Turkish Haroset for Passover

Last week I pulled out my tattered, splattered Jewish cookbooks to plan our Passover Seder. I really love this time of year. For years I’ve been cooking from these books religiously. Literally. I converted to Judaism 23 years ago and immersing myself in cooking enhanced my new Jewish identity. Even today, all these years later, I’m still evolving yet holding onto traditions and rituals that are dear to me. And with Passover beginning this week I’m all in, but it’s not as easy as when we lived in Seattle.

In Seattle, our local grocery store dedicated a large area to Passover. The shelves were stocked with kosher-for-Passover products,

and while shopping I’d run into friends and swap Seder menu ideas and ask questions like, “Want to share a box of matzah cake meal?” In Seattle, being a Jewish mom was a significant part of my identity. I’m still Jewish and still a mom but my children and my Jewish community are not here now, which gets me thinking about who I am and where I am now. I’ve happily chosen to be here in the Methow Valley, much as I happily chose to become Jewish, so what does it mean now, for where I am in life and where I’m finding meaning? Yes, asking questions is an important part of Passover.

There’s no place I’d rather be, both physically and in life. I’m drawn to the quieter pace and nature, and I’m growing in completely new ways. I’ve become a pilot.

Yes! Well, I’m not yet licensed but Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth. Since I was a little girl I’ve wanted to be a pilot and now I’m doing it. Since moving here I’d been looking up at the sky longingly, and when a friend out here got her pilot’s license six months ago that was the final inspiration I needed to go for it. I absolutely love flying. I have soloed now, which means I can fly alone, and I still have a LOT to learn and practice before I get my license. But I’m so happy in the air. It’s magical. This valley is the best, most beautiful place to learn to fly.

The poem High Flight by John Gillespie Magee, Jr says it better than I can. I’ve put out my hand, and touched the face of G-d.

I’m now a pilot and I’ve still got my tattered cookbooks and it’s Passover and it’s time for haroset.

Passover is filled with symbolic foods on the Seder plate. We gather around the table and talk about each of them as we tell the story of Passover (haggadah means “telling”) leading up to the meal.

Haroset represents the mortar used with the bricks when the Jews built the pyramids in ancient Egypt. Traditional haroset is a mix of chopped apples, walnuts, cinnamon and sweet wine.  We eat it on matzah during the Seder and the eight days of Passover. There are harosets from all over the world and we often have haroset tastings from Surinam, Yemen, Italy or Persia at our Seders. About seven years ago, a Turkish exchange student lived with us so, of course, we needed Turkish haroset on our table.

For this delicious one, apples, dates, raisins and pistachios are chopped up together and flavored with orange zest and juice. The flavors are sweet, simple and refreshing. The original recipe calls for cooking the haroset until the apples soften, but I prefer to keep it raw for the crunchy freshness.

During the Seder we look back and remember the story of Passover and then look forward to what’s ahead (the Seder ends by saying “Next year in Jerusalem”).  I’ve moved to a place where I’m finding meaning in the quiet and physical beauty and diving into new opportunities. Moving forward and back, layering the new on old and feeling gratitude.

Haroset from Turkey
Adapted from The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden

2 sweet apples, peeled and chopped into small pieces
½ pound dates, pitted and roughly chopped
1 cup raisins (I use golden)
Juice and grated zest of 1 orange
2 ounces pistachios (or walnuts)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it forms a rough mixture. You can process until it becomes a paste, too, if you prefer. Serve in a bowl with matzah or chill in the fridge until ready to eat.

Our Persian-Inspired House Haroset

Spring has arrived, and in celebration I brought home tulips today and painted my toes pink. Between the pouring rain and lashing wind, though, it’s not feeling particularly spring-like yet, but once I start thinking of the balmy days ahead there’s no stopping me.

Having Passover fall in March this year is creating a bit of a scramble as I scrub the kitchen and clear out all the hametz (leavened items like pasta and bread). Fortunately, I also get to plan the seder menu which is so much more fun! A seder is the traditional Passover dinner that celebrates the ancient Israelites’ journey from slavery to freedom. I also get to dust off my seder plate, which is used to hold symbolic foods during the seder. I love our seder plate! Bob and I brought it home from a pottery co-op in Jerusalem back in 1994, where we celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary. Such special memories.

I keep a Passover file with each year’s notes, suggestions and recipes I want to try. Once it’s all spread out over the dining room table, I get out my pen and notepad and start planning.  We have eight days of eating unleavened foods (including matzah roca!), which leads to some creative cooking that I truly enjoy.

One of the symbolic foods we put on the seder plate is haroset. Haroset is typically made of fruit and nuts mixed with wine and spread on matzah to eat. The chunky mixture represents the mortar that the Israelite slaves used when in Egypt. Haroset is made with a quick blitz in the food processor or you can crunch it together with a mortar and pestle. The most familiar version is made with chopped apples, walnuts and sweet wine.

There are many different harosets reflecting different Jewish cultures. Suriname, Egypt, Yemen and Turkey are just a few – you can take a trip around the world just eating haroset! Each year, I like to do a haroset tasting and sample some different flavor combinations. There’s one haroset that’s always on our menu, though, and it’s this one: our house haroset.

I discovered this Persian-inspired recipe almost twenty years ago, when Joan Nathan’s book Jewish Cooking in America was first published. It includes strawberries, dates and bananas in addition to apples and nuts. Sweet, spicy, soft and crunchy ... let’s just say it was love at first taste! I’ve changed a few ingredients and spiced it up a bit over the years and it’s become a family tradition.

Some of my favorite times volunteering in my sons’ Jewish elementary school were when I taught each of their classes to make this haroset. I roughly chopped up dates, strawberries, bananas and apples and let the students scoop the ingredients into small bowls and sprinkle on cinnamon and a splash of cherry juice. Then their little hands got busy pounding away with wooden spoons to create a chunky paste. We slathered the haroset on matzah and happily snacked away.

Haroset
Adapted from Jewish Cooking in America
By Joan Nathan
Makes about 4 cups

1 cup pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped
1 cup raw almonds, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
1 cup dried, unsweetened cherries
10 ounces strawberries, stems removed and cut in half
1 medium banana, peeled and chopped
1 medium apple, cored and chopped (I use Granny Smith)
6 ounces dates, pitted and sliced in half
2 tablespoons cherry juice (I used dark cherry concentrate) or pomegranate juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional, provides a little kick)
Matzah or crackers for serving

Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the mixture until a chunky paste is formed. Spoon the haroset into a bowl to serve alongside matzah. It can be made a few hours ahead and kept covered in the fridge.

Haroset also makes a marvelous breakfast when spread on matzah (or toast) with some cream cheese.

Creamy Strawberry Macaroon Tart

Today I am guest posting at Everyday Maven! Over the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Alyssa through her blog, Everyday Maven, where she creates terrific recipes that promise good taste and health.

I was delighted when she graciously asked me to share a healthy dessert on Everyday Maven. This Creamy Strawberry Macaroon Tart is a festive and indulgent way to welcome spring. Head on over to Everyday Maven for the recipe. While there, take some time to explore Alyssa’s inspiring blog, where I’m sure you’ll discover something tempting and delicious!

Click here for the full post and recipe on Everyday Maven.

Chocolate Espresso Macaroons

Dense, rich, intensely chocolate ... some of my favorite words, especially when describing a cookie. In this case, it’s a Chocolate Espresso Macaroon.

Classic macaroons contain of a short list of simple ingredients: nuts or coconut, sugar and egg whites. After that, there is quite a range of choices to create different types of macaroons. What kind of nut? Dip in chocolate? Add some almond extract? Whip the egg whites? I’ve made (and eaten) a wide variety of macaroons and can tell you my absolute favorite is made with coconut, chocolate and espresso.

A lot of chocolate goes into these Chocolate Espresso Macaroons, and espresso powder elevates them to a whole new level of indulgence. Toasting the coconut adds an extra kick of flavor, too.

I make macaroons on the big side. They are light due to the whipped egg whites and lack of flour, so it’s easy to devour one (or two). Moist, flavorful and deeply satisfying, they are perfect for Passover and all year round.

Chocolate Espresso Macaroons
Makes 21 large cookies

14 ounces (about 3 cups) chocolate, roughly chopped (I recommend 70% cocoa content)
4 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons instant espresso powder, mix with 2 teaspoons warm water to dissolve
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut, lightly toasted

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Melt the chocolate pieces in a medium saucepan over very low heat, stirring and keeping a close eye so that it doesn’t burn. When most of the chocolate is melted, remove from the heat and keep stirring until the chocolate is smooth. Set aside to cool a little.

Beat the egg whites in a medium sized bowl until they are white and begin to hold soft peaks. Slowly add the sugar, espresso mix, vanilla and kosher salt and beat until blended. Pour the melted chocolate in and stir to mix. Add the coconut and mix completely.

Scoop the batter (I use a small ice cream scoop) into large mounds on the prepared baking sheet. I fit 12 scoops on the baking sheet for my first batch, and 9 scoops for my second. Bake the macaroons for 18 minutes, until they are shiny and slightly cracked. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and bake the remaining macaroons. Store in an airtight container.

Deviled Eggs: Pretty in Pink

I must say, these are the prettiest deviled eggs I have ever made. When I saw Ashley Rodriguez’s Beet Pickled Deviled Eggs, I fell in love with their charming pink tint. And then Food52 shared a recipe with a secret ingredient to make an egg filling extra smooth and creamy. Well, I needed no further inspiration to combine the two recipes and start hard-boiling some eggs!

Deviled eggs are perfect for this time of year. Our backyard hens are laying again after their respite during the dark winter months and I am positively gleeful to gather beautiful eggs from the nesting boxes every day.

For the Passover meal, it is traditional to put an egg on the Seder plate to symbolize new life in the spring season. We then eat hard-boiled eggs before the main meal begins (this helps hungry children stay focused) and sometimes I serve deviled eggs as an option. These deviled eggs are an ideal choice!

The filling is indeed velvety due to the addition of a bit of butter - the secret ingredient. The whites are blushed pink from taking a soak with some homemade pickled beets. (The resulting beets were quite delicious in a salad with feta cheese – a delightful little extra treat.)

My family happily devoured a platter of these luscious eggs and is patiently awaiting the next batch. Soon, I promise!

You can find the Pickled Beet Deviled Eggs (for the pink egg whites) here and the Food52 Deviled Eggs (for the egg filling) here.

Matzah Almond Roca

Passover is my favorite holiday – I love its timing with the spring season, the telling of the Passover story of the Israelites’ exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt, the eight days of creative cooking, and the celebration of freedom. Each year, I clean and remove leavened foods from our kitchen in preparation for the holiday. When the Israelites escaped from Egypt there was not enough time to wait for the bread to rise so we commemorate this by abstaining from leavened foods. Which leads me to matzah ...

Over the eight days of Passover, we will eat a lot of matzah. We slather it with cream cheese and jam, spread tomato sauce and mozzarella on it for pizza, stuff it with feta and mashed potatoes and fry up sandwiches, and crumble it with eggs to make sizzling matzah brie (served with maple syrup it’s like pancakes). Let me tell you the best way to enjoy matzah, though: Matzah Almond Roca.

Simply stated, Matzah Almond Roca is unbelievably addictive. Crisp matzah is coated in rich, buttery toffee and topped with a layer of chocolate and a sprinkling of almonds. The matzah helps off-set the sweetness, allowing you to enjoy even more.

This has been our family’s favorite Passover treat for almost 20 years (the recipe is stained and torn and comes from a cooking class at the synagogue). We keep a stash in the fridge all week, perfect for sneaking nibbles or downright indulging in. Even if you don’t celebrate Passover I recommend you pick up a box of matzah and give this a try!

When planning my Passover menu, Matzah Almond Roca is first on my list to make (ahead of the brisket, gefilte fish and flourless chocolate cake). And when Passover ends and we have leftover matzah, well - there’s no better way to empty that box.

Matzah Almond Roca
From a synagogue cooking class

4 squares of matzah
8 ounces (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, plus extra to butter the foil
1 cup brown sugar
12 ounces of chopped chocolate (your choice of milk or dark)
1/2 cup unsalted almonds, toasted and roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and butter the top well. Lay the 4 squares of matzah in a single layer on the foil (you’ll have to break a couple to make them fit).

In a medium sized saucepan, melt the 8 ounces of butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer and stir. It should be bubbling but not a rapid boil. Let it cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times, until it thickens and is golden brown. Pour the toffee evenly over the matzah spread so it is coated. Pop the pan in the oven for 5 minutes.

Remove and immediately sprinkle the chocolate pieces over the toffee topping. When the chocolate has softened a bit, spread it evenly with a knife. Scatter the chopped almonds over the top. Place the baking pan in the freezer for 1 hour.

When completely chilled, break into pieces and store in a covered container in the fridge.