Pesach Notes

Assorted recipes for Passover:

Skordalia

One of our family's faves at Pesach is Skordalia, the Greek potato-garlic spread. It's not intuitive for the holiday - and I know some people have a family custom of not eating garlic at Passover - but we aren't allowed to visit our "mythpocha" in Los Angeles without bringing at least two quarts!

This is more or less how I make it - I've done it with and without the almonds and both variants are good. You can substitute potato starch or matzoh meal, too:

Skordalia

1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed
Kosher salt, as needed,
8 -10 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water
Juice of 1-2 lemons, freshly squeezed
Freshly ground black pepper

Cook potatoes until very tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let cool slightly. Rub the skins off the potatoes and discard them. Coarsely chop the potatoes and puree them.

Sprinkle the garlic with a generous pinch of the salt and smash it into a fine paste with the side of a knife.

In a food processor, combine the garlic, almonds, and oil and puree into a paste. Mix the oil mixture into the potatoes until incorporated; then mix in the 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon salt, water, lemon juice, and season with pepper, to taste. Keep refrigerated until needed and let come to room temperature before serving. Great on matzoh or with brisket.

Passover Pumpkin Soup

This is a strange but nice recipe I first tried at a friend's in San Francisco. This is my version. Be sure to use a green-skinned so-called "Japanese" pumpkin or buttercup squash, as you can use the skin and flesh. You could use a regular squash, but then you have to steam and remove the skin.

1 Japanese pumpkin or 1 large buttercup squash
3-5 cloves garlic
2-3 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp fresh grated galanga root (optional)
1 tsp turmeric (optional, but suggested)
1 tsp Madras curry powder (optional)
2 cups sliced white or wild mushrooms
Enough water, soy milk, vegetable stock or milk (if you are having a milchig meal) to thin to desired consistency
Salt/Pepper as desired

Quarter the pumpkin or squash and remove seeds and stringy fibers. Steam for 45 min or until tender. Sautee the garlic, spices and mushrooms until just brown. Put all ingredients into a bowl and mash together, or blend in a food processor or blender, until smooth. Add liquid to desired thinness. Adjust seasonings and either chill until needed or reheat. Best if allowed to stand for a day in the fridge to allow flavors to blend.

These are not my favorite almond-chocolate macaroon recipes, but will have to do until I can dig the book out:

CHOCOLATE -ALMOND MACAROONS

Ingredients:

¾ cup whole or slivered blanched almonds
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
3 egg whites
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
Whole natural or blanched almonds

Directions:

Grind almonds stop-and-go fashion in electric blender. Grate chocolate in blender similarly. Beat egg whites with salt until barely stiff. Gradually beat in sugar; continue beating until very stiff. Fold in ground almonds, chocolate and vanilla. Drop by mounded teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheet. Top each with an almond. Bake at 300 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned but still moist in center. Gently transfer to wire rack to cool.

Makes about 32 macaroons.
(Per serving for 32 servings: Calories 47, Carb 6 g, Protein 1 g)


CHOCOLATE ALMOND MACAROONS

Adapted from "Mama Leah's Jewish Kitchen" by Leah Loeb Fisher. These are fluffy and chewy.

Yield: 30 to 40 macaroons

8 egg whites, at room temperature
2/3 cup cocoa
2/3 cup confectioners sugar (To be kosher for Passover, you will need to make own, by grinding sugar extrafine.)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (KLP) or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla & 1/4 tsp almond (I used graed bitter almond)
1 1/3 cups (8 oz.) coarsely chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gradually sift in and beat the cocoa, confectioners sugar, salt, into the eggs. Carefully add vanilla. Gently cut in the ground almonds. Drop the mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the paper covered baking sheet, leaving a 2-inch space between each macaroon. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until macaroons are very lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet until macaroons are firm. Make sure you make these on a dry day or one with the humidity less than 50% or these will never dry out and stay sticky.