Anything’s Possible For Passover

by NORENE GILLETZ, Special to The CJN

Pesach strikes an acute sense of panic in many Jewish homemakers worldwide. Faced with dietary guidelines, special family traditions and endless Passover meals to prepare, we often find cooking for Pesach a daunting task. Tamar Ansh, well-known Israeli author of two bestselling cookbooks, believes that on Pesach, “anything’s possible!”

In her latest cookbook, A Taste of Tradition: Pesach and Beyond (Targum), Ansh offers an amazing array of culinary possibilities, each more delicious than the next. Her recipes, ranging from basic to gourmet, are so simple to prepare and delicious that you won’t want to wait until next Pesach to use them again.

This unique cookbook also contains tantalizing, full-colour photos that will whet your appetite.A Taste of Tradition: Pesach and Beyond, which contains more than 350 recipes, has a universal appeal and is sure to become a family favourite.

Ansh has thought of something for everyone, from meat lovers to carb addicts, from health nuts to junk food fanatics. As an extra bonus, all her recipes are 100 per cent wheat-free, gluten-free and non-gebrochts, making them ideal for kosher celiacs and individuals who are gluten-sensitive.

On Passover, many Jews will not eat gebrochts – foods containing matzah and its derivatives (cake meal, matzah meal, farfel) that are combined with liquid and could possibly ferment. Some Jews will eat these foods only on the eighth day of Passover. Other Jews will eat matzah products that are combined with fruit juice but not with water. (Consult your rabbi for guidelines.)

With luscious, no-fail recipes and dozens of tips and helpful hints, A Taste of Tradition: Pesach and Beyond, is a wonderful resource for Pesach and all year round. Enjoy!

Non-Gebrochts kneidlach

    Combine all the ingredients and mix them well. Refrigerate the batter for about an hour to make the batter firm. Make small balls out of it and drop them into boiling water. Cook the kneidlach for about 3/4 of an hour. Add them to the soup pot about 45 minutes before your soup finishes cooking.

    Note: Kneidlach can be made in advance and frozen. Remove them from the freezer and place them in the soup approximately 45 minutes before the soup finishes cooking. Yields 15 to 20 balls.

    Thick Yellow Vegetable Soup

    • 2 tsp. olive oil
    • 1 to 2 medium onions, sliced
    • 1 green pepper, chopped
    • 1 red pepper, chopped
    • 2 orange or yellow peppers, chopped
    • 2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
    • 2 medium potatoes, cubed
    • 1 butternut squash, cut in chunks
    • 5 to 7 large carrots, sliced
    • large piece of pumpkin, cut in chunks
    • 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
    • 2 to 3 tsp. salt
    • 1/2 tsp. pepper
    • small bunch each fresh dill and parsley

    In an 8-quart (or larger) pot, heat the oil over a medium flame and sauté the onions and peppers until they are transparent. Add all the other vegetables, salt, pepper and herbs. Fill with water until almost the top of the pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 2 hours on a low flame, until the vegetables are completely soft. Purée until smooth. Freezes well. Serves 8 to 10.

    Mango, Avocado and Romain Lettuce Salad

    • 1 bag bug-free romaine lettuce, rinsed and dried
    • 1 large, fresh mango, peeled and sliced
    • 1 large avocado, peeled and cubed
    • 1/3 cup craisins or dark raisins
    • 1/2 cup candied pecans, crushed
    • 1 small red pepper, chopped

    Tear apart the lettuce and place it in a large salad bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix it all together.

    Dressing

    • 1/4 cup honey
    • 2 tsp. oil
    • 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
    • 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar or regular vinegar
    • 2 tsp. granulated garlic powder
    • 2 tsp. granulated onion powder

    Whisk all of this together and pour it over the salad right before serving. Yum! Serves 4 to 5.

    Beet Salad in Orange Sauce

    • 4 to 5 beets, cooked and sliced
    • 1 small onion, diced
    • 1 tsp. vinegar
    • 3 tsp. sugar
    • 1 tsp. olive oil
    • 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
    • small pinch of salt

    Toss all of the ingredients together in a bowl to mix well. Place the mixture in a pot, cover with the lid, and bring to a boil over a high flame. Reduce the flame to low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and refrigerate. Stir before serving. Serves 4 to 6.

    Sweet Potato Scoops

    • 8 medium sweet potatoes
    • 2 tsp. oil
    • 1/2 cup plus 2 tsp. brown sugar
    • 1 packet vanilla sugar (see note below)
    • 12 to 15 pineapple rings
    • 1 tsp. cinnamon

    Preheat oven to 350. Boil or bake the sweet potatoes until they are soft. Mash them with the oil, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla sugar. Lay out the pineapple rings on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Scoop the sweet potato mixture with an ice cream scooper and place each scoop on top of a pineapple ring. Mix the 2 tsp. brown sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle it on top of each scoop. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, until the sweet potato mixture is slightly crispy on top. Serves 12 to 15.

    Note: To make your own vanilla sugar, bury a split vanilla bean pod in granulated sugar. (Use 1 bean per pound of sugar.) Store in a container for a week and then remove vanilla bean. You can reuse the vanilla bean for up to 6 months. (Or substitute 2-1/2 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla extract for 1 packet vanilla sugar.

    Tangy Veal or Meat Roast

    • 6 garlic cloves, peeled
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 1/4 cup (wine) vinegar
    • 2 tsp. parsley flakes
    • 1/2 tsp. oregano
    • 4 to 5 lb. (2 to 2 1/2 kg) roast, washed and dried
    • 1 cup semi-dry white wine
    • 3 stalks celery, diced
    • 3 carrots, sliced into rounds
    • 2 large onions, sliced

    Next-Day Marinade

    • 1/2 cup olive oil
    • 1/2 cup (wine) vinegar
    • 1 tsp. parsley flakes
    • 1/2 tsp. oregano
    • 1 cup tomato sauce, optional
    • 6 to 8 garlic cloves, pressed

    Squeeze the garlic cloves into a bowl using a garlic press. Add the olive oil, vinegar, parsley and oregano to the bowl, mixing it well with the garlic. Place the meat into a large glass or plastic container and pour this garlic mixture over it. Marinate the roast for 6 hours or overnight, basting periodically.

    Then place the meat in a pot that fits its size as closely as possible. Add the wine to the meat, put the pot over a medium low flame and simmer it for 3 hours. Cool and refrigerate the pot overnight.

    The next day, remove the meat from the pot and discard the juices. Slice the roast and lay it flat in a 9×13-inch (or a bit larger) baking pan. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together and pour it over the meat slices. Arrange the celery, carrots, and onions over the meat and cover the roast well with foil. Bake at 350 for another 2 hours, basting the roast once an hour or so to prevent it from drying out. Serves 8 to 10.

    APPLESAUCE CRANBERRY ICE

    • 1 1/2 to 2 cups applesauce
    • 2 cans jellied cranberry sauce
    • 1 cup lemon-lime soda
    • 1 cup orange juice
    • 1 to 2 tsp. fruit-flavoured liqueur, optional (I did not use it)

    Mix everything by hand in a bowl, or beat it with a hand beater for a minute or two to make it smooth. Pour it into a large, flat, square plastic container and freeze it overnight. (Right, this took you about 4 1/2 minutes so far? Now comes the next 5 minutes or so!)

    The next day, remove the ice from the freezer. Cut into it, if you can, to break it into four or five pieces and put it into the mixer bowl. If it is too frozen to break apart, let it sit on the counter for a few minutes. Beat it slowly with the regular flat beater (i.e., NOT the egg whipping beater!), until it resembles sherbet consistency. Refreeze it. Remove the ice from the freezer about 5 minutes before serving. Scoop it into dessert bowls and serve. Serves 6.