A Delicious Taste of Pesach Tradition

For this Pesach column, I’d like to cut right to the chase (who has time for anything else with all the preparation?!) and focus on some non-gebrokts side dishes, without potatoes! And they are good enough to eat all year long…

Eggplant Nicoise (Dairy)

8 to 10 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 medium green pepper, diced
• 4 medium sized zucchini, sliced
• 1 large eggplant, with the skin on, cubed
• 5 ripe tomatoes, cut up
  • (½ cup tomato sauce can be substituted for the fresh tomatoes if necessary)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ¼ teaspoon basil
• ½ teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1 cup feta cheese, cubed, or small cubes of any other salty white cheese
• 2 additional Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, optional
• 3 green olives, sliced into rings (optional)
• 3 black olives, sliced into rings, (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a large, flat pan, add the olive oil, garlic and onions. Start to sauté them
2. Add in the green peppers and continue to sauté. Add in the zucchini, then the eggplant and on top of that, the tomatoes
3. Cover the pan and allow them to cook together for 30 minutes, until they start to become tender
4. Sprinkle the seasonings over all, and cover the pan again. Simmer 10 more minutes. Turn off the flame.
5. Serving:
   1. To serve hot: Spoon into a serving dish and top the center with the cubed feta cheese.
      Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the feta cheese, then arrange the olive rings on top of that, and serve.
   2. To serve cold: Place in the refrigerator in a plastic container or a glass serving dish until use.
6. Arrange the cubed cheese on top, and the olives and drizzle over the olive oil as suggested.

Suggestion:

You can add a small amount of chopped, fresh parsley over the cheese/ olive oil directly before serving for a nicer look.

Sweet and Tangy Spinach Grapefruit Salad

6 servings

Here’s a nice springy, tangy fresh salad that will put you and your family into the spring – Pesach spirit…even if it’s still snowing in your area right now!

Ingredients:

Salad:

• 1 head fresh spinach leaves, washed well and spun dry, shredded
• 1 firm English cucumber, cubed
• 20 cherry plum tomatoes
• 1 small red Spanish onion, sliced into half rings
• ½ white grapefruit pieces, completely peeled, chunked
• ½ red grapefruit pieces, completely peeled, chunked
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds
• ¼ cup pine nuts, optional

Dressing:

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon sugar

Instructions:

1. In a small blender, blend together the dressing ingredients until very well combined. Set aside until use.

Salad:

Directly before serving, arrange the salad as follows:

1. In a large, pretty glass bowl, place all the shredded spinach leaves.
2. Sprinkle the diced cucumbers on top of that, and then cherry plum tomatoes. To make it look even more elegant, slice each cherry plum tomato in half the short way and arrange them, cut side facing outwards, in a ring, on the edge of the glass. Their outer, cut side will be ‘stuck onto’ the glass’s edge, so that it’s visible from the outside when you serve it.
   This serves very nicely also in a medium sized glass trifle bowl
3. Arrange the sliced onion rings all over the top. Place the grapefruit pieces over all. Toss very slightly with your fingers
4. Sprinkle on the almonds and pine nuts. Drizzle the dressing over all and serve.
   Watch the compliments flow!

These next two recipes, and pictures, are excerpted from my Pesach, gluten free cookbook “A Taste of Tradition” (Feldheim Publishers), now on sale online as well as in bookstores everywhere.

Mock Salmon Spread (Page 38)

6 servings

This is a really different, versatile and very tasty fish idea.

Ingredients:

 

 

• 2.5 lbs. (1 kg) Nile perch, flounder, sole or baccala (whiting), cleaned
• Water to cover the fish in the pot
• ¾ cup mayonnaise (best when it’s been homemade and that recipe is on page 12…)
• ¾ cup tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2 Tablespoons vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 small onion, diced

Instructions:

1. Place the fish in a large pot, with water to cover, and boil until the fish is done, about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse off the fish.
2. When it is a bit cooled down, flake it through by hand to remove any remaining bones.
3. Place fish in the food processor in two batches, along with the mayonnaise, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, sugar, vinegar and lemon juice.
4. Process until completely smooth. Remove the fish to a large Tupperware container.
5. Mix in the diced onion.
6. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

Sever scooped over a bed of lettuce and decorated with other fresh vegetables, as shown. No one will ever know it is not real salmon spread!

Famous Brownies (Page 98)

This one is one of our family’s all time favorite desserts; one more tried and true recipe that I have been making, and sharing, for years.

Ingredients:

Brownies:

(c) 2008 Tamar Ansh

• 6 eggs
• 2-2/3 cups sugar
• 1½ cups potato starch
• ¾ cup cocoa
• ¾ cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
• ½ cup coconut, optional

Chocolate Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 2 Tablespoons hot water
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Place all the ingredients, except for the nuts and coconut, into a large bowl. Mix together until smooth. Add in the nuts and optional coconut.
3. Pour this out into a 9×13 pan that has been lined with parchment baking paper. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the brownies’ center comes out mostly clean, and the top is light brown and crispy. Do not overbake as then it will become too dry.
4. Remove from oven immediately and allow it to cool completely.
5. In a separate small bowl, mix together the glaze ingredients with a spoon, until smooth.
6. Spread over the cooled brownies. Allow it to set for a few minutes and then slice.

Freezes wonderfully, even glazed. If you freeze it when already glazed, slice them first. When defrosting, uncover the brownies while frozen so the glaze will not defrost all over the foil you covered them with.

Have a very happy and kosher Pesach, All the best, Tamar Ansh

Tamar Ansh is an author, freelance recipe developer, and food columnist. Her articles have appeared in Jewish publications worldwide. She has published 4 books so far which include: Splitting the Sea (Targum Press), inspirational stories on finding one’s soul-mate; Let’s Say Amen!, an illustrated children’s book about the holiness of Amen (Feldheim Publishers); A Taste of Challah (Feldheim Publishers, 2007), a photographic guide to baking and shaping beautiful challahs, and includes many other healthy and interesting bread types as well. Her first cookbook, A Taste of Tradition (Feldheim Publisher) a gluten- free and kosher for Passover cookbook is now available at all bookstores, at a great price. It’s filled with innovative and delicious recipes, as well as many photos and tips…look for it this Pesach season – Pesach never tasted so good! Visit www.TasteofChallah.com to see all her books online

The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.