Tag: Passover

What I Wanna Make: Passover 2016

Passover 2016 | Serious Crust by Annie FasslerPassover 2016 | Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

That’s right y’all. It’s about to be Passover. Bring on the matzo ball soup, the flourless desserts, and the brisket! I know, I know, this charoset is not the most photogenic food. And I realized while making it that to most people, it may not even taste that great. But man, does this stuff bring me back to my childhood.

I only buy Maneschewitz wine once a year because, well, it’s awful. But then again, so is most matzo (cardboard anyone?) and we all know that gefilte fish is possibly the least loved dish on the Passover table. But I love it all. And possibly my favorite thing at Passover, and the thing that I somehow made even when I couldn’t go home for the holiday, is charoset: at its simplest, a paste of chopped apples, nuts, wine, and cinnamon. This recipe is one that I found and tinkered with a few years ago, and I like it slathered on a matzo cracker and topped with a heavy dollop of horseradish.

Here’s what else I want to make this year:

Date and Apple Charoset

Ingredients

1 cup pecans
1/2 cup walnuts
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, and cut into large chunks
1 1/2 cups pitted dates (I like Medjool), about 15
1/3 cup sweet wine (Manischewitz is the only authentic way to go)
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1-2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
Horseradish and matzo for serving

Instructions

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pecans and walnuts a few times until you’ve got a coarse meal. Add the apples, pulse a few more times, then add the dates, wine, honey, and cinnamon. Blend until mostly smooth. Add salt and lemon to taste. Chill to serve.

Baked Rhubarb with Lemon and Cardamom

Baked Rhubarb with Lemon and Cardamom // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

Baked Rhubarb with Lemon and Cardamom // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Baked Rhubarb with Lemon and Cardamom // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

It’s raining in Portland. I know, surprise, surprise. But it wasn’t that long ago that the sun was shining and I even got a sunburn. Seriously! Last weekend, Jonah’s mom and Grandma were in town for the day, and we took them to the PSU Farmer’s Market, which has got to be one of my favorite things about Portland. The sun was shining, I wasn’t even wearing a jacket, and there was beautiful crimson rhubarb everywhere! Rhubarb has got to be one of my favorite ingredients of all time, so I was excited, to say the least.

As I was getting ready for Passover dinner on Tuesday, I decided to nix the matzo crunch in favor of something a little more reminiscent of springtime: some baked rhubarb. After doing a little recipe hunting and finding this recipe on Food52 and this recipe on Orangette, I decided to do a little adapting. This recipe is so easy and delicious – I love the slightly sour flavor of the rhubarb and the hint of lemon, cardamom, and earl grey. I balanced the tartness with some fresh whipped cream, but ice cream, fresh ricotta, or yogurt are also great options.

Baked Rhubarb with Lemon and Cardamom

Ingredients

6 cups rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup granulated sugar
1 meyer lemon, juiced
1/8 tsp cardamom
3/4 cup steeped and cooled earl grey tea

optional: fresh whipped cream, ice cream, fresh ricotta, or yogurt for serving

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a baking dish, combine rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice, cardamom, and tea. Stir to combine. Bake for 15 minutes, stir, and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool. You can serve the rhubarb warm, room temperature, or chilled, all are wonderful. Yes, that’s it. Can you believe how easy this is?

P.S. The leftovers, if there are any, taste delicious stirred into your yogurt and granola the next morning. Or on top of pancakes. Just saying.

Weekend Finds 4:13:14: Passover edition!

As soon as I returned from Vietnam on Thursday, my mind quickly zeroed in on the upcoming holiday: Passover! While I sadly can’t make it home this year to celebrate with my family, I am going to have a small dinner at my house with my roommates. I don’t think we’ll do the whole seder, but I am looking forward to cooking some of my favorites and sharing this bit of tradition with my friends. Now, the age old question: should I stick with the known and loved recipes? Or try something new and adventurous? Here are some recipes I’ve been eyeing.

1. Haroset with Medjool Dates

Haroset on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
This smooth haroset has medjool dates!

I love haroset. When I was in college, and I couldn’t go home for Passover, but I certainly couldn’t cook a whole seder in my dorm, I still made haroset. This haroset looks a little more smooth than the one I usually make, but I like the addition of the dates for sweetness.

2. Matzo brittle/crunch/toffee

Matzo Toffee on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Matzo, brown sugar, butter, and chocolate: what could be better?

There are a thousand different variations on matzo brittle. Seriously, you can find so many recipes from a quick google search (see David Lebovitz, HuffPost, or Smitten Kitchen). But I’m thinking I’d like to be a little adventurous and top the traditionally matzo, toffee, and chocolate with some more interesting ingredients like dried sour cherries, toasted coconut, or pistachios.

3. Brisket

Passover Brisket on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Decisions, decisions: which brisket recipe to make?

Perhaps one thing I’m most excited to make for Passover is the brisket. My mom made this recipe from Martha Stewart at least once when I was growing up, and it is the one that really sticks out in my mind. But there are so many good looking recipes, like this one from Bon Appetit, that I’m already having trouble deciding which to use.

4. Deviled Eggs

Deviled Eggs on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
These asparagus deviled eggs look awesome.

I think making deviled eggs instead of simply serving plain hard boiled eggs might be more interesting and give me more chances to try something new. This recipe that Deb just posted on Smitten Kitchen looks great, and I love the use of a spring vegetable like asparagus.

5. Seder Plate

Seder Plates on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
I love the color of this Victorian seder plate.

I don’t have a seder plate, and this year I’ll probably just put a bunch of ramekins on a platter and call it good. Still, I haven’t been able to stop myself from eyeing some beautiful (and some very expensive) seder plates. This Victorian era seder plate is fantastic – I love the color, and I love to think that I’d use the cake stand part year round. I like the more modern take on this stainless steel seder plate. And this painted ceramic plate reminds me of the one we used growing up.

6. Matzo Brei

Matzo Brei on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
I like to sprinkle my matzo brei with sugar or syrup.

Because what else do you eat for breakfast during Passover?

Matzoh Brei

Matzoh Brei
Matzoh Brei

Matzoh Brei

This is the last Passover related dish. I had been wanting to make matzoh brei for Jonah, that’s the real reason I bought a box of matzoh at all. This morning, after a weird run (there was a pretty bad house fire down the street from us, so went went out for a run, and then spent a little while watching all the fire trucks arrive and such before finally starting our workout) we came home and I got started.

I remember my parents making matzoh brei for us when we were kids. I think they did it as more of a scramble instead of like little pancakes (as I did here), but either way, it’s delicious. I think my parents also used a higher matzoh to egg ratio than I did, but it was still dang good.

Matzoh Brei

Makes enough for 2 hungry people

Ingredients

3 pieces of matzoh, broken into 1/2 inch pieces
3 eggs
salt
pepper
vegetable oil for frying
jam, syrup, and/or sugar for serving

Instructions

Break matzo into 1/2″ pieces and put them in a medium mixing bowl. Cover the matzoh with piping hot tap water and let stand for about 30 seconds, then drain. In another bowl, beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Pour the eggs over the matzoh (or the other way around, doesn’t really matter) and mix thoroughly until combined and a batter forms.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Scoop scant 1/4-cupfuls (or 1/5-cupfuls) of batter into the pan. You don’t want them to be too thick because you want them to cook through and get a little crispy on the edges. Fry, turning once, until golden and cooked through, about a minute per side. Serve hot with jam, sugar, and/or syrup! Enjoy!