Passover recipes from the community

WATCH VIDEO: View the steps to creating Cindy Feingold's family favourite, Marble Matzoh Crunch.

 

The Ottawa Jewish E-Bulletin is pleased to share this Passover recipe section with special submissions from two of our community food writers, Alyce Baker and Cindy Feingold.

 

Alyce Baker provides a selection of traditional dishes to modern-day treats.

Passover will again be different this year. Less people around the table. Which translates to less preparation and less cooking.

As our families grow and age tradition becomes a central component of all the Jewish holidays. We associate Rosh Hashanah with Bubbe’s brisket. Purim with Mom’s hamantaschen. And of course, Passover with the family’s secret matzoh ball recipe.

All this to say that family yearns for the tried and true.

Having said that I still like to try some new dishes and pair them with our favourites. So, this year I’ve paired veggie muffins (traditional) with spinach potato nests (avant garde), Chocolate chip Mandelbroit (traditional) with carrot spice torte (modern day).

VEGETABLE MUFFINS

  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 stalk celery chopped
  • 1 ½ cups grated carrots
  • 1 cup grated zucchini (1)
  • 3 large eggs beaten
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • ¾ cup matzoh meal
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill

Preheat oven to 375. Grease 10 compartments in a muffin pan.

Sauté onion and garlic in oil in hot fry pan. Add the remaining veggies. Reduce heat and sauté 5 minutes.

Cool.

Stir in eggs, salt, pepper and matzoh meal. Mix well.

Scoop into muffin tin and bake 40 minutes till brown.

Cool before removing from pan. Freezes well.

POTATO SPINACH NESTS

  • 4 large yellow potatoes
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 4 tsp vegetable oil
  • 2 packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 eggs

Preheat oven to 400.

Peel and grate potatoes. Add ½ tsp salt and place in a colander in a bowl for 20 minutes. Then squeeze out any liquid.

Grease a 12-compartment muffin tin pan.

Press grated potatoes into each muffin cup. Bake 15 minutes till brown.

Sauté spinach in olive oil. Add seasonings and vegetable oil.

Beat eggs and salt and add spinach mixture.

Spoon spinach into baked potato nests. Bake 10-15 minutes. Cool and carefully unmold.

CINNAMON CHIP MANDELBROIT

  • ¾ cup ground walnuts
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 cup oil
  • 2 cups cake meal
  • 6 tbsp potato starch
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 cups chocolate chips
  • Cinnamon sugar (sprinkle on baked slices)

Beat eggs and sugar. Add oil and mix.

Add dry ingredients.

Add nuts and chocolate.

Refrigerate batter overnight.

Form into 3 loaves and place on cookie sheet

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Remove from oven. Slice and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture

Put back in oven for 5 minutes.

CARROT SPICE TORTE

  • 6 eggs separated.
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp orange juice
  • ¼ cup matzoh meal
  • ¼ cup cake meal
  • 1 ¼ cups toasted ground walnuts
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ginger
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 cup canned carrots (14 ounces) puréed

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease a 10-inch tube pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

Place egg whites in a large bowl with salt.

Whip on low speed till foamy.

Then whip on high speed and add ½ cup sugar. Beat till stiff and glossy.

In another bowl beat yolks till pale and add remaining sugar.

Add vanilla, orange juice, matzoh meal, cake meal, nuts spices and zest.

Stir carrot purée into yolk mixture.

Then fold 1/3 of whipped egg whites. Do this twice more till all whites are incorporated.

Spoon into prepared pan and place in oven.

Reduce heat immediately to 325 and bake one hour.

Cool well before removing.

 

 

Cindy Feingold shares her family’s favourite Passover dessert

No matter how many other treats are on the table, the Marble Matzoh Crunch is always the first to disappear. Feel free to make it your own. Try all dark chocolate and sprinkle on chopped toasted almonds or white chocolate with dried cherries and pistachios.

  • 6 slices matzoh
  • 227 grams (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter or kosher for Passover margarine
  • 213 grams (1 cup) firmly packed brown sugar
  • 340 grams (2 generous cups) finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
  • 85 grams (½ cup) finely chopped white chocolate
  • 85 grams (½ cup) finely chopped blonde or milk chocolate
  • 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Preheat oven to 325º F. Cover an 18 x 13-inch rimmed cookie sheet with foil and then cover the foil with a sheet of parchment paper. Do not leave this step out or you will be cursing me when it comes time to clean up! Cover the parchment paper evenly with the matzoh. You will have to trim some of the matzoh with a sharp knife to make it fit into a flat even layer. You will have some matzoh scraps left over. Slather with butter and jam and eat.

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt butter or margarine. Add brown sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring every minute or so with a wooden spoon, until the mixture comes to a boil. This will take about 2-4 minutes. At one point it will look like the butter is separating from the sugar and it will appear to be an oily mess. Just keep stirring, it will come together again. Once mixture comes to a boil, switch to a whisk and whisk vigorously for another minute or two.

Carefully pour caramel onto matzoh. Using an offset metal spatula, spread it out into an even layer.

Place baking sheet into oven and bake for about 8 minutes until the caramel topping is golden brown and bubbling.

While caramel is baking, place bittersweet chocolate in a glass bowl and melt in microwave on 50% power for 2 minutes. Stir and melt for a further minute or two if not completely melted.

Repeat melting with white and milk chocolate. 

Remove caramel-covered matzoh from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Pour bittersweet chocolate over the matzoh and smooth it out into an even layer with an offset spatula.

Drizzle the milk and white chocolate over the bittersweet chocolate. Using a wooden skewer or tip of a paring knife, swirl the wet chocolate to make a marbled design.

While chocolate is still wet, sprinkle with sea salt. Chill pan for several hours until chocolate is firm. Peel off foil and parchment paper and place marble matzoh crunch on a large cutting board. Using a very large sharp knife, cut matzoh into large squares. For an 18 x 13 inch pan, I usually get about 18 pieces. Store matzoh crunch in an airtight container in the fridge. It keeps well for about 5 days. (That is as long as no one else in the house knows it’s there!)

Watch Cindy make this delicious treat at the top of this story.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy Passover. Chag Sameach.