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Passover 2002–2005


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Welcome to eGullet, Gumbo. I notice that you did not say where you are from on your profile. If you are from New York, I have some suggestions for ready-made purchase (not from a jar.) If you live elsewhere, and really, really want to make gefilte fish, I will consult my mother-in-law, whose version is highly regarded and will post it on the board. IMHO, the effort to make the stuff is not worth the result, but I'll try to help.

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In answer to the question about fennel: while I am certainly no expert on the topic, and have not taken time to research this, my guess is that the strictest interpretations (or most rigid) of kosher laws prohibit fennel for the same reason asparagus is prohibited by some. It is thought that the shape of the asparagus spear could hide from even the most scrupulous eyes tiny insects which would not be kosher to eat.

I was teaching a cooking class in a strictly kosher JCC, and several students refused to taste the dish I prepared because it had fresh asparagus in it.

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No asparagus?? :sad: We always had asparagus, but then we were not totally observant. Besides, we took advantage of it being spring, and asparagus was just coming into season.

BTW: my mother always, always made those "Passover Bagels." I have her recipe, which I believe came off a matzo meal box. Everyone always loved them (except me).

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*pulls head out of sand and shakes vigorously* how does one go about making gefilte fish. i'm hoping beyond hope that something i would fabricate would taste better than the bottled stuff you find on the supermarket shelf. :wacko:

I just could never bring myself to eat gefilte fish; I think it was the sound of the name. I make this Tunisian version for Passover.

Fish Dumplings in Turmeric Sauce

2 lbs. cod or tilefish fillets (ask for heads and bones to make the 4 cups stock)

1 small onion, quartered

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 egg

salt and pepper

1 cup matzoh meal

oil for deep frying

4 cups fish stock

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. turmeric

3 tbsp. tomato paste

Italian parsley for garnish

Cut fish into 1" cubes. Process until smooth in food processor along with onion, garlic, cumin, cayenne, egg, salt and pepper. Add matzoh meal and process until incorporated.

Shape fish mixture into plump ovals about 3" long.

Heat oil for deep frying to 375 degrees in deep fryer, saucepan or wok. Fry fish rolls until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Bring stock to boil in 1 or 2 large saucepans, add lemon juice, turmeric and tomato paste. Bring to slow simmer. Drop drained fish rolls into simmering broth and cook slowly, uncovered. Rolls should be single layer. Simmer until broth has reduced and thickened, about 40 minutes. Serve warm, garnished with parsley.

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Toby,

That's a great looking recipe,i'll have to give it try.

After my Tanta bella and grandmothers passed away many years ago,we go to the jar for gelfita fish. I may seem crazy,but I love the stuff,I load it with beet horseradish and top it with my moms choroseh (sorry about the spelling folks).

Yum

Turnip Greens are Better than Nothing. Ask the people who have tried both.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is my mother's recipe for "bulkies". Passover rolls. I made these for my friends last year, expecting them to cringe at the thought of eating them -- they're a little dense. But everyone loved them. Great for leftover brisket sandwiches. My mother always shows everyone the tray of the hot, puffed, glistening bulkies when the come out of the oven. They usually fall flat pretty quick. Can't think of any reason to eat them when it's not Passover -- but here it is:

1 cup Matzoh Meal with 1/2 tsp salt mixed in.

1 cup water with 1/2 cup oil -- boiled together

Stir matzoh meal into boiling water/oil mixture, take off heat and stir until mixture pulls off side of pot

Let cool 10 minutes.

stir in 4 eggs, one at a time.

drop baseball sized onto greased cookie sheet.

bake at 450 for 25 minutes.

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  • 7 months later...
My mother also made something she called a "bagel".  The only thing that they had in common with a bagel was the shape and hole in the center. I remember it had a lot of oil in it and it also had a bit of sugar in it.  It was very very moist and I remember greasy fingers and napkins eating them.

These sound like what my mother (Litvak) called "bubbelehs" and my wife's mother (Polack) called "latkes".

My mother-in-law makes these too, and calls them latkes. She fries up balls of potato-starch dough, and then we dip them in red wine and then sugar.

I got a kick out of watching my two-year-old niece eat my mom's recipe for shredded potato latkes during the first seder -- watched her devour every last one to hit her plate! -- and then the next night she wrinkled her little nose at the fried-dough latkes.

"Those aren't latkes," she said. You go, girl!

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Although only NY-area folks will understand: any dessert from Schick's in Brookyn. They make great chocolate-mousse creations in tiny chocolate baskets that really help take the deprivation out of Passover for me.

...otherwise, the best part of Passover is when it is officially PAST and OVER! By day three I will be dreaming of soft squishy fast-food hamburger buns.

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Motza Gateau:

Soak matzos in kosher wine. Sandwich 4 layers with chocolate buttercream, Slice into small pieces,

Cinamon balls:

Ground almonds 6oz

Cinnamon 2 Tbs

Castor sugar 8oz

Whites of 3 eggs

Mix together, roll into balls with et hand. Put on baking paper, slow oven (350F) until set - 20 mins

They will spread a bit, but should be crisp on the oustide and gooey in the middle. Roll in icing (confectioners) sugar

Use the yolks for Coconut Pyramids, Mix with 1/2lb dessicated coconut. Form into pyramids. Bake in a moderate oven until the tops brown

We always had Halibut with Egg and Lemon sauce, as well as cold fried fish - Matzo meals is better than breadcrumbs for a coating ("So which will you have, the boiled or the fried fish?" "The boiled fish please" "So what's wrong with the fried fish?")

Have we had the firm vs fluffy Kneidlach/Matzo Kleis debate yet? With parley and/or onion or without?

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Rachel -- and anyone else looking for recipe ideas: Take a look at Joyce Goldstein's books, especially Cucina Ebraica and Sephardic Flavors. The first is Italian; the second more generally Mediterranean. A couple of years ago I parceled out recipes from Cucina Ebraica to relatives of varying skill levels -- the results were excellent. At that same seder I was going to serve pan-fried duck (incredibly easy and wonderful; it steams itself and all the fat gets rendered out), but my supermarket tried to pawn off some rotten birds on me. So I ended up making a Persian fesanjon -- stewed duck and meatballs in a pomegranate-based sauce.

In 1990 we went to a seder at the home of an Israeli family in Los Angeles. They served some rice dishes, which I was not at all used to. And roast leg of lamb, ditto. The lamb was probably not kosher, but that didn't bother me.

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I will be looking forward to my mother's cooking, especially her matzo ball soup, and taking home as many leftovers as possible. I also plan on conniving my way into a few parties; I figure if I plan right, I won't have to cook at all. :raz:

I detest Passover macaroons, and Passover cookies are only marginally better. My favorite dessert is plain old dark chocolate. At home we always had Kopper's Coffee Beans, which is solid chocolate with coffee in it shaped to look like the beans.

Since I'm not really observant the rest of the year, I treat the Passover dietary rules as a test; if I can make it through the 8 days without blatantly eating chametz, I've passed. My rule is: if I can read the list of ingredients, I will avoid products with chametz, but I will not ask the person behind the counter if the soda they're serving me is made with corn syrup or what oil they cooked the fries with.

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The calendar I looked at says Passover is on April 17th, that means the first Sedar is on the 16th, right?  Jason wants to do a Sephardic Sedar, what should we serve?

Yes, the first seder is on the 16th. If you are going Sephardic, you are permitted to serve rice, couscous or other similar grains, which Sephardic Jews do eat during Passover but which are verboten for Ashkenazi Jews. Lamb and couscous are an excellent combination. So, perhaps you might do a braised lamb shanks recipe.

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If you have never tasted Marcy Goldman's Matzoh Buttercrunch, you have missed the all-time most fabulous Passover treat. And I don't say this lightly because the Passover baked goods that I like are the proverbial very few and very far between. However, this one is outrageously delicious. It's oh-so easy to prepare, but I warn you that, once you have made it, you will have a very difficult time not immediately gobbling up the whole batch. So, as Maida Heatter wrote about a cookie in one of her recipe books, if you have no willpower, don't make it! :laugh:

Marcy has a web site -- betterbaking.com -- and I thought the recipe was there, but I can't find it. (It is in her wonderful Jewish holiday baking book, along with lots of other terrific recipes.) However, Arthur Schwartz has it on his site -- actually, it was on Arthur's radio program that I first heard about it -- and I am providing the link here. This goodie gives true meaning to the wish: A ziesen pesach! :smile:

http://www.arthurschwartz.com/diary/archiv...s/00000102.html

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I was surprised to learn, for example, on my first visit to a Hasidic home for Passover, that the ultra-orthodox don't eat matzoh-ball soup, matzoh-brie, or any of that stuff on Passover. Apparently they're of the opinion that it's tantamount to leavening, or at least symbolic thereof, to take matzoh meal and use it as a flour substitute. They're also very strict about kitniot items like legumes and rice.

you are of course referring to Askenazi Jews and their traditions.

As for Sephardic Jews, their traditions are somewhat different. I remember being surprised as a little girl that our sephardic in laws had a very different passover celebration, such as eating certain legumes, vastly different harotses and carrying the affikomen on an elders back rather than hiding it.

Speaking of harotses it's really fun to do a medley of different ones from eastern european to yemenite. The middle eastern/sefardic versions tend to use dried fruits rather than apples.

Stop Tofu Abuse...Eat Foie Gras...

www.cuisinetc-catering.blogspot.com

www.cuisinetc.net

www.caterbuzz.com

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The calendar I looked at says Passover is on April 17th, that means the first Sedar is on the 16th, right?  Jason wants to do a Sephardic Sedar, what should we serve?

Yes, the first seder is on the 16th. If you are going Sephardic, you are permitted to serve rice, couscous or other similar grains, which Sephardic Jews do eat during Passover but which are verboten for Ashkenazi Jews. Lamb and couscous are an excellent combination. So, perhaps you might do a braised lamb shanks recipe.

I just came across an excellent and interesting cookbook called a Fistful of Lentils about Syrian Jewish Cookery. It is not holiday specific but has some recipes that would work, and may have a holiday section. Check it out. It's a lovely sephardic Jewish cookbook in any case.

Hag Samach - Happy Holidays everyone.

Stop Tofu Abuse...Eat Foie Gras...

www.cuisinetc-catering.blogspot.com

www.cuisinetc.net

www.caterbuzz.com

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We almost have a minion on this thread. :biggrin:

After my sister in law mistaking a corned beef for a brisket (...why is this so red?...) last Passover.

Passover is at my house this year.

I am reading along and planning. Thanks all.

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It's almost that magical time again. I love Passover!

This year, I want to prepare a fish entree as an alternative to the usual brisket (which Mom will be handling). We already have gefilte fish every year, but my partner does not eat meat or fowl and I'd like to present something besides eggs and veggies that he can enjoy this year. All the Passover dishes in my parents' household (where I will be cooking) are fleishig, so I can't do something with a beurre blanc or a sauce finished with butter or cream or anything. Roasted salmon is delicious, but we eat it often enough at home that it doesn't seem like anything special. I'd rather the fish be lighter than a matzo-meal meuniere type thing, and was considering perhaps something en papillote with a dairy-free sauce. Any suggestions? I rely so heavily on butter and cream for my schmancy-meal saucemaking that I'm having a hard time thinking outside the box.

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Halibut (or any firm fish) poached with egg and lemon sauce is traditional in my family

For the sauce:

Beat the rind and juice of 2 lemons with 3 egg yolks, over a bainmaire. Gradually add 3/4pt fish stock (from poaching the fish). Cook and stir until thickened.

Arrange the fish, half hard boiled eggs if liked, and pour over the sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve cold.

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Ok,

I'm going to an Ashkenazi sedar for passover and am trying to think about what I can make. I'm not responsible for any of the cooking really, and mainly want to bring something that I know I'll enjoy eating. I'd ideally like to make some sort of grain dish, but I know that most are forbidden in Ashkenazi tradition. So I'm wondering if there are any exceptions. I am specifically thinking about a pearled barley rissoto, but for all I know that'll break some other laws. (For instance the butter or cream would make it "dairy" and I assume there will be meat on the table). I'll ask the host what the specific rules are at her house, but she's pretty strict about them, and if I bring anything that breaks her conception of what is allowable, I'm going to need to show up with documented proof that it is acceptable for Ashkenazi sedars.

Anyway, my point was, does anyone know of any acceptable Ashkenazi grain recipes (barley, quinoa, spelt, etc.) There's got to be something!

-Eric

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Anyway, my point was, does anyone know of any acceptable Ashkenazi grain recipes (barley, quinoa, spelt, etc.)  There's got to be something!

Well, unfortunately, there isn't. For Ashkenazis observing the rituals, all grains are out, as are legumes such as peas and beans, as well as corn. Anything fermented. And, btw, olives are out as well. And only pickles specially prepared for Passover are permitted. Yup, the list is long.... I have seen Passover noodles, but I don't know what they are made of, and I don't know how they taste. Frankly, if it's not a real noodle, I'm not interested.

If you bake, take a look at this recipe for Marcy Goldman's Matzoh Buttercrunch which I discussed on the other Passover thread. Trust me, if you bring it to the dinner, everyone will be thrilled.

http://www.arthurschwartz.com/diary/archiv...s/00000102.html

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The "Passover lukshen" I'm used to are very, very thin omelets (with maybe a touch of cake meal for body), cooked in oil or parve margarine :hmmm: and cut julienne. Quite literally egg noodles :biggrin: and very good.

Edited by Jason Perlow (log)
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