pesach recipes – Busy in Brooklyn

This might seem hard to believe considering that I run a food blog, give cooking class, develop recipes for brands and raise my brood of five, but the truth is, I’m pretty unorganized. Especially when it comes to dinner. I don’t have a monthly eating plan, let alone a weekly one. I pretty much look into the fridge and freezer in the morning and decide what to make. If there aren’t really options, I go to the store. And that happens more often than I’d like to admit. Until recently.

I might not be the type of person to plan my menus in advance, but I finally realized that just because I don’t plan exactly what I’m making, it doesn’t mean that I can’t create a framework to help me narrow down the choices. A lot of mom’s get overwhelmed by the thought of making dinner, but that’s because there are a gazillion things you can make, so it’s just so hard to choose. Should you make meat or chicken? What type of meat or chicken? What about side dishes? And picky kids? I get it, believe me I do. And I FINALLY figured it out.

For starters, I created a basic guideline for the week, and it goes something like this:

Leftover Sunday: leftovers! If there are none, BBQ or eat out.
Meatless Monday: vegan or vegetarian dishes.
Beef (Taco) Tuesday: easy beef tacos or any beef recipe.
Chicken Wednesday: any recipe using boneless or bone-in chicken.
Dairy Thursday: the kids favorite day of the week!
Friday: Shabbat Dinner (always changing but I repeat a few basic staples)
Sandwich Saturday: kids choice of sandwiches or wraps

This general guideline helped me narrow down the choices so that instead of there being a gazillion ideas to choose from, I stick to a specific structure for each day. Of course nothing is set in stone, so if we decide to take the kids out to eat on Sunday, we’ll have leftovers on Monday, or if I make a vegetarian taco skillet (we love Trader Joes soy beef crumbles) on Monday, I’ll switch up chicken Wednesdays with taco Tuesdays. The point is to balance out the days so you have enough variety without being overwhelmed with options.

To narrow things down further, here are some options for each day to give you some ideas. Obviously this is based on what my kids like (they are not big on vegetables!), but I always try to serve a protein, carb and veggie. Many times that veggie is Israeli salad, because that’s their favorite, but I always put some veggies on the table, even if it’s just my hubby and I who end up eating it.

As a food blogger and recipe developer, I’m constantly working on new recipes which I feed to my family. You can follow my stories on Instagram for lots of exciting ideas.

MEATLESS MONDAYS:

Make your own sushi, sushi rice bowls, sushi burritos or sushi salad. Baked salmon, seared tuna or ceviche on the side.
fish tacos
fried fish sandwiches
tuna pasta salad or salmon pasta salad and fruit smoothies
vegan taco skillet
falafel with all the fixings
soup and salad
tofu stir fry with pasta
lentil sloppy joes
chickpea curry
vegetarian chili with cornbread

BEEF (TACO) TUESDAYS:

beef tacos (with Ortega seasoning packet or my homemade mix)
beef fajitas
beef noodle stir fry
pepper steak in plum sauce
Mongolian beef (recipe coming soon)
meaty soup with fresh pita or baguettes (Bubby’s cabbage soup, smoked turkey split pea, fire roasted tomato rice stoup, crockpot mushroom barley soup)
london broil and mashed potatoes
meatballs and rice
spaghetti sloppy joes and zoodle bolognese for adults
kofta kebabs
pulled beef tacos or sandwiches

CHICKEN WEDNESDAYS:

pineapple chicken and rice
spicy garlic chicken and rice vermicelli
breaded honey chicken with Israeli couscous
grilled chicken shawarma bar
Pad Thai
chicken fajitas
pargiot bowls
shnitzel salad or sandwiches
bundt pan rotisserie chicken with roasted potatoes
Asian chicken soup with ramen

DAIRY THURSDAYS: (usually served with fruit smoothies and/or Caesar salad)

lasagna
baked ziti
breakfast for dinner (pancakes, french toast or waffles with yogurt, granola and fruit)
ravioli in pink sauce
cheesy minestrone
stuffed shells
cheesy pull apart buns
pita pizza

FRIDAY NIGHT STAPLES (SHABBAT DINNER):
Shabbat dinner changes weekly, depending on guests etc., but here are some weekly staples

baked gefilte fish with breadcrumbs or fried patties
Israeli salad
hummus and tahini
chicken soup (or spinach matza ball minestrone, or Asian chicken soup)
bundt pan rotisserie chicken (our favorite basic, but we often change this up)
deli roll

SANDWICH SATURDAYS:

tuna sandwiches
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
turkey sandwiches
hummus sandwiches
mayo and tomato sandwiches
cream cheese sandwiches
grilled cheese sandwiches
quesadillas

I hope this basic guideline helps you manage your dinner schedule, and I plan to fill in the links that are missing as I post them! Feel free to write up your own favorite options for each day of the week, to make things easier for you. If you have any kid-friendly recipes that are a staple in your family, please share in the comments so we can add it our rotation too!

This bolognese recipe is a staple in my house, because I can serve the kids their kid-friendly version with spaghetti sloppy joes, and serve my husband the lightened up version with zoodles. I eat a bit of both! ;) The zoodle version makes the perfect Chol Hamoed dinner for Pesach, so make sure to add it to your menu!

Bolognese

1 small onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Sauté onion and garlic in oil until translucent. Add ground beef and
cook until browned. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and spices.
Simmer until thickened. Serve over zoodles.

VARIATION: for a quick and easy bolognese, see the recipe below.

Zoodles

1 large zucchini
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
Special Equipment: julienne peeler or spiralizer

Method:

Using a julienne peeler, peel the zucchini all around until you reach
the center where the seeds are. Save that for soup. If using a spiralizer,
cut the large zucchini into 3 and working one piece at a time, spiralize to create noodles.

Heat oil in a wok or large skillet and saute the zoodles over high heat for 1-2 minutes,
until tender-crisp. Season with salt and pepper.

NOTE: zoodles tend to get watery fairly quickly so it is best to saute them
right before serving.

Spaghetti Sloppy Joes

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
1 jar marinara sauce
1 box spaghetti or linguini
baked beans and/or corn on the cob

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and cook the beef until crumbly and browned. Add the marinara sauce and bring to a simmer.

Cook the spaghetti (or pasta of your choice) according to package directions. Drain. Mix with bolognese sauce and serve with baked beans and/or corn on the cob.

#eatingfortheinsta!

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Charoset London Broil

On April 14, 2016April 19, 2016

by chanie

in Lunch, Meat & Poultry, Passover, Recipes

9 Comments

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that I recently spent a couple of days in Miami. Aside from my (almost) daily breakfast at Zak the Baker, I made sure to head to Sarah’s Tent, a kosher grocery in Aventura. Sarah’s Tent is a well stocked market with a great deli, but that’s not what I went for. I went for the Israeli imports, specifically, kosher Lotus Biscoff spread, also known as speculoos or cookie butter.

If you fly Delta, you may notice that they give out individually wrapped biscuit cookies made by Lotus, but sadly, I always pass on them and go for the kosher pretzels. El Al, however, offers up the Israeli-manufactured version of the biscuit, which is, in fact, kosher. I went through my kosher speculoos phase a little while back when my local kosher supermarket carried the biscuits (which I turned into these buns, these pancakes and this party mix), but I’ve since moved on to the spread – which is the most decadent cookie butter of your dreams – and is pretty hard to get your hands on with a kosher certification. I once made my husband travel all around Jerusalem to bring me home a prized jar, and I savored that butter like no ones business, one spoon at a time!

BUT – back to the recipe at hand. As I was strolling through the aisles of Sarah’s Tent, I noticed a jar of Israeli-made charoset and I was intrigued. As an Ashkenazi, I had never tasted the “real” stuff, made with dates, apples, walnuts and wine. I brought home a jar and sadly, I was quite disappointed with the flavor. It was sitting in my fridge last week as I rummaged through, looking for ingredients to make my london broil – and then it hit me. Why not marinate my meat in it, with some red wine, and make a Charoset london broil. Alas, the beef came out of the oven smelling divine, but I did not like the flavor. Putting a condiment that I did not like on it’s own on beef, only made the beef taste like the jarred stuff – and well, it was just off. But the idea was a strike of genius! I had posted a photo of the meat on Instagram (if you don’t follow my Friday food fests, you must!), and requests for the recipe started pouring in! So, I decided to come up with a homemade variation on the Charoset London Broil idea, and the results couldn’t have been better!

The meat marinates in a mixture of traditional charoset ingredients of red wine, walnut oil (in place of walnuts), silan or date honey (in place of dates), some grated apple and a pinch of cinnamon. After I cook up the meat perfectly medium-rare, the marinade gets cooked up thickened and tastes just like – you guessed it – charoset! This delicious Passover dish is a must, whether your Sephardic or Ashkenazi (like me!). Give it a try!

Charoset London Broil

1 1/2-2 lb. london broil, shoulder blade cut (see note)
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup walnut oil
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp silan (date honey), divided
1 apple, grated (I used Granny Smith)
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp coarse black pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

In a ziploc bag, combine the wine, oil, 1/4 cup silan, grated apple, cinnamon and black pepper. Add the london broil and marinate for 3-6 hours. Remove from the marinade (try to get off as much of the grated apple as possible) and reserve.

Season the london broil with salt and pepper on both sides and broil on high for 8 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the second side (for medium rare). Rest for 10 minutes and slice thinly against the grain.

Pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan, add a tbsp of silan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until thickened.

NOTE: London Broil is not an actual cut a beef, but rather a cooking method. The method is to marinate the beef and grill or broil over high heat. Since london broil can be cut from different parts of the animal, I prefer the butcher cut, which is cut from the shoulder blade. If you use a different cut, cooking results may vary.

VARIATION: For a smoother charoset sauce, puree the sauce until smooth (after cooking).

SUBSTITUTIONS: If you can’t find silan, you may use honey instead. You may also use grapeseed oil (or any lightly flavored oil) instead of walnut oil.

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Apple Crisp with Gluten-Free Marzipan Crumble

On April 6, 2016April 14, 2016

by chanie

in Dessert, Fruit, Passover, Recipes, Side Dish

8 Comments

This right here has been on my mind since forever. An apple crisp with marzipan just seems like the perfect combo, so I finally decided to make it gluten free!

The smell of marzipan transports me to the kosher-for-Passover bakery aisle, with rainbow cake, leaf cookies and all sorts of gluten-free treats that smell of almond extract. The truth is, I used to hate the stuff, but like many foods, it’s grown on me over the years and now I actually like it! My husband is a huge fan (hence this birthday cake!) and my kids have hopped on the marzipan train too (which is why I came up with these).

I’ve got a huge stash of marzipan inspired recipes on my to-do list, but I have to admit, it’s not one of those ingredients that everyone loves, which is why I don’t like to blog about it too much. It’s really one of those love it or hate it ingredients (like halva!), and I kinda like my recipes to appeal to everyone. But since marzipan, for me, is so reminiscent of Passover, I figured I’d just bite the bullet, or, er, the marzipan.

Making your own marzipan is a breeze, by the way, and since all the ingredients are kosher for Passover, you can whip up a double batch and use it in so many ways! My only caveat here is that I used pure almond extract to test the recipe and I’m not 100% sure that it’s available kosher for Passover. I know the imitation stuff is, so you can use that. Just take caution since it might have a stronger flavor.

The absolute best part about this recipe, is that the crumble can be made on it’s own, and it makes the most fantastic Kosher-for-Passover non-gebroks topping for ice cream, yogurt and fruit. It’s even great on it’s own as a brittle-style snack!

Apple Crisp with Gluten Free Marzipan Crumble

6 apples (2 1/4 lbs.), peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

For Marzipan:
3/4 cup almond meal (see note)
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp almond extract
pinch of sea salt

For crumble:
prepared marzipan (makes about 3/4 cup)
1 cup potato starch
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup sliced almonds
kosher salt, to taste
cinnamon, to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 35o degrees.

To prepare the marzipan, place the almond meal, powdered sugar and sea salt in a food processor with the S blade attached and blend until incorporated. Add the water and almond extract and continue to blend until a dough forms and pulls away from the side of the bowl. Add the potato starch, sugar, almond extract, oil and salt and pulse until ingredients are incorporated, but still lumpy (you don’t want to lose the texture of the marzipan). Add the sliced almonds.

Mix chopped apples with cinnamon and sugar and pack into individual ramekins or a baking dish.

Spread the crumble over the apples, sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for 30-35 minutes for individual ramekins or 45 minutes – 1 hour for a larger crisp.

YIELD: one large crisp or approximately 10 individual ramekins.

NOTE: to make your own almond meal, pulse blanched almonds (slivered or sliced work well) in the food processor until it reaches a mealy consistency. Be careful not to overprocess or it will turn to butter.

VARIATION: feel free to mix in berries or other fruits and adjust sweetness as desired.

MARZIPAN CRISP TOPPING OPTION: to make the marzipan crisp on it’s own (great for topping ice cream, yogurt or any dessert), prepare the topping as above, sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired, and spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until crisp and golden, about 25 minutes. Cool completely and break apart into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

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Parmesan Roasted Almonds

On March 30, 2016January 3, 2017

by chanie

in Dairy, Passover, Recipes, Snacks

14 Comments

Somebody pinch me. Is Pesach really in less than a month? Ahhhhhhhhh

That’s not to say I’m making Pesach this year, because I plan to avoid that catastrophic monster of a gluten free cookfest for as long as I can. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind helping in the kitchen at all, in fact, I enjoy coming up with original dishes as a result of our strict Passover restrictions. But the thought of actually hosting meal after meal for eight days straight is not exactly appealing to me.

So, I’ll be helping out in my mom’s kitchen this year. And I plan to do a lot of spiralizing. We’ll be eating plenty of zoodles and sweet potato rice – a healthier alternative to the overused spud.

Meals are not that much of an issue – we always have my mom’s Passover gefilte fish, mason jars filled with pickled cucumber salad, beet “vinaigrette”, ratatouille and mock chopped liver. There are also the traditional Pesach dishes like scrambled hard boiled eggs, orange chicken and sweet nut omelettes. But snacks? other than bananas and the occasional piece of dark chocolate, we’re out of options.

Last year, I made these sugared almonds, but as my palate has taken a turn for the savory, I came up with an even tastier version, minus the sugar. Parmesan roasted almonds are completely addictive, and they make the most amazing croutons over lettuce! If you make your own mayo, a Passover Caesar salad can now be on the menu, without losing out on the crunchy crouton goodness.

Making these croutons the other day was an admission that Pesach is coming, whether we like it or not. But it was also a realization that it can be oh. so. delicious.

More fun and innovative Passover recipes recipes are coming your way soon, so stay tuned!

Parmesan Roasted Almonds

2 cups unsalted almonds (.75 lb)
1 egg white
1/2 cup Natural & Kosher Cheese grated parmesan
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix the parmesan cheese with the spices. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy, add the nuts and stir until coated. Sprinkle the parmesan mixture over the nuts and mix until coated. Arrange the nuts in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and fragrant. Cool for at least 1 hour.

Remove the nuts from the baking sheet. Break into bite- sized pieces and store in an airtight container.

This post was sponsored by Natural & Kosher Cheese. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, or via their Blog

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Scrambled Hard-Boiled Eggs

On April 17, 2014July 8, 2014

by chanie

in Appetizer, Breakfast, Brunch, Paleo, Passover, Recipes, Whole30

3 Comments

They say necessity is the mother of invention and I guess that’s how this recipe came to be. I mean, you can’t say you’ve really tried every type of egg dish over Passover until you’ve tried scrambled hard-boiled eggs, right?

My mother has been making these on Passover for as long as I can remember. She learned to make them from my grandmother, who learned to make them from her mother. I’m not sure if this is a traditional Hungarian dish, or if my great-grandmother invented it. I imagine there wasn’t much else to eat back in Europe besides for eggs and potatoes, with a little chicken or meat on the side, if they were lucky. So creativity with eggs and potatoes was a must. How else can you explain adding hard boiled eggs to runny scrambled ones?

Eggs on eggs might sound kind of weird. Ok, it does sound really weird, but trust me when I tell you that these scrambled hard-boiled eggs are incredibly delicous. Adding hard-boiled eggs to the scrambled ones make this dish substantial enough to serve for lunch, with a side of salad or matza and cheese.

Scrambled hard-boiled eggs is just one of the interesting recipes my family whips up with eggs over Pesach. There’s also our sweet nut omelette that we’d whip up for breakfast and the mock chopped liver that begins with some deeply caramelized onions.

Aside from eggs and potatoes, sauteed onions are the other quintessential Passover ingredient. Since we don’t use spices or processed ingredients over the holiday, sauteed onions are a crucial base for adding flavor to every dish. These scrambled hard-boiled eggs are no exception.

Scrambled Hard-Boiled Eggs

2 tbsp oil or shmaltz
1 small onion, thinly sliced into half rings
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and mashed
4 raw eggs
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Saute the onions in oil until deeply golden and caramelized. Add the mashed eggs and saute for 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. whisk the raw eggs and season with salt and pepper, Pour over the cooked eggs mixture and stir until scrambled but still slightly wet (but not runny). Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 -5 servings

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Busy in Brooklyn

Tag: pesach recipes