More Delicious Passover Recipes

I found two great Passover recipes and… my mouth is already watering. Both come from the same site:

Here’s the first:

Chicken & Vegetable Croquettes

[Gebroks]
This is a recipe amended for Passover from the one printed in Food & Wine which originated from Ismael Prados, the chef at La Vinya del Senyor, a well-known tapas bar in Barcelona. Substitutions have been made for flour and bread products, and this recipe calls for coconut milk instead of regular milk, which does change the flavor, but also makes this dish kosher. During non-Passover times, it would also be possible to use unflavored soy milk instead of the coconut milk.

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 leek, white and lt. green parts only, cut into 1 inch lengths
1 carrot, cut into 1 in. chunks
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. Madras curry powder salt & freshly ground pepper
2 cups lite coconut milk
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cups matza cake meal, plus more for dusting
about 1 quart vegetable oil for deep frying
2 eggs
1 cup matza meal

Makes 35 croquettes.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375.

In a small roasting pan, toss the chicken thighs with the onion, leek, carrot & garlic. add the olive oil and 1 1/2 tsp. of the curry powder. Season with salt & pepper. Roast, turning once, until the chicken thighs are tender (about 35 minutes). Let cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, on med-low heat, bring the milk to a simmer with remaining curry powder. Remove from the heat and let cool.

In a food processor, pulse the chicken with the roasted vegetables until a puree forms, Season the puree generously with salt & pepper.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the cake meal and cook over a moderately low heat, stirring constantly until lightly browned. Stir in the chicken puree. Gradually add the coconut milk, little by little at first, and whisking constantly until it has all been added. coo over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is no longer sticky, about 15 minutes. Season with salt & pepper and let cool to room temperature, about an hour.

In a large saucepan, heat 1 1/2 inches of vegeable oil to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured (matza cake meal) surface, roll the croquette mixture into 3/4 inch ropes. Cut the ropes into 1 1/2 in. little pieces.

In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs. Spread the matza meal in another shallow bowl. Dip the croquttes in the egg, then coat with matza meal, Add the croquttes to the hot oil in bacthes, taking care not to crowd the pan, and fry until golden brown, about 1 minute. Transfer croquettes to paper towels to drain and serve piping hot.

Here’s the second recipe:

Stuffed Portabellini Mushrooms

[Gebroks]
Smaller versions of portobello mushrooms, portobellinis taste just as great and are the perfect size to use in this stuffed mushroom appetizer recipe. A great appetizer for a Passover seder dinner, this vegetarian recipe (vegan, actually) can also be used as a Thanksgiving dinner appetizer. You can substitute bread crumbs for the farfel when it’s not Passover. This also makes a great holiday party appetizer recipe as mushroom appetizers make good, easy to handle, finger food!

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup vegetable or no-chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup. balsamic vinegar
6 portobellini or portobello mushrooms
1 cup matzah farfel (use bread crumbs when not Passover)
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage (pineapple sage if you can get it)
1 tbsp. chopped fresh chives
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
cooking spray (olive oil if you can get it)

Makes 6 servings.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 3/4. c. broth, vinegar and garlic in a small bowl, let stand 15 minutes. Strain through a sieve over a small saucepan to reserve garlic. Bring vinegar mixture to a boil, and cook until reduced to 6 tbsp (about 6 minutes). Keep warm.

Remove the brown gills from the mushrooms using a spoon, and discard gills. De-stem the mushrooms, finely chop stems and set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over med high heat. Add farfel , cook for 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Stir in the reserved garlic, chopped mushroom stems, chives, sage, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in 1/2 c. broth. Keep warm.

Place the mushroom caps, stem sides up, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until tender. divide farfel mixtured evenly among mushroom caps and drizzle 1 tbsp of vinegar mixture over each serving. Garnish with sage leaves, if desired.

Enjoy!

CS

Delicious Passover Recipes

Chef Laura Frankel’s blog features a few simply delicious, healthy recipes for Passover and the rest of the year:

Chef Laura at the Green Market

Chocolate Mousse with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

[non-gebroks]
Passover used to mean a hiatus from good chocolate. Recently there have been several new companies that have introduced kosher for Passover high end chocolate.

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (must be at least 70% cacao)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup brewed coffee
4 eggs separated
2/3 cup powdered sugar (kosher for Passover)
1/3 cup brewed coffee
1 vanilla bean scraped

1. Melt the chocolate and cool to room temperature. Mix in the olive oil and coffee and set aside.
2. Combine the yolks and powdered sugar and whisk until foamy, add the chocolate mixture.
3. Beat the whites to stiff peaks; fold the whites into the chocolate.
4. Pour into a 9-ich cake pan or loaf pan lined with plastic wrap and chill 8 hours or freeze for 3 hours. Unmold onto a serving plate and slice.

For a variation I like to sprinkle coarse sea salt onto the top of the mousse. The sea salt brings out the fruitiness of the olive oil and the chocolate.

Poached Halibut in Olive Oil

[non-gebroks]
I remember the first time I watched a chef/friend poach fish in olive oil. It was one of those moments when the light bulb goes off! The fish cooks through with a gentle heat transfer and gains the delicate olive oil flavor. The fish is moist and really luscious! Enjoy the fish hot or cold.

4 cups olive oil
4 6-ounce halibut filets-skinned and boned
1 whole head of garlic cut in half
6 thyme sprigs
1 rosemary sprig

Preheat oven to 275.
1. Place the olive oil into a large oven proof dish. Cover the fish with olive oil ¾ of the way. Add the garlic and herbs. Cover the fish directly with a piece of parchment paper.
2. Poach the fish until firm and completely translucent (about 15 minutes). Gently remove the fish and discard the garlic and herbs. Strain the oil and refrigerate covered. The oil can be used to poach fish again and will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Parsley sauce with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

[non-gebroks]
2 large bunches of flat leaf parsley, leaves trimmed off (reserve the stems for stock making)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Place a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Lightly coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Sear the parsley for about 2 minutes until it is bright green and slightly wilted.
2. Place the parsley and extra virgin olive oil in a blender and process until the sauce has a smooth consistency. Salt and pepper to taste

Chef Laura, who authored Jewish Cooking For All Seasons and Jewish Slow Cooker Recipes, is known for the health consciousness reflected in her recipes. As she puts it, in her blog:

When cooking for Passover and for every meal, I recommend whole, natural ingredients. I never go to the dark side of cooking with products that are loaded with laboratory made ingredients and faux flavors or colors. For this holiday and everyday-let’s keep it real.

I’ve tasted some of the recipes in Chef Laura’s books, I’ve eaten at Shallots when it was open in New York; I can assure you they are all excellent!

CS

RELATED POSTS

Purim Recipes