A Pesach Recipe Collection
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A Pesach Recipe Collection ~ Inspirations from Hadassah and JDC Chicken Braised with White Wine, Artichokes and Mushrooms Flanken Pot au Feu Moroccan Carrot Salad Vegetarian Soup with Kneidlach Matza Balls Moroccan Haroset Heuvos Haminados Spinach & Cheese Mina Chimichurri Chicken with New Potatoes Chicken Braised with White Wine, Artichokes and Mushrooms Serves 6 to 8 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons potato starch, divided 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt, divided, plus more to taste 1 tablespoon paprika, plus more for seasoning 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided, plus more to taste 8 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 4 pounds), patted dry 1/3 cup olive oil 6 cloves garlic, sliced 2 pounds assorted mushrooms cleaned and sliced (oyster, shiitake, portobello or button) 1 cup dry white wine (e.g., sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio) 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth 2, 14-ounce cans of drained artichoke hearts or 2, 10-ounce packages of frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted, drained and patted dry Lemon wedges 1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine 1/2 cup of the potato starch with 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1 tablespoon paprika and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper in a large sealable plastic bag or foldable brown paper bag. Add the chicken, seal the bag and shake until the chicken is completely coated. 2. Set a large roasting pan over two burners on your stove, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the coated chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until the underside is golden and crisp, swirl- ing the oil once or twice to evenly distribute it, 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and brown the underside, swirl- ing the oil again once or twice, another 5 minutes. 3. Remove the chicken to a plate, then add the garlic to the roasting pan and cook, stirring, until lightly gold- en and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms release their water and are softened but the pan isn’t dry, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of potato starch and cook, stirring, until absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes. 4. Add the wine and cook until about half the wine is absorbed, 3 minutes. Then add the chicken broth and cook, stirring, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. 5. Return the chicken to the pan, distribute the artichokes evenly among the thigh pieces and spoon some of the mushrooms and sauce from underneath the chicken on top. Transfer the roasting pan to the oven. 6. Cook until the skin is golden and the mushroom sauce is bubbling, 50 to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with lemon wedges. Flanken Pot au Feu Serves 8 4 pounds flanken 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon dried rosemary 8 whole cloves 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns 4 cups water 4 cups dry red wine (e.g., merlot or cabernet sauvignon) 2 teaspoons kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 onion, cut in eighths 4 large red potatoes, quartered 4 large carrots, cut into 1-inch-long sections 2 leeks, white part only, cut into 1/4-inch rounds 2 turnips, peeled and cut in eighths 1/4 cup minced parsley 1. Rinse and pat the flanken dry. Set aside. Make a bouquet garni by combining the bay leaf, thyme, rose- mary, cloves and peppercorns in a 4-inch-square piece of cheesecloth. Tie it closed with a piece of butcher string. Trim the ends of the string and any excess cheesecloth. Set aside. 2. Place the flanken in a Dutch oven or other large pot. Add the water, wine and the bouquet garni. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Using a large spoon, skim the sur- face of the liquid to remove any foam that may develop. You may need to do this a few times shortly after the liquid begins to boil. Cover and let simmer for 3 more hours. 3. Remove the pot from the heat and discard the bouquet garni. Using a fat/broth separator, remove and dis- card any fat from the broth. (If you don’t have one of these simple, handy devices, use a spoon or meat baster to skim whatever fat you can off the top of the broth.) The meat should be very tender, and it may have broken into large pieces. This is OK. 4. Return the pot to the stove over high heat and add the 2 teaspoons salt and the pepper to taste. Add the onion, potatoes, carrots, leeks, and turnips. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for one more hour. To serve, place a piece of the flanken and a portion of the vegetables in a wide shallow bowl for each diner. Ladle a generous serving of broth over the meat. Garnish with parsley and freshly ground black pepper. Moroccan Carrot Salad Spicy Carrot Salad Carrots are an indispensable part of any Moroccan seder. One interpretation is that gezer, the Hebrew word for carrot, sounds very much like g’zar, the Hebrew word for decree. Some say that the carrots remind us of Pharoah’s decrees, while others claim they are a plea for G-d to once again protect us from any decrees against us. This Moroccan carrot salad is pungent and brash, with a strong marinade made up of harissa, raw garlic, and cilantro that is truly unforgettable! Allow at least 30 minutes for the fla- vors to meld, or make it the day before for the best results (the salad will keep in the fridge for a week). Prep Time: 40 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Servings: 6 Ingredients • 5 medium carrots peeled and sliced in ¼” rounds (I like to cut my carrots at an angle, so that each slice is a bit elongated and has more surface area to soak up the dressing) • 5 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro • 2 tbsp Moroccan harissa • 1 tbsp ground cumin • 1 tbsp salt • Juice from one large lemon • 3 tbsp vegetable oil Instructions 1. Cook carrots in boiling water until fork tender (do not overcook!), then drain and let cool. 2. Mix all remaining ingredients for the dressing in a bowl, pour over carrots, and toss gently until they are covered. 3. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to blend flavors. Vegetarian Soup with Kneidlach It is hard to imagine a more ubiquitous Ashkenazi Passover dish than soup with kneidlach (matzah balls). Yet we must remember that this ritual hardly existed in the former Soviet Union during the 20th century. With all religious ceremonies forbidden, observant Jews had to celebrate Passover, Shabbat and other holi- days in secret, often going as far as gathering whole families in tiny, secluded rooms in an effort to hide from their neighbors, friends and colleagues. With this fact in mind, the small shape of my grandmother’s kneidlach, so different from the large, North American matzah balls, takes on a whole new image: that of an allegory to the hiding of Soviet Jews from the society around them. This recipe suggests the making of a rich vegetarian soup to house your matzah balls, but feel free to go with your favorite chicken broth. Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 60 minutes Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes Servings: 8 Ingredients for soup • 2 tbsp vegetable oil • 2 onions, peeled and diced into cubes • 2 celery stalks, diced • 2 carrots, diced • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and diced finely • 6 cups vegetable broth • 2 cups water • 2 bay leaves • Salt and pepper, to taste • Fresh dill, chopped Ingredients for Kneidlach • 1 onion, finely diced • 3 tbsp oil • 1 1/2 cups of matzah meal • 3 eggs • 2 tsp salt • 1/4 tsp black pepper • 1 cup boiling water Instructions 1. Set a heavy-bottomed pot to medium heat and add oil. Saute onions until soft and translucent, ap- proximately 5 minutes. Add diced carrots, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, an addi- tional 10 minutes. 2. Add vegetable broth, water, bay leaves, a couple of chopped sprigs of dill, and salt and pepper to pot. Cover with lid and let it come to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to low, and let soup cook for an additional 30 minutes. 3. While soup is cooking, prepare kneidlach (matzah balls). Dice onion finely. Bring a large pan to me- dium-high heat, add oil, and fry the onions until translucent (do not let it brown). Take off heat and let cool slightly. 4. In a large bowl, whisk eggs until frothy. Fold the eggs into the matzah meal. Add the onions and fold everything together. Add salt and fold gently. 5. Working slowly, add 1 cup boiling water to kneidlach. Start by adding 1/4 of a cup and mixing to combine. If mixture is still dry, add another 1/4 cup. Mixture should be sticky at this point, enough to form it into balls of similar size to meatballs. Let mixture rest for 30 minutes. Test stickiness again, and if it forms into balls that stay together, then proceed. 6. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. With clean hands or with two spoons, form the kneidlach mixture into meatball-sized balls, and drop them one by one into the boiling water.