I love passover food! I like to make a simple but delicious menu with a couple things you can make in advance.

The day before: Make the brisket, haroset, hard boiled eggs, matzo bark, and any other desserts you can freeze

The day of: Make the noodle kugel, mazto ball soup, and set the table. Easy!

 

HAROSET

I really don’t measure! This is just an approximation. My Grandma says to use 1 apple per person. Make sure there’s enough wine to fully coat all of the mixture. The apples will soak up some of the wine, so you’d rather overdo it a little bit then have it be dry.

 

*you can make a day ahead of your seder

3-4 large honeycrisp or sweet apples, peeled and finely chopped

1-2 cups sweet red wine (or any red wine + a few TBSP brown sugar)

1 tbsp or more cinnamon

1 cup pecans or walnuts, finely chopped

 

– Mix everything together and let it sit in the fridge while you make the rest of the dinner. Stir several times so that all the apples get coated.  The liquid should be about 3/4 of the way up the bowl. The flavor gets better as it sits and the apples get soaked.

– Serve with matzo

 

AUNT ELAINE’S BRISKET

* best to make the day before if possible

 

5-6 lbs brisket

garlic powder

pepper

paprika

4 large onions, thickly sliced

1/2 bottle of ketchup

2-3 cans whole cranberries (you won’t taste them)

1 bag baby carrots or thickly sliced carrots

1 bag baby potatoes

 

1. on the bottom of a large pan you can cover with a top or with foil, place sliced onions.
2. place meat on top
3. liberally sprinkle seasonings on top
4. spread ketchup and cranberries on top of that
5. add potatoes and carrots around the meat
6. add 3/4 cup water to the pan
7. bake 350 degrees in a covered pan for 4 hours
8. if you make this the day before, slice when cold against the grain. Replace the meat back into the gravy and reheat

 

 

HOMEMADE MATZO BALL SOUP (VEGETARIAN)

I make mine vegetarian but also roast some chicken, shred it, and add to everyone else’s bowls. Quarantine style… I defrosted chicken breasts, placed them on a foil-lined baking sheet, drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper, then baked them in the oven for 15 min. Shred and add to the bowls who want chicken!

You can add as many or as little vegetables as you want. It’s mostly about the seasoning and the matzo balls.

I’m NOT a fan of the pre-made soup mix. It’s too salty and not enough flavor for my taste. If that’s all you have, consider at least adding these veggies and seasonings to the broth!
Makes about 6 servings

 

1/2 cup matzo meal

2 eggs

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp water

1 tsp water

1 large yellow onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 heaping tbsp minced garlic

lots of dried or fresh seasoning: I added a couple teaspoons of  THIS spice which is absolutely magical, but you could recreate it with salt, freeze-dried shallots, chives, garlic, onion and green peppercorns. I also added about 1 tsp thyme, and a dash of dill. I’m the only one who loves spicy things, so I add crushed red pepper just to my bowl.

2 – 32 oz boxes of vegetable broth

 

1. Add eggs and oil to a medium bowl and whip with a fork. Mix in matzo meal, water, and salt until combined. Leave in the fridge for 15 minutes while you make the soup.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium.
3. Add diced vegetables and cook for a few minutes until just softened, maybe about 5 min.
4. Stir in minced garlic and dried/fresh seasoning and cook a few more minutes.
5. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
6. While you wait for the pot to boil, grab the matzo ball dough from the fridge.
7. Using a cookie/ice cream scoop (anywhere from 1″-2″), scoop up the dough then roll it in your hands to make sure it’s packed together.
8. Drop in the matzo balls in the soup then cover the pot tightly with a lid.
9. Simmer for 40-60 minutes.
10. Top with a little parsley and crushed red pepper if you want… but no one in my family likes either 🙂

 

GRANDMA’S KUGEL

8 oz. medium broad egg noodles (or any egg noodles are fine! Usually in the “international section”

1 stick of butter, room temp (plus more for greasing the pan)

8 oz. cream cheese, room temp

8 eggs (!!)

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice

4 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup or so of raisins

cinnamon

 

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. barely cook the noodles- just a couple minutes
3. butter 9×13 casserole pan
4. spread the noodles in the pan
5. sprinkle raisins on top
6. in a separate bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth
7. add in eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, lemon juice
8. add milk and mix by hand – it’s soupy!
9. pour wet mixture on top of the noodles and raisins
10. cover the top with cinnamon- don’t be shy!
11. bake 350 for 1 hr until a knife comes out clean. The top noodles should be crispy and the inside moist.

 

 

 

 

 

MAZTO BARK

*you can make a day or two ahead and freeze in a ziplock bag

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.  Line baking tray with parchment paper. Cover tray with matzo, edge to edge.
3. Melt butter and sugar in a pan over medium heat til boiling. Boil 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla and a large pinch of sea salt
4. Immediately pour over matzo and spread with an offset spatula. This will turn into a sea of bubbling toffee so it will sort of spread out naturally- don’t stress if it’s not perfect.
5. Bake 10 or so minutes until toffee is bubbly and brown. Watch or it will burn!
6. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Cover loosely with foil. After 5 minutes remove foil and spread the now-melted chocolate chips evenly over toffee. Sprinkle with your fav toppings.
7. Put the tray in the freezer for about 30 minutes until chocolate is hardened. Break into pieces and keep in a ziplock bag in the freezer. This will keep it from getting all melty.

 

CHOCOLATE COVERED MACAROONS

This one is based on Ina Garten’s but a little less sweet. CLICK HERE

 

 

MATZO BRIE (for breakfast!)

So many good memories growing up eating my Grandma’s crispy matzo brie around passover, and my Grandpa’s more eggy version. Both so good with pure maple syrup!!

For 1 serving:

1 1/2 boards of matzo

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

sprinkle of cinnamon

butter for the pan

 

Heat up milk in the microwave about 1 minute- I like to use a large glass pyrex or just a microwave save large bowl.

Break up the matzo in large pieces and put them into the hot milk for about 30 seconds just to soften the matzo.

Drain most of the milk out.

Add in eggs and cinnamon, and mix together.

Heat up butter in a skillet on medium, then pour in the matzo mix. I like to mix it up a bit to make sure all sides are coated and crispy. Or you could make it pancake style if you like a fluffy, eggy consistency better. Done when golden brown and egg is fully cooked. Top with a shake of cinnamon and maple syrup. Yum!

 

HAPPY PASSOVER!!

xo

Leah