.png)
Passover is just around the corner, and whether you are a gourmet chef or a beginner in the kitchen, YOU can impress your guests and yourself by learning from TBT’s own! Anne Kalen, who has published additional recipes on her YouTube channel “Anne’s Kitchen,” and Judy Kancigor, author of the cookbook, “Cooking Jewish” have each shared a recipe tutorial for this Passover season. Whether you want to add an Ashkenazi dish to your seder or try out a new kugel recipe, by sharing these foods, we extend our communal meal beyond those seated around our seder table to the greater TBT community.
Anne Kalen’s Ashkenazic Passover Charoset
“I fondly remember Passovers with my Bubbe and Poppy and all the cousins. I would help my Bubbe replace all her dishes and get ready for the big day. Now I am the Bubbe {Amma), and one of my favorite preparations with my grandchildren is the charoset. After a few tweaks to the original recipe substituting pecans for walnuts and blackberry Manaschewitz for the Concord grape, I have the perfect balance. P.S. - always use crunchy green apples. Feel free to add dried dates or other fruits in place of raisins. Leftovers are great on matzah crackers for a nosh.”
If you want to try a Sephardic alternative to the Ashkenazic style, check out this easy recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIEzdlFRiqE
PASSOVER CHAROSET
6-7 apples, quartered, peeled, and cored
1 tbsp. lemon juice
8 oz. chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
4 oz. chopped raisins
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (more if desired)
6 tbsp. sweet wine (Manischewitz or other)
Instructions
Put chopped apples into food processor and shred. Add lemon juice to avoid apples from browning. Add chopped nuts, raisins, sugar and cinnamon. Add wine and combine to create mixture. Refrigerate until ready to use. Can be made ahead of time, and is delicious as leftovers as well!
Judy Kancigor’s Apple Kugel
When you think of Jewish food, you probably think of kugel; but crafty as we are, we did not invent it. Kugels are delicious borrowings from Germany eight centuries ago, and the recipes traveled with the Jews migrating eastward. They were brought to the U.S. by Bavarian or Alsatian Jews who called them “schalats.”
A kugel is a baked pudding with a starchy base, bound with eggs, enriched with fat, and peppered with an endless variety of colorful and tasty additions such as vegetables, fruit, and/or cheese. Some assembly required – true for swing sets and true for kugels, but for the most part kugels are a snap to prepare. Once you’ve cooked and drained the noodles, you simply stir in the other ingredients and bake.
I got the original recipe for my Apple Matzo Schalat (kugel) in the ‘70’s from Elaine Asa – she says she does not remember it. However, I’ve been making it for Passover ever since. I decided to separate the eggs for a lighter texture and added the fruit topping. You can make it in a 9x13” pan (there’s nothing wrong with that) but use a springform pan for a knock-your-socks-off presentation.
Apple Matzo Kugel (Judy Bart Kancigor)
Nondairy margarine or butter (or Crisco) for greasing baking pan
1 cup (packed) dried apricots or golden raisins, or combination
2 (20 oz) cans pineapple rings, drained, juice reserved
6 medium apples, peeled & thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tbsp)
9 sheets of matzo
9 large eggs, separated
1-1/2 cups sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) non-dairy margarine or butter, melted & cooled
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges
3 tbsp non-dairy margarine or butter, slivered
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 13x9 baking pan (or spring form)
Snip apricots to the size of raisins (kitchen shears work much better than a knife for this purpose). Combine the snipped apricots and the reserved pineapple juice in small bowl, and set it aside.
Toss the apple slices with the lemon juice in a bowl (to prevent browning) and set it aside.
Crumble matzo into a very large bowl, add cold water to cover, and soak a few seconts just to soften the matzo. Drain the soaked matzo thoroughly, wipe the bowl dry, and return the matzo to the bowl.
Beat the egg yolks and ¾ cup of the sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until thick and lemon-colored, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as necessary. Beat in the lemon zest, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the melted margarine.
Stir the egg yolk mixture into the soaked matzo. Drain the apricots, and add them and th apples to the matzo mixture. Combine well.
Using a clean, dry bowl and beaters; beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Add the remaining ¾ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating for 10 seconds after each addition, until stiff peaks form, about 6 minutes total. Stir one fourth of the egg whites into the matzo mixture to lighten it. Then add the remaining whites in three additions, folding them in until incorporated.
Pour the matzo mixture into prepared baking pan. Decorate the top with the pineapple rings, strawberries, blueberries, and mandarin oranges in a pretty design. Dot with the slivered margarine, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake, uncovered, until firm, about 1 hour.
Cut into squares and serve hot.