THE NEW PASSOVER MENU
Paula Shoyer Michael Bennett Kress
Sterling Publishing
February 2015
$24.95/hardcover
ISBN: 978-1454914402
Paula Shoyer is the author of The Kosher Baker: Over 160 Dairy-Free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy (Brandeis) and The Holiday Kosher Baker: Traditional & Contemporary Holiday Desserts (Sterling). A former practicing attorney, Paula graduated from the Ritz Escoffier pastry program in Paris in 1996 and teaches cooking and baking classes in French pastry and Jewish cooking in the Washington, DC area and does demonstrations all around the world. She serves as a consultant to several kosher bakeries. Paula has appeared on Food Network’s Sweet Genius and Martha Stewart Living Radio, and is a frequent TV news guest. She writes for the Washington Post and several websites, including kosherscoop.com, as well as magazines such as Whisk, Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller, and Hadassah Magazine. Paula develops dessert recipes that are dairy-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, and vegan. She lives in Chevy Chase, MD, with her husband and four children. You can find Paula at thekosherbaker.com.
Passover celebrates freedom—and Paula Shoyer’s innovative Passover collection celebrates culinary freedom, while still honoring the holiday’s dietary rules. THE NEW PASSOVER MENU consists of 65 recipes will set you free, combining the nostalgic pleasure of family favorites with contemporary creations. Covering both seders and all eight days of the holiday, Shoyer redefines Passover dining with an updated and global menu that includes Banana Charoset, Peruvian Roast Chicken with Salsa Verde, Moroccan Spiced Short Ribs, Sweet Potato Tzimmis, and much more. And don’t forget the desserts (many gluten-free) that are Shoyer’s specialty, including Opera Cake and Pear Frangipane Tarts. Use the eight full menus as is—or mix and match!
Lamb Stew with Apricots, Pear, and Mint
Serves 8
Moti Yitzhaky was an auto mechanic before he opened Moti’s Market and Grill in Rockville, Maryland, which now provides our community with a full-service kosher butcher, baker, and grocery store, all in one. He applies the same precision from his former career to recipe development and has created flavorful food inspired by his Moroccan ancestry and beyond. Moti gave me a recipe that was the inspiration for this one, a hearty stew brightened up for spring with fresh pear and mint.
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil, divided
3 pounds boneless lamb, cut into 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) pieces
2 medium onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh orange juice (from 1 orange)
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon honey
2 cups (480 ml) beef, chicken, or vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 ounces (170 g) dried apricots
1/2 cup (45 g) sliced almonds, toasted
1 large pear, not peeled, cut into 2-inch (5-cm) cubes
1/4 cup (15 g) chopped fresh mint leaves
In a large wide saucepan or dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the lamb pieces in batches and cook, using tongs to turn the pieces, until well browned on all sides. Do not crowd the pan. Remove the browned pieces to a large bowl. Add the onions and garlic to the saucepan plus the other tablespoon of oil and cook, scraping the bottom of the saucepan to avoid sticking, for 5 minutes, until the onions are browned. If the onions start to burn, turn the heat down to medium.
Add the lemon zest, orange juice, cinnamon stick, honey, and broth to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return the lamb pieces to the saucepan, cover, and cook on low heat for 1 1/2 hours.
Add the apricots, almonds, and pear cubes to the pan, stir, and cook for another 40 minutes. Add the mint, stir, and serve.
Linzer Tart
Serves 8-12
This recipe may be the reason you buy a rolling pin for Passover, which you can also use for the shortbread cookies on page 96 or the pear tart on page 109. In a pinch, a wine bottle works very well. You can make this dessert with any flavor jam you like. Sometimes I spread a red jam on half the crust and apricot jam on the other half. I use a pastry cutter, a small fluted wheel on a handle, to cut the dough strips to achieve a ridged look, but you can use a knife instead. The crust requires 3 cups of three different kinds of ground nuts; if you do not have enough of one type, you can substitute another.
1/2 cup (1 stick; 113 g) margarine
1 1/2 cups (180 g) ground almonds
1 cup (120 g) ground walnuts
1/2 cup (55 g) ground hazelnuts (with or without skins)
1/2 cup (80 g) potato starch
1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons for sprinkling on top
1/2 cup (60 g) confectioners’ sugar, plus extra for dusting
1 cup (240 ml) raspberry, apricot, or your favorite jam
1 large egg white, beaten, for glazing
To make the crust:
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat the margarine until soft, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula once or twice. Add the ground almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts along with the potato starch and granulated sugar and mix. Separate a little more than half the dough and put it into your tart or pie pan. Leave the remaining dough in the bowl.
Use your hands to press the dough into the bottom of the pan to cover it and create a 1/3-inch-thick (8-mm) crust on the sides. I find it easiest to press the dough with my fingers into the sides and corners of the pan first and then press the palm of my hand into the bottom of the pan to help cover it with dough. Take a little extra dough from the bowl if needed to cover the bottom. Place the pan in the freezer.
Add the confectioners’ sugar to the smaller piece of dough in the bowl and mix it in; the easiest way is to use your hands. Shape the dough into a ball and flatten it. Do not worry if the dough is crumbly. Wrap the dough in plastic and place it in the freezer for 45 minutes.
To make the tart:
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Remove the tart pan from the freezer and place it on top of a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the crust just starts to color.
Remove the pan from the oven, slide the parchment and tart pan off the cookie sheet, and let it cool for 5 minutes, or until the dough in the freezer is ready to be rolled out.
Sprinkle a piece of parchment paper with some confectioners’ sugar. Place the dough on top of the paper, sprinkle with more sugar, and cover it with another piece of parchment paper. With a rolling pin, roll the parchment-covered dough into a 1/3-inch-thick (8-mm) rectangle. Use a knife or pastry wheel to cut the dough into eight 1-inch (2.5-cm) strips. Slide the parchment onto a cookie sheet and freeze the strips for 10 minutes.
Use a silicone spatula to spread the jam evenly over the bottom of the crust.
Remove the dough strips from the freezer and use a long metal spatula or large knife to lift and place the strips across the top of the jam-filled crust to create a lattice. Do not try to bend the strips back to make a perfect over-and-under lattice. Instead, place half the strips in one direction, an inch apart, and then lay the others across them in the other direction. Trim the ends of the dough and press them into the border of the bottom crust. Brush the strips with the beaten egg white and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the jam is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.
These recipes may be reproduced with the following credit:
Recipes from THE NEW PASSOVER MENU by Paula Shoyer. (Sterling Publishing; February 2015; $24.95/hardcover; ISBN; 978-1454914402). http://www.sterlingpublishing.com/
Contact: Blanca Oliviery
646-688-2548
BOliviery@sterlingpublishing.com