Herbed Matzoh Balls
What would make the perfect introduction to this year’s collaborative Passover meal? I think Matzoh Balls says it all. Come, have a seat at our Seder Table, and Taste With The Eyes.
Our Collective Meal Served by Course:
First Course
Karen’s Haroset
Stacey’s Haroset
Giz’s Gefilte Fish
Soup
Julia’s Stuffed Matzo Ball Soup
Salad
Zahavah’s Fennel and Pistachio Salad
Father Adam’s Spinach Salad
with Mandarin Oranges, Olives, Oakwood Smoked Bacon
Main Course
Zahavah’s Moroccan Meatballs in Saffron Sunset Sauce
Amy’s Baked Tilapia with Lemon Parsley Matzah Crust
Father Adam’s Roasted Leg of Sonoma Lamb
Elra’s Braised Cornish Hen with Coriander
Kirmizi Biber and Preserved Lemon
Sides
Father Adam’s Fresh Asparagus with Garlic and Butter
Lori Lynn’s Roasted Carrots, Parsnips, and Shallots
with Olives and Gremolata
(Brisket in background)
Father Adam’s Scalloped Russet Potatoes with CheddarDessert
Penny’s Chocolate Cloud Cake
Penny’s Low Fat Cherry Cheesecake
Penny’s Peach Melba Torte
Penny’s Strawberry Shortcake
Penny’s Hazelnut Pear Tort
Stacey’s Chocolate Covered Macaroons
Après Passover
Phyllis’ Tempura Gefilte Fish
Contributors (alphabetical):
“As our ancestors ran from Pharaoh’s army on their escape from slavery and their journey out of Egypt and into the promised land, they had no time to wait for their bread to rise. Instead, the bread baked unleavened on their backs in the hot desert sun. This was the first matzah, and we eat it today to remember the sacrifices that our people had to make so that we could be free. The following is an application of matzah that I doubt our ancestors would have ever imagined, much less had the time or ability to prepare on their backs!”
“The Kirmizi Biber will add a little bit of spiciness to the dish.”
Father Adam
“On Holy Thursday, our meal is a little nicer than usual. On that night, we remember Jesus’ Passover Meal (the night before he died) and the night he instituted our Eucharist. We don’t imitate the Seder meal, but we do remember that Jesus was an observant Jew and that he would have celebrated the Passover just as Jews have done throughout the ages. As Roman Catholics, we are proud to look at this as our heritage.”
Giz
“Here’s babba’s recipe that’s been kept under lock and key. We think it’s ‘the best’.”
Julia
“Finally, finally this year, I synthesized all my mistakes and wisdom to create feather light matzo balls. The secret is to make the batter as wet as possible and still hold together when cooked. The water in the batter turns into steam when cooked, pushing against the dough, expanding it to create air pockets. When the matzo balls “set” (i.e. the proteins coagulate and the starches gel), the air bubbles are trapped inside.”
Karen
“I was supposed to prepare Haroset (aka Charoset) for a “Last Supper” reflection in my parish on Maundy Thursday (9 April 2009). The first time I tried making Haroset (using a recipe that I had randomly come across while surfing the web) about 3 -4 years ago, the results weren’t good. This year, I was given a “killer recipe” except that it came without any measurements, indication of proportions, and the directions were simply to mix everything together then refrigerate for 2 days. Panic, panic…what if I got the proportions or sequence wrong etc?”
Lori Lynn
“Our Passover Menu does not change much from year to year. We always have matzoh ball soup, tomato onion brisket, chicken with honey orange ginger glaze. This year I did change up the vegetable dishes however, one of the new dishes we made was Roasted Carrots, Parsnips, and Shallots with Olives and Gremolata inspired by Marie, the Proud Italian Cook.“
Penny
“We didn’t have anyone who was kosher this year, so I opted to make lowfat dairy desserts, which I made by mixing recipes from my CD, Amazing Passover Desserts, with some of the recipes from Light Jewish Holiday Desserts. We had 4 desserts: Lowfat Strawberry Shortcake – made with Passover Genoise, Strawberry Filling and Lowfat Whipped Cream, Chocolate Cloud Cake with Lowfat Ganache, Lowfat Cherry Cheesecake, and Coconut Macaroons. Each cake was made in miniature so that the portions were small and no one felt stuffed even tasting all of the desserts.”
“But wouldn’t this be a great way to use up leftover gefilte fish once Passover is over?”
Stacey
“Here is my recipe for Haroset. It is more of a Sephardic, Middle Eastern version with different nuts and dried fruits, unlike traditional haroset (also spelled haroseth & charoset). It is absolutely delicious. I always say each year ‘why don’t I make this all year long? It would be a great appetizer, and great on a turkey sandwich!’ But, I never do. It wouldn’t be as special, if I did.”
Zahavah
“On Wednesday, April 8, the morning of the first Passover seder, many Jews will partake in a rare ritual called Birkat HaChamah (”blessing over the sun”) after sunrise…Supposedly every 28 years, the sun is in the exact same position that it was in on the fourth day of creation, and many take advantage of this opportunity to remember creation and bless our Creator. The prayer said roughly translates to, ‘Blessed are you, Eternal our Lord, who makes the work of creation.’ “
As our virtual Seder draws to a close I wish you peace and extend my sincere thank you to all the cooks of this exceptional meal.
LL,
Love the post!
Thanks for posting my haroset.
I am glad Passover is over, because I really do hate matzoh!
Great great post LL and I’m thrilled to see both a wonderful array of dishes as well as the fellowship that makes this holiday so special.
Great roundup! Some recipes there that I’d like to try for sure. It’s interesting to see how different families prepare their dishes.
Hi Lori Lynn,
How exciting! I’m so thrilled that you included my tempura gefilte fish (thought it was a long shot for sure!). I think it can possibly be made kosher for Passover by substituting matzo meal for the panko and potato starch for the flour.
Fabulous job on the round up – I’m learning so much about Passover food. 🙂
Amazing how beautiful this round ups look like. Pesach is my favorite holiday, next year I will certainly prepare my entry better. Thank you for hosting a such a wonderful event.
Have a wonderful week end Lori!
Cheers,
elra
Oh my goodness! All of that looks so fantastic!
Happy Holidays to you!
~Abby
2 words. Matzoh balls! Love them 😉
What a wonderful post, and great round up! I love everything on the menu 🙂
So incredible! I’m going to take my time and read all about Passover – thank you so much for sharing the wonderful photos and writing about the tradition.
Nice post. There’s definitely some wonderful dishes there. Especially those desserts. Sorry, that my sweet tooth talking.
Thank you for including me in your round up! I am saving this so that I can call upon it next year when racking my brain for new recipes!
Your pear tort is stunning! lovely presentation! I hope your holiday was as amazing as the cuisine looks!
Your pear tort is stunning! lovely presentation! I hope your holiday was as amazing as the cuisine looks!
Everything looks so good, where to start?
What’s with Stacey not liking Matzoh? I’m with Maryann! LL, Have you ever heard of Max and Benny’s Jewish deli/restaurant out here? My husbands Italian Aunt worked for him for years, retired at 81, she was a waitress there. Any way, everytime we went there to visit her we always had the best matzoh ball soup!( along with everything else!) Soo good! This was a beautiful round up, enjoyed all the variety, and felt very honored my dish was a part of your Seder Table, although I really love your additon of parsnips. Perfect!
xox
Thanks for the ” inside ” of the jewish culture and culinary traditions. Your co-posters have contributed wonderfully to an already great Blog. The pics and the carefully detailed desserts i.e macarroons by Stacey, the fruit tart, the scalloped potatoes and on…on All great. I am ( seriously ) intrigued by the maroccan Meatballs…could you…would you :-)))
as usual
LL – Great roundup! I so enjoyed seeing what others made for Passover. Thanks for including the pics of my desserts.
Lori Lynn,
Thank you for including me in this incredibly diverse Passover summary. It was great to read the other recipes and other people’s stories from around the world (and from other religions!). Kudos to you on putting so much energy, effort, and love into this project.
– Zahavah
Who’d a thunk that Matzoh could be so versatile! A wonderful array of dishes with am international flare. Lots of overlap in cuisines and cultures.
Thank you so much for this great round-up, a wonderful resource for me when I visit my Viennese friends and want to bring a dish along!