Here are the simple and effective starters, main meals and desserts for Passover that JLife completely loves!
We at JLife aren’t exactly cooking experts. Instead, we follow the wonderful culinary whizz-kids via cookbooks and bookmarked websites. We’ve selected our favourite Pesach recipes to sate appetites and impress guests.
Mushroom Blintzes (Make approx. 12)
A perfect starter – or dessert, if you substitute the savoury mushroom filling for cheese or cherries. From Ramona Koval’s ‘Jewish Cooking for Jewish Cooks’ book, here is her recipe for the mouth-watering starter, that is a winning change from the annual ritual of platefuls of Matzo balls.
INGREDIENTS
For the batter:
3 eggs
170g plain flour
250ml milk
Butter for frying
METHOD
Beat the eggs until they’re light and fluffy, add sifted flour and beat again. Add milk and stir. Leave to stand for 10 minutes to. The batter will thicken.
For the filling:
110g mushrooms, sliced
30g butter
1 medium onion, grated
140g grated cheese
Salt and pepper, for flavour
METHOD
Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms and onion to the pan, then cover and cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper before setting aside.
Heat one teaspoon of butter in a clean frying pan until hot, then add enough batter to finely cover the pan. Fry on one side then the other. Put to one side on a warm plate.
Repeat this until all of the batter has been used, melting a fresh teaspoon of butter in the pan before pouring each new pancake.
To form the blintzes, place 2 dessert spoons of filling into the centre of each pancake, fold each one inwards at opposite sides then roll into parcels.
Homemade Gefilte Fish (Makes approx: 60 fish balls)
The Chabad site (Chabad.org) features many great recipes to show off to guests. This is our pick of the extensive selection.
FISH INGREDIENTS
5lbs ground fish (mixture of pike and whitefish)
2 medium onions, peeled and ground
2 tbsp kosher salt
5 eggs
3 tbsp water
1½ cups sugar
STOCK INGREDIENTS
16 cups water
4 tsp kosher salt
½ cup sugar
2 onions, peeled and cut into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
METHOD
Put the stock ingredients into a strong pot and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, mix the fish ingredients together and roll into balls. When the stock comes to a rolling boil, drop the fish balls into it gently. When all the balls are in the pot, turn down to a simmer and let it simmer for 1 hour.
Remove the fish balls and the carrots from the liquid. Refrigerate, or freeze for later use. Discard the liquid. The fish lasts for around 3 days in the fridge.
Pesach Brownies
Chocolate is always a good way to round-off a meal. This mouth-watering recipe we found on Allrecipes.com creates a yummy finale to this Passover feast.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
2 (1 oz) squares unsweetened, chopped chocolate
2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons matzo meal
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease an 8×8 inch square pan then melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Remove from the heat, stir in the unsweetened chocolate and set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, pour in the chocolate and butter, then stir in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together the matzo meal, potato starch and salt. Use a spoon to stir the chocolate mixture until well blended. If including walnuts or chocolate chips, mix these in. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven or until the brownies are dry on top and are beginning to pull away from the sides.