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup horseradish
salt and pepper to taste
Blanch parsley and watercress just a few seconds in boiling water. Squeeze thoroughly. Transfer to food processor with remaining ingredients and blend till smooth.
Roasted Garlic and Artichoke Soup
4 heads garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 10 ounce boxes frozen artichoke hearts
1 large head celery root, grated
1/3 cup olive oil
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves only
3 sprigs thyme, leaves only
good pinch saffron
1 teaspoon turmeric
salt to taste
ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped chives
Cut off the points of the garlic heads. Rub with the olive oil. Wrap in foil, cut sides down, and roast in a preheated 400 degree oven until browned and soft.
Bring 3 quarts of water to boil in a heavy pot. Squeeze the flesh out of the garlic heads into the pot. Add the artichokes, celery root, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, saffron, turmeric and salt to taste. Bring back to boil, then reduce to medium. Cook, covered, 30 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender. Add ground pepper to taste and chives. Adjust consistency and seasonings.
Lamb Shanks Dry Fruit Stew
8 lamb shanks
1/4 cup vegetable oil.
2 large onions, thinly sliced in a food processor
2 tablespoons sugar.
2 pinches saffron.
1 scant teaspoon turmeric.
1 tablespoon grated ginger
3 sticks cinnamon.
1 teaspoon ground pepper.
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon.
1 1/2 cups pitted prunes, packed
1 1/2 cups dry apricots, packed
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted 15 minutes in a 300 degree oven
Put the lamb shanks in a large heavy pot with 2 quarts (8 cuts) water and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and cook, covered, 2 hours. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and cook, on a medium high flame, until dark brown. Add the sugar and cook 1 more minute. Add to the lamb, with the saffron, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon sticks and ground pepper, and cook 45 more minutes. Add the ground cinnamon and dry fruit, and cook 15 more minutes. Transfer meat and fruit to a platter. If the liquid in the pot is too thin, reduce at high flame until thickened, and pour over meat. Just before serving, sprinkle with the almonds.
Endive and Apple Salad with Walnut Dressing
3 bunches arugala, washed and thoroughly dried
1 granny smith apple, unpeeled, cored, cut in quarters and sliced
1/2 small red onion, sliced paper thin.
3 endives, cut in thin wedges
1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Place all salad ingredients in salad bowl, adding the walnuts just before serving. Add about 1 cup walnut dressing, or less, and toss.
Toasted Walnut Dressing
1/3 cup toasted walnuts
1 medium shallot, peeled and quartered.
1/4 cup walnut oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar.
1/3 cup dry sherry.
salt and pepper to taste.
Mix all ingredients in blender or food processor, until smooth and perfectly emulsified
Almond Wine Cake
6 egg yolks.
1 1/2 cups sugar.
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.
1 1/2 cups potato starch)
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 cup dry red wine.
2 tbsps orange zest.
3 tbsps brandy or rum.
1 1/4 cups ground almonds (filberts, walnuts or pecans o.k.)
6 egg whites + pinch salt, beaten until stiff but not dry.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a hand mixer, cream yolks and sugar till mixture falls in ribbons. Add oil and mix. Combine flour and baking powder in a bowl. Combine wine, orange zest and brandy in another bowl. Add flour mixture alternately with wine mixture, beginning and ending with flour, mixing each time just until combined. Add nuts and mix till combined. Carefully fold in whites.
Bake in greased tube pan for 1 hour or until the point of a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve alone or with strawberry sauce.
Strawberry Sauce
1 10 ounce bag frozen unsweetened strawberries
1 cup cranberry juice.
1/4 cup black currant or raspberry liqueur
1/4 cup lemon juice.
1 tbsp potato starch, mixed with a little water until dissolved.
Bring all but the last ingredient to a boil. Add corn starch mixture and cook, stirring, until just thickened. Puree in a food processor. Cool completely before serving.
To learn about her cooking lessons and her books, check out her website at http://www.levanakcooks.com for more information.
Personally preparing for Pesach includes spiritual preparation, learning halachos and inspirational Torah., but physical preparations are also of value. Those of us who stay home for the holiday put in a lot of preparation with the shopping, shlepping, cleaning, and cooking. We need not envy those who only shop for a wardrobe befitting their hotels. Like the Tanaim who would personally prepare for Shabbos in some way (and my husband did more than his fair share of preparing the kitchen for Pesach) we can feel accomplished for our personal exertions for the honor of the Yom Tov.
Pperhaps the hotel goers should really envy those of us who stay at home. Yes, they may have it easier. But that does not mean they have a better Yom Tov experience. Aside from the satisfaction of personally preparing for the Yom, Tove, there is another benefit to staying home for Pesach: the food. Every Pesach hotel ad I’ve seen proclaims its menu to be non- gebrokts. That means that at every single meal will involve potatoes. They may be baked, boiled, fried, mashed, made into kugel or reduced to starch, but they are bound to be there in some form or other. From the soup accompaniment to the pastries served for desert, it is probable that every course will include some manifestation of potato based foods. It must get pretty wearying to roll from one meal to the next without much noticeable difference. After a while you may feel like a potato yourself.
If you opt to stay at home, on the other hand, the menu is completely in your own hands. You have access to far more ingredients than the hotel and so are not limited to the standardized fare of brisket and chicken with potato kugel followed by potato starch cake. Doing your own cooking and baking allows you to be in control of the cuisine. If you do eat gebrokts, you can base your cakes on the fine matzah meal called cake meal . Even if you don’t eat gebrokts, you can achieve better texture and flavor by using ground nuts in the batter than by using potato starch. And for your side dishes, consider sweet potatoes or carrots or squash for more nutrition and variety than nother serving white potatoes. Quinoa is something else you may want to introduce to your Pesach menu. It can be cooked and served like rice. But because it is of the chenopod family of plants (like beets and spinach) it is neither classified as a grain or as a legume, making it appropriate for Pesach consumption.
As I have a longstanding family tradition of enjoying gebrokts on Pesach, my Pesach menu includes not just matzah balls and matzah brei, but matzah kugel, matzah lasagna, and desserts made with matzah cake meal. I’ve included some of my favorite recipes for you to try this Pesach. I guarantee that they are all easy and delicious
(unless you don’t follow the recipe correctly). But before you stock up on matzah meal, I advise you to consult your significant other about expectations and family practice with respect to type of matzah used, as well as views on cotton seed oil, a key ingredient in Pesach margarine, mayonnaise and salad dressing. Once you clarify you’re your family practice is going to be, you can adapt Pesach recipes accordingly and built up your own repertoire of favorites. Here are some to get you started.
Gebrokts recipes.
Note if you don’t have cake meal, you can make your own by putting your matzah meal through the food processor or blender to make it finer. You can also, of course, start with whole matzahs and grind them fin.)
Apple cake (a mezonos cake is good to have around for Kiddush – non-gebrokts Pesach cakes and cookies are shehakol, which does not fulfill the obligation of eating after Kiddush)
1 c. sugar
1 c. cake meal
1/2 c.oil
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tbsp. lemon juice
4 egg whites, beaten to stiff, glossy peaks
5 lg. apples, sliced
1/3 to 1/2 c. chopped nuts
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 8 inch square pan. Combine first 5 ingredients, stir until well blended. Fold in beaten egg whites; gently, but thoroughly. Pour 1/2 of batter into greased baking pan. Arrange sliced apples on top. Carefully spoon remaining batter over apple slices. Stir nuts, sugar and cinnamon together. Spoon on top of cake. Bake 40 to 50 minutes.
Apricot squares (really, as good as anything chametz)
Dough ingredients:
½ lb. softened margarine
2 egg yolks
2 c. cake meal (that’s extra finely ground matzah meal)
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla ot vanilla sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon rind (you could skip this in pinch)
Filling
1 lb. jar apricot preserves
½ to ½ c. lemon juice
½ c. chopped nuts (may be omitted according to taste)
Combine all dough ingredients. Spread ¾ of it in a 9 x 13 pan. Bake 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Refrigerate remaining dough.
Spread filling over crust while hot. Put nuts on top, then crumble remaining dough to form a crumb topping. Bake again for 30 to 35 minutes. Cut into squares when cool.
Kiglach (parve)
4 c. matzah farfel
salt and pepper to taste
3 c. boiling water
6 eggs beaten
Combine farfel, salt, and pepper with boiling water. After water is absorbed add beaten eggs. Spoon into greased muffin tins.
Bake for ½ hour at 400 degrees. Serve as muffins with jam or syrup.
Matazah Lasagna (Dairy)
(I recommend that once you open the cottage cheese, you use the whole thing by doubling the recipe
and preparing two tins.)
4 square matzahs
1 15 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
8 oz. cottage cheese
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
Spread sauce on bottom of 8” square pan, to with one quarterof cottage cheese, sauce, shredded cheese. Repeat until ingredients are used up. Top with last matzah, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
Matzah Farfel and onion sauté (great side dish, meat if you use real chicken soup)
2 lg onions, minced.
½ lb mushrooms, sliced (may be omitted if you don’t like mushrooms)
¼ c. margarine or oil
3 ½ c. matzah farfel
¼ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 c. chicken soup
1 c. water
Sauté onions and mushrooms in margarine or oil until soft. Add farfel and stir until lightly browned. Add seasonings then the liquid. Cook over low heat and stir often until all liquid is absorbed.
Zucchini kugel (parve)
3 medium zucchinis cut into chunks
2 extra large eggs
¼ cup matzo meal
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
½ packet dry onion soup mix
Boil zucchini until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Mash it into a colander. Mix the other ingredients together and then add the mashed zucchini. Put it into a greased 8” or 9” pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.
Non-gebrokts recipes
Baked Vegetables (parve)
Note: This recipe does not reheat well, so only make it right before you serve it, and be sure to put it in the preheated oven immediately after assembling the ingredients so that the potatoes do not have time to discolor. I use the food processor to slice the potatoes and zucchini. This comes out on the mild side, so you may want to add more spice or garlic if you like a stronger flavor.
1 clove garlic, peeled and halved
2 lbs. baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
4 small zucchinis, sliced
2 red bell peppers, cut into strips or thin rings
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper (optional)
Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Rub a 9 x 12” or equivalent size baking dish or pan with garlic. Use about 1 teaspoon of the oil to grease it lightly. Layer half of the potatoes in bottom of dish, overlapping slices if necessary. Season lightly with the thyme, salt (and optional pepper). Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil over the potatoes.Add a layer of half the red peppers, then half the zucchini. Season again with salt and thyme. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil over the vegetables. Repeat layering and seasoning. Drizzle any remaining oil over the top. Cover securely with aluminum foil. Bake until vegetables are very soft and tender, 1 hour. (Serves 6)
Zucchini and Tomatoes (parve)
2 large zucchinis, peeled and sliced (I slice them in a food processor)
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. tomatoes (beefsteak or plum work) chopped
Oil
½ tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful of fresh dill (optional)
Sauté onion in oil until golden, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, salt , pepper, and dill and stir. Cover pot and cook over medium heat until tomatoes soften, about 7 minutes. Add zucchini and stir together, cook an additional 10-12 minutes until zucchini is done. This is delicious with meat and chicken.
Roasted Peppers (tasty, easy, and completely guilt-freem oareve)
Mini sweet peppers in assorted colors (that’s all you need)
Lay the peppers out in a single layer in a shallow baking pan and broil until they are softened and just slightly charred. Serve warn as a great accompaniment to your main dish.
Easy Vegetable Soufflé (pareve)
1 ½ lbs frozen broccoli or spinach, completely defrosted (You can substitute sliced or chopped zucchini that has been boiled for about 10 minutes until it is softened)
3 eggs, beaten
3 T. mayonnaise
3 T. onion soup mix
1 can mushrooms (omit for those who don’t like mushrooms)
Mix all the ingredients aside from the vegetables together and pour over vegetables. Pour into a greased 8” or 9” pan and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
Chocolate Torte (I get requests for this even when we can have chametz cakes)
1/2 cup pareve margarine
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, (you could use chocolate chips or break up a bar)
5 eggs, separated
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup ground almonds (it works with other types of nuts, as well)
Melt margarine and chocolate over low heat. Stir until smooth and let cool. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat whites until stiff; about 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat together yolks and sugar until thick and pale; about 1 minute. Blend in chocolate mixture and stir in almonds. Fold in beaten whites, 1/3 at a time, into chocolate. Place in greased 8” or 9” round pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Cover the torte with foil for last 20 minutes of baking. You can also put a baking with 1 inch of water on the bottom rack of the oven while baking to help keep the torte moist. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and then carefully remove sides of pan. Invert onto a serving plate and cool completely.
Parve Strawberry Ice Cream (you should have a stand mixer because it has to whip for up to 20 minutes. )
1 egg white
juice of ½ lemon
3/4 cup sugar
½ lb strawberries
Beat egg white until foamy; continue beating as you slowly pour in the sugar. Wash the berries, and cut into quarters or slice. Add the berries and lemon juice to the egg white when it is in peaks. Keep the mixer going at a medium-high speed for an additional 15 minutes. It will triple in volume. Store in freezer.
Additional recipes in the online Pesach issue
From Levana Kirschenbaum for Kallah Magazine:
Looking Forward to Passover Cooking
I grew up in a very modest household but I remember fabulous food at every meal, especially on Pessach. So much so that I actually wait for this time of year to showcase my culinary stars.
So, what’s wrong with me? Instead of looking for Pessach to be over, I wait for it to come around. I can hear all of your concerns about cooking for Pessach: “I have to cook with my hands tied behind my back. Groceries are triple the price. I don’t have my regular amenities at my disposal. This is such slavery, I’ll need a week’s vacation to recuperate and get back to normal.” And on and on… Is this your idea of celebrating freedom?
On the other hand, I am thinking, “This week is my gastronomic week. On Pessach I can go for broke (a life-long habit I am not even trying to shake; why should I? I credit it in great part for making me the cook and hostess that I am). I get to work with only the best and most seasonal ingredients. Here is my chance to streamline recipes and ingredient selections. I get to stay away from bread and rice and ice cream and pizza and other delicious nemeses because they are halachically verboten.” And on and on….
Goodness knows I have a great incentive to lock up that whole week, and come back to a clean house, tanned and rested. Levana Restaurant runs five Passover programs all over the world; where the food is, by all accounts, a food fantasy come true.
Would you believe I have never been at any of them? And I will not anytime soon.
Call me a masochist if you would like, but I absolutely love the Passover week at my house, and of course, so do my guests.
I will make just one concession; I wish it were not so tiring; but then, the lion’s share of the exhausting part is that we must clean our house thoroughly, whether or not we spend the holidays at home.
This holiday, keep these tips in mind to ease your Pessach cooking.
On Pessach we naturally turn to all fresh seasonal produce and fresh herbs.
I totally ignore all those dreadful mixes manufactured for our “convenience.” As a result, I am stuck with only the best ingredients.
Now that quinoa has been approved for Pessach, I make tabouleh and pilaf with it, which liberates me from the compulsory potato dish at every meal.
I organize my cooking by making two or three large batches of soup which I then divide and freeze. Rather than serve the same soup at several meals in a row, I serve a different soup at each seder meal, and then take out the rest of the batch for the last days.
Same goes for condiments, salad dressings and side dishes. I make a variety in bulk so that the menu is different throughout the holiday.
Many Passover desserts hardly suffer from not being made with flour, if at all. I like to make sweet endings such as fruit compote and fruit molds, brownies, nut cake, nut truffles, and meringues.
When baking with chocolate, keep in mind that the best European chocolate brands come out of the woodwork on Pessach, allowing your chocolate treats to be real delights.
And follow this simple lead: work hard in the kitchen the two days that precede the seder, and the great bulk of your cooking will be done by the time seder night rolls around.
Here is one of my favorite seder meals. Last year I showcased these dishes in my classroom at Lincoln Square Synagogue, Williams Sonoma and Bloomingdales, and ended up with many very happy diners: Tilapia-stuffed seabass with watercress horseradish sauce. Roasted garlic artichoke soup. Lamb shanks dry fruit stew. Roasted asparagus. Endive and apple salad with walnut dressing. Almond wine cake with strawberry sauce.
Tilapia-Stuffed Sea Bass
1 large sea trout, butterflied, about 3 1/2 pounds after cleaning. (other options: salmon, snapper, sea bass, carp, striped bass etcY). head cut in large chunks and reserved.
1 2 pounds tilapia, white fish, cod or scrod fillet, thoroughly boned.
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced.
1 medium onion, quartered.
2 ribs celery, peeled and cut in large chunks.
2 eggs.
1/3 cup olive oil.
dash nutmeg.
salt and pepper to taste.
cooking liquid.
reserved head.
3 cups water.
2 lemons, sliced.
2 tablespoons peppercorns.
4 bay leaves.
salt and pepper to taste.
1 bunch flat parsley.
preheat oven to 375 degrees. clean and dry fish thoroughly. in the food processor, grind all stuffing ingredients to a smooth paste. stuff the fish and fold back. place fish in a pan just big enough to hold it snugly. add all cooking liquid ingredients to the pan. bake 1 hour. let cool completely. strain the liquid over the fish.
serve the fish sliced, chilled, with some of the broth (it will thicken slightly during chilling) over each serving.
Serve it alone or with watercress horseradish sauce (recipe follows)
Watercress Horseradish Sauce
1 small bunch flat parsley 1 bunch watercress, stems and all.
1 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup horseradish
salt and pepper to taste
Blanch parsley and watercress just a few seconds in boiling water. Squeeze thoroughly. Transfer to food processor with remaining ingredients and blend till smooth.
Roasted Garlic and Artichoke Soup
4 heads garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 10 ounce boxes frozen artichoke hearts
1 large head celery root, grated
1/3 cup olive oil
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves only
3 sprigs thyme, leaves only
good pinch saffron
1 teaspoon turmeric
salt to taste
ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped chives
Cut off the points of the garlic heads. Rub with the olive oil. Wrap in foil, cut sides down, and roast in a preheated 400 degree oven until browned and soft.
Bring 3 quarts of water to boil in a heavy pot. Squeeze the flesh out of the garlic heads into the pot. Add the artichokes, celery root, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, saffron, turmeric and salt to taste. Bring back to boil, then reduce to medium. Cook, covered, 30 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender. Add ground pepper to taste and chives. Adjust consistency and seasonings.
Lamb Shanks Dry Fruit Stew
8 lamb shanks
1/4 cup vegetable oil.
2 large onions, thinly sliced in a food processor
2 tablespoons sugar.
2 pinches saffron.
1 scant teaspoon turmeric.
1 tablespoon grated ginger
3 sticks cinnamon.
1 teaspoon ground pepper.
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon.
1 1/2 cups pitted prunes, packed
1 1/2 cups dry apricots, packed
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted 15 minutes in a 300 degree oven
Put the lamb shanks in a large heavy pot with 2 quarts (8 cuts) water and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and cook, covered, 2 hours. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and cook, on a medium high flame, until dark brown. Add the sugar and cook 1 more minute. Add to the lamb, with the saffron, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon sticks and ground pepper, and cook 45 more minutes. Add the ground cinnamon and dry fruit, and cook 15 more minutes. Transfer meat and fruit to a platter. If the liquid in the pot is too thin, reduce at high flame until thickened, and pour over meat. Just before serving, sprinkle with the almonds.
Endive and Apple Salad with Walnut Dressing
3 bunches arugala, washed and thoroughly dried
1 granny smith apple, unpeeled, cored, cut in quarters and sliced
1/2 small red onion, sliced paper thin.
3 endives, cut in thin wedges
1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Place all salad ingredients in salad bowl, adding the walnuts just before serving. Add about 1 cup walnut dressing, or less, and toss.
Toasted Walnut Dressing
1/3 cup toasted walnuts
1 medium shallot, peeled and quartered.
1/4 cup walnut oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar.
1/3 cup dry sherry.
salt and pepper to taste.
Mix all ingredients in blender or food processor, until smooth and perfectly emulsified
Almond Wine Cake
6 egg yolks.
1 1/2 cups sugar.
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.
1 1/2 cups potato starch)
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 cup dry red wine.
2 tbsps orange zest.
3 tbsps brandy or rum.
1 1/4 cups ground almonds (filberts, walnuts or pecans o.k.)
6 egg whites + pinch salt, beaten until stiff but not dry.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a hand mixer, cream yolks and sugar till mixture falls in ribbons. Add oil and mix. Combine flour and baking powder in a bowl. Combine wine, orange zest and brandy in another bowl. Add flour mixture alternately with wine mixture, beginning and ending with flour, mixing each time just until combined. Add nuts and mix till combined. Carefully fold in whites.
Bake in greased tube pan for 1 hour or until the point of a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve alone or with strawberry sauce.
Strawberry Sauce
1 10 ounce bag frozen unsweetened strawberries
1 cup cranberry juice.
1/4 cup black currant or raspberry liqueur
1/4 cup lemon juice.
1 tbsp potato starch, mixed with a little water until dissolved.
Bring all but the last ingredient to a boil. Add corn starch mixture and cook, stirring, until just thickened. Puree in a food processor. Cool completely before serving.
To learn about her cooking lessons and her books, check out her website at http://www.levanakcooks.com for more information.