A Not-so Mat-zo Passover: Recipe 2

Here's a recipe for your last morning of Pesach. You're sick of eggs at this point; you've had them scrambled, fried, hardboiled, on matzoh, next to matzoh, etc. Now it's time to punch up the flavor with every Jew's favorite: lox.

The smokey goodness shines through in this lox dill frittata. Enjoy it with some fruit or even a side salad for a filling (and healthy) lunch.

Ingredients:

• 5 oz lox
• 2 eggs
• 6 egg whites
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tbs fresh chopped dill
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 garlic clove
• bag of baby spinach
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350. Chop spinach and mince garlic.

2. Heat oven-proof skillet to medium-low. Add oil and let warm until shimmering. 

3. Add spinach and garlic and cook until spinach is wilted, adding the dill for the last minute. Remove from pan and press out water.

4. Beat eggs until fluffy with milk. I like to use a milk frother to get it extra fluffy. Add in lemon zest, salt, and pepper.

5. Spray pan with olive oil. Now add in layers, the spinach/garlic, lox and then pour over the egg mixture.

6. Cook without stirring for 4-5 minutes then place in oven and cook until set, about 15 minutes.

7. Slide frittata out and cut like a pizza.

Don't have spinach? Arugula is also a great green for this dish. 

Hope you all had a meaningful Passover. Slavery is still practiced all over the world, and on this day I am thankful to be free enjoying delicious food. Until next time...

A Not-so Mat-zo Passover: Recipe 1

Matzo = constipation. It just does. But goyim love it because it's a "giant cracker!"

No. It's just a giant stomach ache. Here is a Passover recipe to keep things moving. I'll try and do a series this week.

Take that Egyptians!

Roasted Acorn Squash on a Bed of Mashed Purple Potatoes
This recipe is a a do-what-you want kind of thing. I'm just going to give you the ingredients to work with.

• 1 acorn squash or butternut
• 1/2 red onion
• 1/2 bell pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• crumbled feta
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• purple potatoes
• butter
• milk
• vegetable stock
• protein (I like seared shrimp for this one...I know...very kosher)

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In the meantime, cut your squash in half, place on baking dish and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. When the oven comes to temp, roast for about 25 minutes until it is just tender, but will hold together when you spoon it out.
2. Get a pot of water boiling so that you can make your mashed potatoes. I'm not going to instruct you further on this one, I trust you can handle it!
3. Cut up your pepper and onion and saute it in some olive oil with the garlic. You'll want to go medium low on this one to bring out the sweetness and keep your garlic from burning. **Wait on this step until your squash is almost done**
4. Take your squash out of the oven and let it cool slightly so that you can spoon it out and cut it into chunks.
5. When your pepper/onion mixture is almost soft, add chicken stock so it just barely covers the bottom of the pan. We aren't trying to drown the food here. Cook for a few more minutes and then add the squash.
6. Get a bowl and layer some mashed potatoes, squash mixture, perhaps some seared shrimp or chicken, and finally crumble over some feta.

Look Back on Seder

Preparing Passover really wasn't that bad. I spent most of my non-working hours in the kitchen the week before seder, but that's a-okay with me. If you plan out what to make each night, most things can be refrigerated ahead of time, in fact, some should.

Here's a rundown of some of the most popular items I made:

Matzo Balls

1 cup matzo meal
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons schmaltz (rendered seasoned chicken fat, sold at butcher shops) at room temperature
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup seltzer

Bring the schmaltz to room temperature in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix together. Separate your eggs and add them to the bowl, mix. Add seltzer and mix until it all comes together: DON'T OVER MIX!

Cover your bowl and put it in the fridge for at least one hour.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a simmer. With wet hands, roll out 1-ounce balls (about the size of a walnut). Add balls to water and simmer until tender, light and fluffy in the center, 45 to 60 minutes. (To test centers, insert a toothpick, which should slide easily all the way through.) Drain and cool in a baking dish and then cover and put it in the freezer. Don't ask me why, it's just better that way.

Sephardic Charoset

If you like bland food, this recipe isn't for you. As a child I had very fond memories of a charoset my Iranian grandmother made. So this year, I was determined to make my own with a faint memory of what it tasted like.

2/3 cup hazelnuts
2 cups whole pitted dates
1/3 cup whole blanched almonds
1/3 cup walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup golden raisins
4 tablespoons sweet red wine
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (you may want less if you don't like cloves that much)
2 shredded Granny Smith Apples
2/3 cup sliced banana

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and toast your nuts in a pie plate (about 10 minutes). You will want to stir them around a couple of times to make sure they don't burn.

Combine nuts, dates, raisins, and golden raisins in a food processor. Process until ground, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. (Mixture will be thick and crumbly but will hold together when pressed.) Add wine, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves; pulse 4 times or until combined. Add apple and banana; pulse 4 times or until combined. Transfer mixture to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of days. The flavors will combine and mellow out. Trust me with this one, let it sit and taste it a day or so later, that will give you a true feeling for how it will sit on the palate during seder. If you need to make adjustments you will know at this point.

Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

6 large egg whites
2 cups superfine sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon balsamic
2 ounces Trader Joe's dark chocolate, finely chopped

Topping:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 container raspberries
1 1/2 ounces Trader Joe's dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a flat cookie sheet with parchment paper. Trace a 9-inch cake pan on the paper and turn the paper over. You should still be able to see the circle.

Make the meringue: Beat the egg whites in a stand mixer until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

Add the chocolate: Sprinkle the cocoa, vinegar and then the chopped chocolate over the egg whites. Gently fold everything with a rubber spatula until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in. DO NOT MIX, FOLD! You want to keep it fluffy.

Put a dab of meringue under each corner to secure the parchment paper. To shape the meringue pour a mound in the middle. Then with a large frosting spatula, create a cake shape in the circle you drew. Smooth the tops and the sides.

Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 300 degrees and cook for one hour. When it's ready, it should look crisp and dry on top, and squishy in the middle.

Turn off the oven and open the door slightly; let the meringue cool completely in the oven.

Ready for the hard part? You will most likely need two people. Put a large serving platter on top so it is just touching, but not actually putting any pressure. In a coordinated fashion flip the meringue onto the plate. Remember, this thing falls apart easily! After your heart slows down and the meringue is safely flipped, peel off the parchment.

Now it's time to decorate!!!

Whisk the cream till thick but still soft and pile it on top of the meringue, then scatter the raspberries on top. Now take your chocolate and a peeler and make chocolate curls. Collect in a container and sprinkle over the top. Voila!

The Countdown to Passover Begins!

Culinary landmarks are no different from any other momentous occasion, they're kinda a big deal. I will be hosting my first Jewish holiday for family (read: In-laws) this Saturday. Of course I had to choose the most difficult one -- PASSOVER! For those of you who don't know, Passover equates to dietary restrictions. Leavened food cannot be consumed for eight gut wrenching days, which is kicked off with two nights of seders.

Josh and I will be hosting night two, since I always go to my Bubbe's for the first seder. Let's just stop right there. Bubbe set the bar high, she works magic in the kitchen. You will never see a jar of that grayish looking gefilte fish in her fridge because she makes it down to the fish grinding. Then you bring my mom into the equation with her should-be world famous brisket. Yeah...the bar is set high. Luckily, they will always share their secrets with me, even though I can barely get Bubbe to write down a recipe. I guess that was passed down in the blood to me? Writing actual measurements are almost impossible, I prefer "enough" and "some" as my guidelines.

Anyway, I digress. So here is what is on the menu so far:

Seder Plate: sephardic charoset and handmade horseradish (and the rest of the normal stuff)

Matzoball soup

Brisket

Red skin potatoes with some kind of herbs most likely

String beans

Roasted asparagus

Chocolate fudge walnut cookies

Almond macaroons - non-coconut variety

Also, the MIL is bringing chopped liver and Carla is bringing another dessert.

For night one, I'm going to try making a Chocolate Pavlova with homemade whipped cream and raspberries.

I'm playing it safe this year for seder to get my feet wet. But, during the week I will try and create some more inventive Pesach dishes.  I swear it can't be that hard...at least for a Reformed Jew :)