Pesach Brownies- Classic Kosher Cooking, Sara Finkel

Yes, the photo sucks. Raymond should come live with us so I could have professional photography on the blog-but then he'd weigh 300 lbs. and hate me. So you're stuck with crappy photos. As the kids say, whatever.



Another year, another version of brownies. Really, there's only so much you can do with passover brownies (sour cream versions, egg-less, oil vs. margarine) but a good frosting will make them edible. Some recipes claim, "I would make these all year", but that is a flat-out lie. No one would willingly make Passover brownies during the year. All that said, for what they are, this batch was pretty good.

A few months back, I found a number of Jewish cookbooks at the library sale (someone must have been moving, and donated their cookbooks) and I'm really making good use of them. Classic Kosher Cooking by, Sara Finkel is just that-the classics. So far I've made the pesach spongecake (excellent), and chremslach which are a sort of dried fruit and matzo meal fritter (also excellent). The book is nicely hard-bound, and the type is easy to read across the kitchen counter which is more often than not, how I end up looking at cookbooks (oh, what I would give for more counter space). I can enthusiastically say it was well worth my .50 cents to purchase.

The frosting recipe comes from the same volume, and that one I would make use of during the year-it is wonderful.

You Will Need:

Brownies:
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup salad oil
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/2 cup powdered cocoa
1 cup Pesach cake meal (finely ground matzos)
2 tablespoons potato starch
(3/4 cup chopped walnuts which I omitted)

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 pan.

beat eggs, adding sugar slowly until fluffy. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bake 25-30 minutes taking care not to overbake. Cool, then frost and cut into squares.

Frosting:

1/2 cup powdered cocoa
1` cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water-scant
3 tablespoons margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (optional. I used it)

In a saucepan, mix cocoa, water, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook about ten minutes or until it reaches soft-ball stage. Remove from heat and beat in remaining ingredients. Continue to stir until thickened. Note- Much like fudge, it will begin to loose gloss as it thickens-that's when you should spread it. I didn't have trouble with it, but I also gave it my complete attention. I could see it failing horribly if you stopped stirring for 30 seconds or something.

Allergy Warnings Passover Cake Meal

This year, the Passover cake meal comes with a nut allergy warning. Great, you need that for just about everything you bake. I ended up making a (much) less expensive substitute by grinding matzo in my electric coffee grinder. If I owned a food processor, I'd have used that.

Just a heads-up if you discover the warning at the last minute, you can still finish the cake you were baking. this is a real problem though. I know to stay away from the prepared mixes, but I really thought the staple ingredients were safe-obviously I was was wrong. A good lesson in remembering to read the labels of products every single time. Production lines change, as do ingredients.

Nut-Free Passover Dishes

This list is by no means comprehensive, but things have a way of getting buried in the depths of this blog to be forgotten. Let me know if I've forgotten something. I'll update the list from time to time as I make/remember things. I will Do an Easter List next.



Nut-free Haroset/Charosset
Mixed Vegetable Bake-Passover/Nut Free
Cream Puffs/Soup "No Mandel" Passover/Nut Free
Carrot and Potato Patties-Passover/Nut-Free
Passover Poutine ("Jewtine")
Popovers-Passover/Nut-Free
Vegetable Passover "Lasagne"
Passover Nut Free Crispy Sticks
Borsch(t)
Passover Nut-Free Veggie Knishes
No Bake Passover Nut-Free Chocolate Matzo Roll
Passover-Nut Free Bagels
Gefilte Fish
Passover Nut-Free Potato Crust Pizzas
Passover Nut-Free Brownies II
Passover Nut-Free Manicotti/Blintzes/Crepes
Passover Nut-Free Macaroons
Meatless/Nut Free/Passover Cabbage Rolls
Nut-Free Passover Sponge Cake
Matzo Balls
Passover Eggplant Parmesan
Iced Curry Soup
Passover Adaptable to Nut-Free Chocolate Cake(You can omit the almonds with no harm done)
Passover Potato Kugel With Carrots

Passover Cream Puffs and Soup Nuts From "Magic Dough"

Back to our friend Ruth Sirkis for this wonderful recipe. The dough can be used for practically anything you can make with choux pastry.

You Will Need:

4 large eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil or 1 stick margarine (I used butter)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups matzo meal (I used Passover cake flour which is ground finer. You can use the regular stuff, but the texture is better with the cake flour)

Bring the water, oil, and salt to a rapid boil in a medium pot. Remove from heat, and with a wooden spoon, beat in the matzo meal. return to heat and cook 3 minutes, mixing well. Remove from heat and let cool 10 minutes.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, thoroughly. When finished, use dough like choux pastry to make soup nuts, cream puffs, and the like.

Both cream puffs and soup nuts can be baked on greased sheets in a 400 degree F. oven. The time will vary depending on size. Small soup nuts take about 20 minutes. Cream puffs closer to 40.

Passover Carrot and Potato Patties

Another interesting Pesach dish. I served it with a bowl of soup, and a small salad. Again, this is British vegetarian cookery from the 1980's...so yeah, there's some oddball combinations you wouldn't run across today. Personally, I like that sort of thing as it doesn't rely so heavily on tofu and seitan as meat replacements. Sure, making mock gefilte fish from broad beans takes some imagination, but the resulting dishes are pretty decent. At one point or another, I've made just about everything in this book. I do recommend it if you can track it down, as it is always nice to be able to make a quick vegetarian dish for an unexpected guest that won't have you running store to store looking for difficult to locate ingredients. Everyone can find potatoes and carrots.

From, Jewish vegetarian cooking by, Rose Friedman, 1984


You Will Need:

1 lb. potatoes
1 lb. carrots
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Oil for frying
Salt/pepper
Garlic salt (I skipped this)
2 teaspoons paprika
2-3 tbsp. tomato puree (paste)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 egg (optional)
1/2 cup fine matzo meal

Peel and dice the potatoes and carrots. Boil or steam until soft (I boiled). Fry the onions and garlic in a bit of oil until golden.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet.

Mash the carrots and potatoes, add the spices, tomato puree, and parsley. Mix well. Mix in the onions/garlic and the oil they cooked in. Mix. Beat in egg if using. Add matzo meal slowly, mixing until you have a mixture that is firm enough to be formed into patties. Place on greased baking sheet and lightly brush the patties with oil. Bake 30-45 minutes or until they are crisp. Makes about 12 decent-sized patties.

Jewtine

You know, poutine made with potato latkes. I made a wonderful spicy, mushroom gravy with veggie stock and passover cake flour. I dunno, it just seemed like the thing to do.

Passover "Popovers"

Sure, calling these popovers is a bit of a stretch, but they are in the spirit of a popover. At any rate, by this point in the holiday they are a good change from fried matzo.

From Taste of Tradition, Ruth Sirkis 1972

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin for 12 muffins.

In a bowl, with an electric beater or a whisk (I used a whisk) beat together the following:

3 large eggs
1 cup milk
2/3 cup matzo meal
4 tablespoons potato starch
1/2 teaspoon salt


Beat well for 2 minutes. Then, beat in :
2 tablespoons oil

Beat another minute.

Pour into muffin tins filling 3/4 full.

Bake 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F. and bake 30 minutes longer.

Makes 12

Passover Veggie Lasagna

This layered dish is a bit of work, but so many of the steps may be done ahead. As Pesach drags along, and the appeal of potato kugel and borscht wears off, this is a nice change. The recipe for the crepes is versatile-you can use it for blintzes, or cut into slices as noodles for soup. Here, I've layered them to make a lasagna-type dish.

It may sound impossible, but passover cake meal (very finely ground matzo meal) works to make a roux for a sauce. It does tend to burn if you don't keep stirring, but you wouldn't be the sort of person that allows for distraction when cooking-would you? Of course not. Watch your sauce for the three minutes it takes.

I filled this with fresh green beans, carrots, sliced boiled potatoes, and spices. You could use anything of course. For the cheese, I sieved some cottage cheese and beat-in an egg. Ricotta would also work fine. Like most of what I post here, consider these ideas, rather than firm instructions, though the crepes will work better if you follow the recipe.


You Will Need:

For the crepes:

1 1/3 cups water
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons oil
6 tablespoons potato starch

Add potato starch last, and beat until thick like cream. Let rest 20 minutes. The potato starch will tend to sink, so give it a quick stir before pouring each crepe.

Lightly (and I mean, really lightly) oil a skillet. Over medium heat, pour a ladle full of batter onto pan, and tilt to cover. Cook until dry on top, then flip and cook a minute longer on the other side. Remove to a plate, and continue-you probably won't need to re-grease the pan.

Don't be overly-concerned if the tear, as you'll be layering them in a dish with vegetables, cheese and sauce.


For the Cheese filling:

3 cups cottage cheese sieved. Beat in 1 large egg.


For the vegetables:

1 lb. green beans,French cut, and lightly steamed
3-4 medium carrots, cut in matchsticks
olive oil (about 1 tablespoon)
3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1 tablespoon preserved lemon peel, chopped
4-5 small, new potatoes boiled just until tender, then sliced in rounds
1 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt/pepper

Heat the oil in a large pan. Cook the carrots, garlic, and lemon peel until softened. Add everything else and gently toss. Reduce heat to low and cook gently for a few more minutes. This may be cooked ahead of time.

For the sauce:

2 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons passover cake meal
salt/pepper

In a saucepan, over medium heat melt the butter until it sizzles. With a wooden spoon, beat-in the cake flour and cook until foamy. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook, whisking constantly over medium heat until it thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and cover if not using right away. If you are going to be longer than 1/2 hour, pour a bit of cream on top to prevent a skin forming.

Topping: About 1 cup grated cheese of your choice.

Put it together:

Use a deep pan, about 8x11-ish. Go ahead and grease it to make clean-up easier. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In the bottom of the pan, spread a bit of the sauce. Layer some of the crepes, then the vegetables, then cheese filling, repeat. The top layer should be noodles and a tiny remainder of sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Place the pan on a baking sheet in the event it bubbles over, and bake about 45 minutes, or until top is deeply golden and sauce is bubbling around edges. Let stand about five minutes before cutting.

Passover Crispy Sticks

Imagine really large chow mein noodles made from matzo meal. That's what these are. They're fantastic.

The recipe comes from The New York Times Heritage Cookbook, Jean Hewitt ed.1972


You Will Need:

1 large egg
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sifted matzo meal
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt

Beat the egg, water and salt together. Mix in the matzo meal and let chill, covered for at least an hour.

Take a pea-sized ball and roll it between your palm and a cutting board (or other hard surface) until it is pencil like (I rolled mine pretty thin, but the recipe was kind of vague here). Place on a flat plate while you roll.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan. Fry a few at a time taking care not to crowd the pan. Don't stand too close when they first go in (I was splattered a few times, but not everyone is as tough as I am and I don't want to hear you crying about a little burn from hot grease). fry until golden. Remove to a rack, then a few at a time, toss in a paper bag with the coarse salt. Store in an airtight tin (but you won't have many left-they go quickly).

Borsch (t) Meatless

This borsch is filled with cabbage, carrots, celery and tomatoes. I'm storing it in jars, but this most certainly is not the disgusting beet water sold in jars (in America anyway-I can't comment on the borsch situation elsewhere). The recipe I'm providing makes quite a bit, but if you add some boiled potatoes and sour cream, you pretty much have a meal.

You Will Need:

8 cups vegetable stock
2 large bunches of beetroot (use about half the greens and save the rest for something else) peeled and matchsticked
1 small cabbage, shredded coarsely
4 carrots, matchsticked
1 large red onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, scraped and chopped (use the leaves if you have them)
2 cups chopped, tinned tomatoes (drained)
Juice of 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon dried dill
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
Extra water to cover
Salt/pepper to taste

Place it all in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Skim any scum that rises and then reduce heat to a very low simmer. Cover, leaving a small vent and let simmer about three hours or until beetroot is very tender. Adjust salt and pepper. Serve hot or chilled.

Makes a whole hell of a lot of borsch. You know, a Shissel full.

Happy Pesach

My Passover spongecake sunk a bit in the centre, but the meatless matzo ball soup more than made up for it. Recipes for both tomorrow, after I get some sleep.

Passover Vegetable Knishes

These knishes are so pretty, I'd consider serving them year round. If you omitted the cake flour and used extra potato starch, you could make these gluten free. I don't know why I don't make use of potato starch during the year-it sure is versatile.

For the Filling:

2 large carrots, finely diced
2 large onions, finely chopped
A handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1 stalk celery, finely diced
Thyme, Salt, Pepper, Paprika to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil for cooking

In a large pan over medium heat, cook the vegetables and spices in oil until very soft. Cool slightly while you make dough.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet

2 tablespoons butter
4 cups mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cups potato starch
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Enough Passover cake flour to make a dough that can be kneaded. You will need about 1/2 cup.

Cut the butter into the potatoes and potato starch. Beat in the eggs, salt, and pepper. Add enough cake flour to make a dough that is spongy and easy to knead.

Divide dough in 8 pieces. Make a ball, and with your thumb, make a well in the centre. Fill, and pinch closed. Pat into a rectangle and place on baking sheet.

Bake 20 minutes, rotate pan and bake 10 minutes more or until slightly browned on top and dry.

Chocolate No Bake Matzo Roll

Who put the "turd" in Saturday? I know, I can't call this the "Pesach Poop Cake", but look at it! It looked even worse before I glazed it. Maybe the point is to remind everyone that soon the holiday will be over after a week of matzo induced constipation. I'm probably the only person that would think that...OK I'm sure I'm not.

I made my turd cake with butter because the thought of eating two uncooked sticks of margarine was too much for me. We don't eat meat, so there aren't any issues with dairy. If you had to make this with margarine, it might be better to consider a different dessert.

From A Taste of Tradition

You will need:

4 matzos
1/2 cup butter
6 ounces semi sweet chocolate divided to 4 and 2
3 tablespoons strong coffee
1/4 cup sugar

Glaze 2 tablespoons chocolate, 3 tablespoons water

Run the matzos under water to soften and then crumble into a large bowl.

In a saucepan, melt the sugar, coffee, and 4 ounces of chocolate. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whip the butter until light. Very slowly beat the chocolate mixture into the butter mixing thoroughly after each addition.

Stir in the matzos and mix well.

On a 12 inch long piece of waxed paper, spread the mixture into a log. Roll and shape, then chill several hours (at least six) until firm. Make the glaze by melting the chocolate and water together. Place the chilled cake on a rack over a pan and pour on the glaze. Chill again before serving.

Passover Bagels

Yes, it takes quite a bit of imagination to think of these as anything approaching a bagel, but as Passover drags along, you'll want something "bread-like" if only very vaguely.

From A Taste of Tradition

4 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups matzo meal

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet and set aside.

In a saucepan, bring the water, salt and oil to a boil. remove from heat and quickly beat in the matzo meal with a wooden spoon. Return to medium heat and cook, stirring well for three minutes. remove from heat and cool ten minutes.

With the wooden spoon again, beat in the eggs, one at a time mixing thoroughly between each. When eggs have all been absorbed, divide the dough in six or eight portions and roll into balls between your hands. Poke a hole in each with your thumb and place on sheet. Bake for 40 minutes or until dark golden brown on top. Cool on racks.

Gefilte Fish (sort of)

Oh, I know-you don't make gefilte fish from cod. At least I didn't use salt cod...though I did think about it. My grandmother used whitefish. Honestly, I don't think it matters what fish you use, so long as it can be ground. I chopped mine-by hand. With a chopper. I don't know why, I have a perfectly good grinder. This worked fine though, and the fish still held together.

You Will Need:

For the stock:

4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 onion, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, finely sliced
A few sprigs of parsley]Salt and pepper
1/4 cup sugar

For the fish:

1 1/2 lbs. cod (or any fish you like)
3 tablespoons matzo meal
Salt/pepper to taste
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 onion, ground or very finely chopped
1 large egg


Simmer the broth until it suits your taste. Grind or chop the fish and onion. FCombine with everything else and form into patties (I got six large ones). Gently slide them into the simmering broth, and cover. You want these to cook at a very slow simmer, for about 2 hours. Halfway through, give them a gentle turn with a spoon. Remove to a casserole dish. Strain the broth and pour it carefully back into the dish with the fish. Remove a few carrots from strained vegetables and place them in the dish for serving. Cool in broth and then chill. You can alternately, reduce the broth so that it will gel better, but I rarely bother.

Passover Potato Crust Pizzas

The recipe for this dish comes from an old, kosher, British, Vegetarian cookbook. Even if you didn't know it was British, you could tell by the recipes-root vegetables covered in cheese. Granted, their cheese is pretty good, and some of the very best food I've eaten has been covered in cheese, but it really seems to take the special skills of the mother country to cook a lovely vegetable beyond recognition...and douse it in cheese. Largely, that's what this cookbook is about. I made a few changes to the dish, but I did stick to the original recipe for the base, which turned out perfect.

The book does have some things to recommend it, particularly the listing of ingredients in both Imperial and American. That's helpful. I find instructions to freshly grind your sea salt a bit on the absurd side (who did that in 1983?), but you know, everyone has their hang-ups. Mock chopped liver from eggplant is better than it sounds, and yeah, you can make mock gefilte fish from lima beans. I'm not saying you'd want to, but if you were possessed of the notion that would make good eating, well then, this is your cookbook.

The recipe will make two pizzas, which I pressed into 9 inch cake pans.

Adapted From, Jewish Vegetarian Cooking by, Rose Friedman

4 medium potatoes, boiled (I used russets)
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup matzo meal
1/4 cup potato starch
Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste

Filling:

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely minced
Olive oil for frying
1 large carrot, finely chopped
A handful of chopped parsley
Salt, pepper, paprika to taste

Topping:
1 cup grated cheese of your choice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter two 9 inch cake pans and set aside.

When potatoes are soft, drain and mash with butter. Cool slightly and add matzo meal, potato starch, and spices. Knead for a minute or two until well combined. Divide in two. Pat each half into pans and bake20-30 minutes until mostly dry. If the puff up, poke them lightly with a fork and keep baking. Remove from oven, but keep oven on. While they bake, prepare the filling by cooking all of it in a pan until soft.

Top pre-baked crusts with filling and sprinkle with cheese. Bake another 15-20 minutes until browned on top.

Passover Brownies II

These were excellent. I would make these during the year. They're not overly rich, and for Passover baking, pretty light. Not that brownies are ever terribly difficult to make, but these were really a breeze.


Adapted from a couple recipes on Epicurious.

You can see the recipe for Passover brownies with orange juice from last year, here.

You Will Need:

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate melted with 1/2 cup unsalted butter. Let cool before using.

3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup Passover cake meal (finely ground matzo meal-you can do this yourself in a food processor or blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons sour cream
Chocolate chips for topping (totally optional, but why wouldn't you use an opportunity to add more chocolate to your diet? Huh? )

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 pan.

Beat together the eggs and sugar until thick and light. Beat in sour cream, chocolate/butter mixture and mix well. Add sifted dry ingredients. Mix only until moistened. Pour into pan and cover top with chips. Bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool in pan before cutting (I know you won't do it, but really, they cut better if you do).

Passover Manicotti-Sort Of (Also makes great gluten-free blintzes/crepes)

I basically made some gluten free crepes with potato starch and eggs. You can use this recipe to make noodles, or crepes, or blintzes, or really whatever you like-they're versatile. Be warned, the first couple crepes will flop. I don't know why, they just will-but stick with it-the results are light and delicious...except for all the cheese, which isn't light at all. You know what I mean...


You Will Need:

About 6 cups of chunky spaghetti sauce (I made mine with tons of carrots, onions and red bell peppers)
About 4 cups grated cheese (I used Provolone and Pepato)

For the cheese filling:

2 cups full fat cottage cheese, drained and forced through a sieve
2 large eggs
A handful of grated mozzarella

For the crepes:

3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups cold water
6 tablespoons potato starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cooking oil
Butter for the pan

With a hand mixer, beat together everything except the butter until thick like cream. heat a small (5 inch) pan and toss in a knob of butter. When pan is hot, pour in about 2 tablespoons of the batter (stir it between crepes to keep the starch from settling). Tilt to coat the pan and cook until dry. Turn, and cook a minute or two longer until golden. Transfer to a plate and make the next. I did not need to keep re-buttering the pan, but this will largely depend on your pan.

When cool, fill the crepes with the cheese filling, and fold closed. return to frying pan and fry in a bit of butter until browned nicely on both sides. Set aside on a plate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In an 8x8 pan, cover the bottom generously with spaghetti sauce. Layer in the crepes, then cover with a layer of cheese. Repeat with a second layer finishing with sauce and cheese. Bake (on a baking sheet just in case) for about an hour. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Passover Coconut Macaroons

This was a new recipe for me, and I think I like them better than my "usual." The macaroons are denser, chewier, and have a candy-like texture. They are also very, very sticky-so watch your fillings on these.

From A Taste of Tradition, Ruth Sirkis 1972

You Will Need:

3 egg whites at room temperature for am hour
2 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup caster sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
I added melted chocolate for extra calories because I clearly need them.

Preheat oven to 3oo degrees F. Grease a baking sheet, or use silpats, parchment, etc. when the book was published in the early 70's she advised greasing waxed paper and baking on it. I guess it didn't kill anyone, so eh-do as you like.

beat the whites until they hold peaks. Add the sugar 2 tablespoons at a time, then beat two minutes after until all sugar is added. Gradually add lemon juice and beat five minutes longer. Fold in coconut. Form in mounds on baking sheet and bake 20 minutes. Turn off oven, pop open the door and let them sit another 20 minutes or longer until mostly dry. Cool on racks. Decorate with melted chocolate if you like.

Potato Kugel (Pudding) With Carrots

Everyone agreed that they preferred this version to my usual potato kugel. Fine with me-it was easier.

From, Taste of Tradition by, Ruth Sirkis 1972

You Will Need:

2 lbs. potatoes, grated
1 medium onion, grated
1 big carrot, grated
1/4 cup matzo meal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs (I used 3)
3 tablespoons cooking oil or chicken fat (I used corn oil)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a 9x5x2 baking dish.

Peel and grate the vegetables. Add the eggs, matzo meal, salt and pepper, and oil. Mix well. Pour into baking dish and bake until golden on top-about 90 minutes. Serve hot with sour cream, or applesauce.