Traditional fare and fresh takes for Passover

Recipes in “The New Passover Menu” include, clockwise from upper left, Peruvian Roasted Chicken with Salsa Verde; Asparagus, Zucchini, and Leek Kugel, Brisket Osso Buco, Sweet Potato Tzimmes, and Broccoli with Garlic.

(Part 1 of 2)

Years ago, when my youngest son was 4, on the sixth or seventh night of Passover, he asked what was for dinner.

“Please,” he begged, “don’t say the M word.”

After I stopped laughing, and served up matzo pizza for dinner, it got me thinking. Food is such a wide and wonderful world – I have studied it for years, and don’t know the half of it – why should we have to endure eight days of bland meals and soggy matzo sandwiches just because we’re not eating leavened products? With the fresh produce and ethnic foods that are now flooding our markets, it should be easy to serve tempting Passover meals for eight days.

By the time the next Passover came around, I had tweaked my menus. First, I sorted through my Passover recipes, saving the best and tossing the rest. I also made several other changes that I recommend for happier Passover meals:

Take advantage of the improving weather to use as many fresh spring products as possible. After months of hearty winter fare, the new flavors are sure to please.

Check the plethora of “new Jewish cuisine” cookbooks for ideas and new recipes.

Remember to include sweets and tasty beverages in your menu-planning – they sweeten everything (even the sting of going pizza-less!).

Since Passover comes but once a year, don’t worry too much about calories and fats. And, besides, you’ll have room for a few extra calories because you’ll be skipping pasta and bread.

Recipes for main dishes – both traditional and new – follow. In the March 27 Voice, we’ll round out your meals with tasty side dishes, desserts and beverages to complement the main dish.

This traditional recipe is easy and kid-friendly.

Sweet and Sour Meatloaf

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup crushed matzos

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup water

2 eggs, beaten

12 ounces tomato sauce, divided

2 pounds ground beef

1/4 cup lemon juice, preferably fresh squeezed

1/2 cup brown sugar

In a large bowl, mix first six ingredients and  1/2 cup of the tomato sauce until well-combined.  Add the beef and mix with fork or hands until well-combined. Pat into a greased baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine remaining tomato sauce, lemon juice and sugar. Spread over top of meat, reserving about half. Bake for 1 hour, basting twice with remaining sauce. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6 to 8.

This recipe has a Mexican influence. Reduce the amount of serrano pepper for a milder version or add spices and/or other hot peppers to make it even hotter.

Spinach and Cheese Pie

5 matzo

1/2 cup peanut or olive oil

5 bags baby spinach, cooked until just wilted and squeezed dry, or 5 packages frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed as dry as possible

2 onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 serrano peppers, diced

Salt and pepper to taste

4 eggs, well-beaten

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Soak matzos in warm water for 30 seconds to a minute or until soft but not mushy.  Gently press out excess water. Grease a lasagna pan and cover bottom with matzo.

Chop spinach and set aside. Fry onions and garlic lightly in oil. Add spinach and cook over low heat so flavors meld. Cool, drain off excess liquid if necessary, add salt and pepper to taste, and spread evenly over matzo.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Mix eggs with 1 cup of shredded cheese and pour over spinach. Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on top. Bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese melts and dish is heated through.

This traditional recipe is from Fran Ostendorf, The Jewish Voice’s editor. The dish can be made the day before, or the morning it is being served, and then sliced and reheated in a little liquid.

Mom’s Brisket

3 1/2 pounds brisket

Seasonings (salt, pepper, Italian seasoning blend, garlic powder)

2 cups beef broth or red wine or a combination

2 medium onions, sliced

Carrots, sliced

Potatoes, medium, quartered           

Season brisket liberally on both sides. Place in pan, fat side up, with onions. Pour liquid over brisket. Cover the pan. Cook in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour. Check a few times to make sure there is still liquid. If not, add more (if you run out of broth/wine, add water).

Lower heat to 300 degrees, and cook for 2 1/2 hours. Check the liquid periodically.

Add the carrots around 1 hour before taking brisket out. Add the potatoes 45 minutes before taking brisket out.

Test the brisket with a fork to make sure it is tender. If not, continue to cook, checking every 10 minutes.

When tender, take the cover off the pan and turn off the oven. Let the brisket brown in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. After removing from oven, let sit for 10 minutes before cutting perpendicular to the grain and serving with the vegetables.

From “New Passover Menu” by Paula Shoyer (Sterling Epicure, 2015)

Brisket Osso Buco

Brisket:

1/4 cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup (35g) matzo cake meal or potato starch (40g)

1 3-pound brisket

2 large onions, cut in half and sliced

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup (120ml) white wine

1 can (28 ounces/795g) whole peeled or diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste or 1/2 cup (120 ml) tomato sauce

Salt and pepper

Gremolata:

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat the oil in a large frying pan with 2-inch sides or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the matzo cake meal or potato starch on both sides of meat, shaking off any excess, and brown both sides of meat until crispy parts develop. Remove to a plate. Add the onions, carrots, celery and bay leaf to the pan and cook over medium heat, using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to scrape up any pieces of meat that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the wine and cook until most of it has boiled off and only a little liquid is left around the vegetables. Add the canned tomatoes, including their juices, and tomato paste to the pan and bring to a boil. If you used a Dutch oven, return the meat to the pan. If you used a frying pan, transfer the vegetables and sauce to a baking pan and place the meat on top. Add salt and a generous amount of pepper. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare the gremolata. Combine the parsley, garlic and lemon zest in a small bowl. Cover and place in fridge until ready to serve. Gremolata may be made 1 day in advance.

Remove the pan from the oven, place meat on a cutting board and slice against the grain into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Return the slices to the pan, cover, and bake for 1 1/4 hours. Spread the gremolata over the meat in the pan, stirring some into sauce. Serves 10. 

Note: Brisket can be made up to three days in advance.

This recipe, from Sandi Brenner, of Smithfield, is vegetarian.

Passover Lasagna

 3 to 5 whole matzo, soaked in warm water for up to a minute to soften

2 cups tomato sauce

Mozzarella cheese, both sliced and shredded

Garlic powder and/or onion powder (optional)

1/2 bag frozen veggies, either Florentine style (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots) or Italian style (zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, lima beans, peppers)

Cook veggies according to package directions. Cut any large chucks into bite-size pieces.  Drain well.

Add onion/garlic powder to tomato sauce, if desired, and mix well.

Layer ingredients in a 9 x 9-inch or larger pan in this order: Tomato sauce, enough matzo to form a layer, veggies, enough mozzarella slices to form a layer. Repeat layers until you run out of ingredients. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella on top. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until cheese on top is brown and bubbly and lasagna is heated through.

This recipe for ratatouille, from The New Passover Menu, is vegan and gluten-free.

Ratatouille

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

1 large eggplant, not peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium zucchini, not peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 large fresh tomato, chopped into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon tomato sauce

1/4 cup water

6 fresh basil leaves, slivered (chiffonade), divided

Salt and black pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato, tomato sauce and water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes over low heat or until the eggplant pieces are fork-tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add two-thirds of the basil leaves, stir, and turn off the heat. When ready to serve, reheat the ratatouille and sprinkle remaining basil on top

CYNTHIA BENJAMIN is a chef, an editor at The Providence Journal and freelance writer. She is a member of Temple B’nai Israel in Woonsocket.