Patch Picks: Passover Recipes

Passover is drawing near so Patch rounded up five great recipes to enjoy with your family. All five are from Beachwood's Fairmount Temple’s cookbook, Tastes of Judaism: Recipes, Rituals & Reflections. Follow the link to purchase one. Republished with permission.

1. Traditional Ashkenazi Charoses

• 10 apples, medium to large, cored but not peeled
• 1 1/4 pounds walnuts, coarsely ground
• 5 teaspoons cinnamon
• 10 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/4 cups sweet red wine

Coarsely chop apples. Combine with remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Store in a refrigerator until ready to use.

2. Leek-Feta Patties

• 1 large leek, cut lengthwise
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sheets of matzah, broken into pieces
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 5 ounces Feta cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• Oil

Discard dark green leek leaves and rinse thoroughly. Dice, then parboil 10 minutes in salted water. Remove from heat, add matzah. Mix well; let stand 5 minutes. Drain out water; mash leek and matzah together. Add next four ingredients. Mix well. Heat oil in pan and drop in one tablespoonful at a time. Fry until golden on both sides. Drain and serve warm or cold.

3. Chocolate Almond Meringues

• 6 counces semisweet chocolate, melted
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup almonds, slivered
• Salt

Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheet with parchment. Melt chocolate. Begin to beat egg whites, adding a pinch of salt, then adding sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and beating until all sugar has been added and whites are glossy and stiff. Gently fold in melted chocolate, then fold in almonds. Drop by generous teaspoonful onto cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Cool several minutes on parchment before removing to cooling rack.

4. Light Veggie Muffins

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped red pepper, chopped by hand
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow pepper, chopped by hand
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery, chopped by hand
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 2 cloves minced garlic, optional
• 2 10-ounce packages chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
• 2 cups egg substitute
• 1 1/2 cups matzah meal
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray. In a large pot, sautee peppers, onion, celery, carrots and garlic (if using) in oil until onions are browned and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add very well-drained spinach. Add egg substitute, matzah meal, salt and pepper, and combine thoroughly. Spoon mixture into muffin tins, filling about 3/4 full. Bake about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until firm. Serve warm or refrigerate and reheat to serve.

5. Almond Biscotti

• 1 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/2 cup matzah cake meal
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 cup coarsely chopped blanched almonds

Heat oven to 300°F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. In food processor, combine first six ingedients until blended. Add eggs and lemon juice. Process just until dough holds together. Turn onto board dusted with matzah cake meal and knead chopped almonds into dough. Dough should be slightly tacky to the touch, but not wet.

Form dough into two logs about 2 inches in diameter. Place on cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with wet hands. Bake till golden brown, about 50 minutes. Remove from oven and place logs on cutting board. Slice pieces on the diagonal, about 1 inch thick. Return slices, cut side down to cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool on rack, store in airtight container.