Passover is Coming. . .
Well here we are a with less than two weeks until Passover begins. This year made a little more challenging by starting Motzei Shabbat. For those of us that have been making Pesach (Hebrew/Yiddish for Passover) for years it isn’t as challenging since we have our tried and true recipes and minhagim (traditions). To try to make things easier for you I am sharing a few of my favorite recipes that I use year after year. I am also posting this weeks planned dinner menu - using up as much chometz (leavened items) from my freezer and pantry as possible.
Before I post recipes let me share a few pointers that have made making Passover in my home much less stressful over the years.
Remember Schmutz (dirt) is not Chometz.
Keep it simple - don’t try to out gourmet yourself.
Write down what works and what doesn’t.
Keep copies of your grocery shopping lists & receipts (this will help you to plan next year and to budget).
Remember “Man plans and Hashem (Gd) Laughs” - don’t beat yourself up, things happen.
Sometimes things happen that are beyond your control and you need to remember to take a deep breath and see how to solve/ fix the situation. Last year we were faced with Covid Isolation and the thought of making a seder for one or two people was unfathomable. But we did it and we survived. For me I was able to focus on how fortunate my husband and I were to have each other and thank Gd have access to groceries (ok there may have been some shortages but really) and to be able to make our Sedarim in peace. There are so many examples from history where that was not a possibility. People that lived through the Holocaust, those that languished in the old Soviet Union or in other countries without religious freedoms. The hidden Jews of the inquisition making Sedarim in secret with the threat of death if they were caught. In the grand scheme of existence last year was a minor inconvenience not a hardship.
There are other times when it seems as if circumstance are out to get you. Once years ago in the week proceeding Passover the drainage system for my home backed up - the main pipe that connected my homes drains to the city drain broke underground. The backup was beyond disgusting with sewage flooding the basement. I was renting at the time and the damage involved getting the landlord (who lived in Israel) and the city to agree on a plumber to dig up the more than 20 feet of driveway and street to find the broken pipe and then to do the repair. In the meantime the home was not livable. Panic set in and I was frantic. After shedding more than a few tears I asked for help. Thank Gd for friends. We found places to stay for all of Passover and were able to stay with friends in the few weeks following the holiday until the repairs and clean up were complete. Was this the holiday I had planned? Absolutely not. Did my children end up having a great Passover? It wasn’t the Passover we planned for, but we had an adventure, and I was at least grateful for that.
One thing I try to do before Passover each year is to use as much of the extra frozen meals from my freezer. throughout the year I live by the adage “Cook once, eat twice”. Sometimes however those ‘extra’ meals live in freezer limbo. Using them in the weeks leading up to Passover makes things somewhat less stressful. I have less to prepare during the week and for Shabbat and I am able to freshen the frozen entree or side dish with salads and vegetables. This week I am using meals / side dishes from the deep freezer and adding a few freshly prepared items.
Week of March 14 - 18
Sunday:
Shabbat leftovers
Monday:
Middle Eastern Kababs w/ Tahina, Chopped Salad and Roasted Veggies
Tofu Tuesday:
Seared Tofu Bahn Mi Sandwiches w/ Quick Pickled Veggies
Wednesday:
Mystery Dish From The Freezer
Leafy Green Salad
Thursday:
Tamales (from the freezer) & Vegetable Soup (stock from the freezer)
In keeping with my own advice of keeping things simple below are a few recipes I use year after year for Passover. They are by no means overly fancy but can be made to look and taste wonderful. In keeping with my families minhagim (traditions) I don’t use any Gebrochts (soaked or wet matzah or matzah meal) or processed ingredients during Passover and no commercial spices. You may think this means bland tasteless food, but I have learned over the years to create a variety of flavors using simple and homemade seasonings and condiments. Because of these stringencies the following recipes are also completely Gluten Free.
Summer Squash Kugel
Ingredients:
6 medium squash – zucchini or yellow crook neck or a combination of the two
1 medium Onion
1 Potato
4 Carrots
4 Eggs beaten
2 teaspoons Salt
½ cup Chicken Fat or Oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F Peel the squash and grate it into a bowl. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Peel and grate the onion, carrots and potato and add to the squash. Add the eggs, salt and oil (or chicken fat) and combine well. Pour mixture into a well-oiled 9 x 13 pan and bake covered for 1 hour. Uncover and bake until top is golden.
Sweet Potato Kugel
Ingredients:
8 Sweet Potatoes
1 medium Onion
1 medium Granny Smith Apple
4 Eggs
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Ground Nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts or almonds whatever you have on hand)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Peel and grate potatoes, onion and apple. (You can use a food processor or a hand grater.) In a bowl combine grated vegetables and the remaining ingredients. Pour into a well-oiled 9” round pan or casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes.
Sharon’s Shviger’s Potato Kugel
Ingredients:
5 lbs. Golden Yukon Potatoes
1 large Onion
6 Eggs beaten
½ cup Oil or Chicken Fat
1 to 2 teaspoons Salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450F. Peel and grate the onion then the potato (grating the onion first will prevent the potato from oxidizing while you grate it). Add the remaining ingredients and combine well. Pour into a 9” x 13” pan and place in the hot oven. When the edges start to brown reduce heat to 400F. The kugel is done when the top is golden brown and feels firm when pressed.
Pesach Meatloaf Three Ways
#1 – Vegetable Meatloaf
Ingredients:
2 lbs. Ground Beef
¼ Zucchini
4 Carrots
1 Potato
1 Onion
4 Eggs
1 teaspoon Salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Peel and dice the vegetables. Place into the bowl of a food processor or high powered blender and add the eggs. Blend until pureed. Add to the meat and salt in a bowl. Pour into a well-oiled 9” x 13” pan or two well-oiled loaf pans and bake for 1 hour until firm and top is browned. Serve with homemade tomato sauce or ketchup.
#2- Spiral Loaf
Ingredients:
2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 Lb. Ground Chicken
1 ½ Potato
1 ½ Onion
4 Eggs beaten plus 1 Egg beaten (keep separate)
1 ½ teaspoons Salt
Prepared Tomato Sauce
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Peel and grate 1 potato and 1 onion. Combine with 4 beaten eggs, 1 teaspoon salt and the ground beef. Mix well and set aside. Peel and grate the ½ potato and the ½ onion. Combine with the remaining egg and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside. On a sheet pan lay a piece of parchment paper to cover. Coat with oil. Spread the ground beef mixture evenly across the parchment paper. Then evenly spread the ground chicken mixture over the beef. Using the parchment to help you roll the meat jellyroll style and wrap in the parchment. Bake on the sheet pan about 1 hour. Carefully remove the parchment paper from the outside of the meat roll. Top with thick tomato sauce and return to the oven for 15 minutes. Let set for a few minutes before slicing and serving. The presentation is very elegant.
#3 – My Rebbetzin’s Pesach Meatloaf
Ingredients:
2 lbs. Ground Meat (combination of beef and veal is best but beef and turkey or all beef works too)
1 Potato
1 Onion
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Salt
2 or 3 Hard Boiled Eggs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Peel and grate the onion and potato. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl EXCEPT the hard boiled eggs. In a well-oiled loaf pan place ½ of the meat mixture forming a trench in the center. Place the peeled hard boiled eggs along the trench and cover well with the remaining meat. Bake for about 1 ½ hours until firm to the touch and slightly browned on the surface. Serve hot or cold.