SOMETHING
OLD, SOMETHING NEW FOR PESACH
From April 2009 Mosaic Law Scroll –
Article © Evie Lieb
Once again I’m offering a potpourri of recipes
for the upcoming holiday. Try the herb syrup in anything from an appetizing
fruit salad to a refreshing dessert. For a main course, the salmon and spinach
provide a delicious mid-holiday dairy meal and the possibility of a dessert
that allows the use of butter. The cauliflower is terrific as a side dish for
meat or fish, and in addition it can be served with toothpicks as an unusual
(and healthy!) hors d’oeuvre. For brunch, a snack or a parve dessert, try the
banana streusel cake; moist with pieces of whole banana, it transcends ordinary
spongecake. And finally Naomi’s almond cookies, a quick-to prepare parve treat,
will prompt secret trips to the cookie jar any time of the day. Please note
that all of these recipes use ingredients that are available kosher for
Passover. Recipes for Passover powdered sugar and vanilla wine that may be used
measure-for-measure as a vanilla extract replacement are at the end of the
column.
MINT-INFUSED
SYRUP
In
THE HERBFARM COOKBOOK chef Jerry
Traunfeld shares countless ways to use fresh herbs to enliven recipes. Such
syrups are delicious with fruit in many forms, as additions to drinks, and as
moisteners for cakes. For Pesach, this syrup enlivens a fruit cup or a simple
dish of sliced strawberries. Drizzle on some of this to give a new life to
sponge cake. About 1 Cup
1 C
sugar
3/4 C water
6-8 4”
sprigs of fresh mint
zest of 1/2
orange, lemon or lime, peeled in strips
with vegetable peeler (optional)
Combine
the sugar and water in a 1-qt. saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high
heat. When sugar has completely dissolved, add the mint and zest, pushing them
under the surface of the syrup with a spoon. Remove pan from heat immediately,
cover and leave to steep for 30 minutes. Strain the syrup through a fine sieve,
pressing down on the leaves, stems and zest to get every last drop. Cool and
refrigerate in a covered bottle or jar for up to 3 months.
Hint: For a delicious change from the
expected, substitute 2 4” sprigs of rosemary for the mint and the seeds scraped
from half a vanilla bean for the zest. You’ll be surprised at how rosemary
marries deliciously with sweet elements.
ROASTED
SALMON WITH SPINACH
This is my adaptation of a recipe
contributed to Martha Stewart's website by Ruth Estfon of Palm Harbor , Florida
4
skinless or skin-on scaled salmon fillets (6 - 8 oz each)
Olive
oil
Coarse
salt and freshly ground pepper
10
oz fresh baby spinach
1/2
C feta, crumbled (2 oz)
1/3
cup toasted pine nuts
2
tsp fresh lemon juice
Preheat
oven to 425˚ (400˚ convection). Oil a shallow baking pan or line
it with foil and oil the foil to prevent fish from sticking. Place the fillets skin-side
down in the pan, brush with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Roast
the fish until done to your liking. For moist fish that is thoroughly cooked
through, this should take about 11 or 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of
the fillets.
Meanwhile,
in a large skillet, heat 1 TBSP oil over medium heat. Add as much spinach as
will fit; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing spinach with tongs and
adding more to skillet as spinach wilts down. The whole process will only take
a couple of minutes until all the spinach is tender, so gauge when to start so
your salmon and spinach will be ready to serve together. Remove skillet from
heat and drain off excess liquid. Toss in feta, pine nuts, and lemon juice.
Serve salmon beside or on top of the sautéed spinach.
ROASTED
CAULIFLOWER
This
idea came from a FINE COOKING magazine article by Ruth Lively. I have changed
the temperature with the main result being quicker cooking. The proportions of
oil and seasoning are really up to the cook. The great thing about this method
is that your neighbors won’t know you are serving cauliflower!
Cauliflower
florets cut from a head or precut ones from a bag (T.J.’s or Whole Foods) or
grocery store bin (Safeway).
Olive
oil
Salt
Paprika
Grated
lemon zest and juice
Cover a rimmed baking sheet with
foil and spray with non-stick spray. Preheat oven to 400˚.
Trim tough bottoms from floret stems
and cut florets so that they are of similar size. Place in a large bowl,
drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and paprika. Toss to coat the
florets evenly.
Spread evenly on prepared baking
sheet and roast for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon zest and toss to expose
other side of florets. Bake 10 minutes more, or until brown around the edges. Drizzle
with lemon juice and serve.
BANANA
SPONGECAKE
WITH CINNAMON STREUSEL
WITH CINNAMON STREUSEL
When this recipe by Marlene
Sorosky Gray originally appeared in Gourmet
in 1995, I made it with the help of our then toddler granddaughter, who
was visiting from Boston
Streusel
1/2 C firmly packed light brown
sugar
2/3 C matzah meal (not cake meal!)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C melted butter or margarine or
vegetable oil
Place
all ingredients in a bowl and mix with fingers or pastry blender to make a
homogeneous mealy mixture.
Spongecake
Oil or butter and matzah meal for
baking pan
6 eggs, separated (large or extra
large)
3/4 C sugar
4 large ripe bananas
2 tsp vanilla wine
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C matzah meal (not cake meal)
1/2 C potato starch
1 tsp cider vinegar or lemon juice
Place
rack in middle of oven and preheat to 325˚. Oil or grease a 9”x13”glass dish (about 2 qt
capacity) and dust with matzah meal.
Process egg yolks and 1/2 C of the sugar in bowl of
processor until pale yellow and slightly thickened. Chop two of the bananas
into chunks and add to bowl along with vanilla wine, salt, matzah meal and
potato starch; process until smooth. Transfer mixture to a big bowl, thinly slice the remaining bananas and add
them to the batter.
In a clean bowl beat the whites with the vinegar or
lemon juice until they hold soft peaks. (The acid ingredients will help to keep
the whites inflated during the rest of the baking process.) Very slowly beat in the remaining 1/4 C sugar
until the whites hold stiff peaks but are not dry. Fold about a fourth of the
whites into the batter to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining
meringue until no streaks of white remain.
Pour the batter into the prepared dish, smooth the top
and distribute the streusel evenly over the top. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until
a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the baking dish
on a rack. When cool, cover tightly with foil and refrigerate or freeze. Serve
cool or at room temperature.
NAOMI'S SWEET ALMOND WAFERS
This
recipe was shared by my dear friend, expert baker and cookbook author Flo
Braker, who got it from a generous friend. It wasn't originally meant for
Passover, but if you use the homemade adaptations for powdered sugar and
vanilla extract, it is perfect! The chocolate decoration is my own gilding of
the lily and makes these cookies truly a festive addition to your holiday repertoire.
(For non-Passover version, use 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp almond extract.) Makes
about 36
3/4 C powdered sugar (spoon into cup and sweep surface level)
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla wine
3 C (10 1/2 oz) sliced almonds, blanched or natural
1 C chocolate chips or 6 oz bittersweet bar chocolate, chopped (optional)
Center rack in the oven and preheat to 350˚. Line 2
large baking sheets with parchment. Place the egg whites in a large bowl. Add
the powdered sugar, salt and with a whisk, stir (don't whip or beat) the
ingredients just until sugar is incorporated. Stir in the vanilla wine. Add the
almonds and toss with a silicone or rubber spatula until nuts are evenly coated.
Scoop mounded 1-TBSP clusters of mixture onto one of
the prepared sheets, flattening slightly with tines of a fork so that cookies
are at least 1/2" apart. (A good way to space the cookies is in staggered rows
of 4-3-4-3-4.) Bake in preheated oven 13 to 15 minutes or until cookies are
amber-gold and the undersides are no longer moist (test by gently lifting one
with a small metal spatula or dinner knife). Remove cookie sheet to a rack and
cool about 2 minutes; remove cookies from parchment to cool completely on
another rack. Repeat for second sheet of wafers. Store cookies in an airtight
container for up to a week, or freeze them for longer storage.
To glaze the wafers, melt the chocolate in a double
boiler or in a metal bowl set in a skillet of gently simmering water. Stir
until smooth. Use a small flat metal spatula to spread a generous layer of
chocolate over the bottom of each cookie. Place glazed cookies upside down on a
cookie sheet and refrigerate or freeze briefly until chocolate hardens. An
alternative decoration can be achieved with a little less chocolate by
drizzling the tops of the cookies with chocolate streaks. Chill right-side-up
and store as above.
HANDY PASSOVER SUBSTITUTE
INGREDIENTS
Regular
vanilla extract isn’t kosher for Passover. Prepare vanilla wine, a fine
substitute, by placing a couple of split vanilla beans in a bottle of sweet
white Concord grape Passover wine. Allow
to sit for at least a few days. It will keep on the shelf literally for years.
Regular
confectioners’ sugar is not kosher for Passover because it contains cornstarch,
but you can make a good substitute by using a food processor or blender to
process 1 cup of sugar with 1 tablespoon of potato starch until powdery.
Passover confectioners’ sugar is sometimes available, but it is quite costly.
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