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April 7, 2006
Spice up your Pesach meals
These dinners and desserts are easy to make and they are a refreshing
change.
PAMELA REISS
Though Passover lasts just one short week, after the first couple
of days, I've had enough of the matzah meal and potato starch. Brisket
– though one of the most important food groups in my opinion
– temporarily loses its appeal after I've had it for both seders
and lunches the following couple of days.
For a lovely, different meal during the week (or even for a seder),
I like to get away from the gefilte fish and the kugels. These dishes
may sound impressive, but when you get down to it, they are all
very easy to put together
Roasted Duck with Sour Cherry Sauce
5 pounds duck – cut into 8 pieces
salt and pepper
Sauce
1 25-oz. jar Hungarian morello sour cherries
1 large orange – juice and zest
1 tsp. fresh garlic – crushed
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. potato starch
2 tbsp. cold water
Wash the duck pieces well and dry. Season on both sides with salt
and pepper and place on a rack set in a deep roasting pan. Roast
in a preheated 400 degree oven for 25 to 40 minutes. I like my duck
meat to be slightly pink, so roasting for approximately 25-30 minutes
is perfect. If you prefer the meat well done, continue to cook for
another 10-15 minutes.
Remember, different sized birds will need to roast for different
times and oven temperatures vary – the best bet is to check
the duck after 25 minutes and check it every few minutes until it's
done to the level you like. Remove the duck from the oven and let
it rest.
While the duck is roasting, add the cherries and juices, orange
zest and juice, garlic, wine and sugar to a large saucepan. Bring
to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the temperature and simmer
gently for 10 minutes, then set aside until the duck has come out
of the oven.
While the duck rests, bring the sauce back to a simmer. Whisk the
potato starch into the water and pour into the simmering sauce.
It will take only a few seconds for the potato starch to work –
the sauce will be glossy and thick enough to coat the duck. Add
the pieces of duck to the saucepan and simmer another two to three
minutes, turning the pieces to coat.
Serve the duck on a platter with the cherries and sauce ladled over
it. Serves four.
Roasted Asparagus
1 lb. asparagus spears – young, thin
1 tbsp. olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper
Wash and dry all of the asparagus. Gently snap the ends off. If
they are young and thin, they will naturally snap apart about one
inch from the bottom. Discard the bottoms. If the stems are larger,
cut off one inch from each and use a vegetable peeler to peel the
skin from the bottom two-thirds of the stems.
Lay the asparagus out on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Drizzle with olive oil and toss them around to evenly coat. Season
with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place the pan in a preheated 400 degree oven and roast for five
minutes. Take the pan out, turn the asparagus over and return to
the oven for another five minutes. Serves four.
Thyme and Onion Potatoes
3 lbs. new potatoes – washed and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 large yellow onion – peeled, cut in half and thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tbsp. Italian parsley – finely chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
Brush the bottom and sides of a large baking dish with olive oil.
Place a single layer of potato slices on the bottom of the baking
dish, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with the salt, pepper, thyme
and parsley and repeat. Keep layering until you've used everything
up – making sure the last layer is potatoes, brushed with olive
oil.
Cover the pan with foil and place in a 400 degree oven for one hour
(or until fork-tender). Remove the foil and continue cooking for
another 20-30 minutes, until a deep golden brown crust has formed.
Let cool for a few minutes and serve. Serves: six to eight.
Delicious desserts
It's that time of year again – when we're likely to spend hours
in the kitchen praying that our chiffon/sponge cakes don't collapse
as they cool after baking. Every time I visit a grocery store, I
make it a point to swing by the egg section to pick up a couple
of dozen. The cake meal and potato starch start flying and it's
always stressful.
This year, I've decided to keep the matzah meal to the minimum.
Instead, I thought I'd focus on recipes that use chocolate: a dark,
dense, flourless, orange-flavored chocolate cake; fresh, light and
crisp lemon meringue cookies sandwiched together with chocolate;
and gooey chocolate brownies for the kid in all of us!
Passover Chocolate Orange Flourless Cake with Fresh Berry Compote
Cake
1/2 cup margarine – room temperature
8 large eggs – separated
1 cup sugar – divided in half
pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. orange zest
3 tbsp. fresh orange juice
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
20 oz. semisweet chocolate – melted (3 cups chocolate chips)
Berry Compote
4 cups berries – strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry,
etc.
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. fresh orange juice
1 tsp. orange zest
For the cake: In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together
the margarine and 1/2 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add the
egg yolks and beat until combined. Add the salt, vanilla, orange
zest, juice and cocoa powder and mix. Carefully add the melted chocolate
and mix on medium until it's been incorporated with the rest of
the ingredients. Set aside.
Using a clean bowl and the whip attachment, whip the egg whites
on high until soft peaks form. Slowly add the sugar and continue
to whip on high until stiff peaks form.
Add one-third of the whites into the chocolate mix and fold together.
Continue with the rest of the whites in two more batches. The mixture
may look a little lumpy, but that's OK. Pour the batter into a nine-inch
spring form pan that's been prepared by lining the bottom with parchment
paper and greasing the sides.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, until a crust
has formed and the batter no longer jiggles when you shake it. Remove
from the oven and cool.
Carefully run a thin, sharp knife around the cake. Release the pan
and set the cake, on its base, onto a serving dish. Sprinkle the
top with icing sugar and serve with the berry compote.
For the compote: Wash and dry all of the berries very carefully.
If you're using strawberries, hull and slice the berries. Combine
the berries with the sugar, orange juice and zest. Cover and refrigerate
for at least one hour. Serves 12.
Lemon Chocolate Meringue Sandwiches
6 large egg whites
pinch salt
1 tsp. lemon extract
1/4 tsp. yellow food coloring
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 oz. semisweet chocolate – (about 1 cup chocolate chips)
Place the egg whites, salt, lemon extract and food coloring into
the bowl of an electric mixer. Use the whip attachments and whip
on high until soft peaks form. Slowly add the sugar to the eggs
while the machine is running. Continue to whip the meringue until
stiff, glossy peaks have formed.
Use a spatula to fill a pastry bag fitted with a large tip, or use
a freezer bag with one corner cut off. Pipe the meringue on a cookie
sheet lined with parchment paper. You can pipe the meringue in any
shape you like, but try to keep each cookie the same size. I like
to make these into logs, about 3/4-inch wide and 1 1/2-inch long.
Bake the meringues at 200 degrees for one hour. Remove from the
oven and cool. Melt the chocolate using a double boiler or in the
microwave. Use a small knife to coat the bottom of a meringue with
chocolate and then sandwich the chocolate with another meringue.
Place the sandwiches back on the cookie sheet and allow the chocolate
to set. Makes approximately 36 sandwiches.
Passover Brownies
1 cup cottonseed oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
5 oz. semisweet chocolate – melted
1 cup cake meal
5 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
This can be done with an electric mixer or a good wooden spoon and
a mixing bowl. Mix the oil and sugar together and then add the eggs,
vanilla and salt and mix together. Blend in the cocoa powder and
then incorporate the melted chocolate. When the chocolate has been
thoroughly incorporated, add the cake meal and stir until combined.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Grease a nine-inch-by-nine-inch baking pan and pour the batter into
it. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes, or
until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few, moist crumbs
on it. Remove from the oven and let it cool, if you can! Serves
12.
Pamela Reiss lives in Winnipeg and is the author of
Soup – A Kosher Collection.
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