The need for pickled onions entered my life 20 years ago while on the first date with my husband. Before going to a movie screening that was disappointing and forgettable, we had a light bite and conversation that was satisfying and memorable. We sat in El Pelón Taqueria “The Bald One” in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood and shared a grilled chicken torta, a tasty Mexican sandwich. The bun was spread with spicy mayonnaise and guacamole to keep the chicken moist. The wow-factor came from the bling of flavor and texture from slivered pickled red onions nestled beneath that bun.  

Today I’m still with that guy and I sometimes make us a batch of pickled onions for our kitchen condiments.

Pickled onions are sensational to look at and to eat. Wherever you ordinarily use sliced raw onions is a candidate for this condiment. They offer dimension to grilled proteins (think tofu, chicken, hot dogs, steak, etc.); they enliven quesadillas and charcuterie sandwiches; they dazzle on tuna fish, egg salads, nova lox bagels; they can be minced into vinaigrettes or tossed scantily into salads. Use red onions and the pickles will develop a pleasant shade of pink after the first day.

Here, I offer you two versions of pickled onions because I like them both and can’t choose a favorite.  Make either version. Let us know if you used a different combination of spices, and what dishes you celebrated with the condiment.

Prepare these up to 3 days ahead of when you want to use them. The flavors meld the longer they sit. Store them in the refrigerator in tightly sealed jars and they will keep for 2-3 weeks.  

EQUIPMENT:

1 quart-sized mason jar, or 2 smaller pint jars, all with lids. Alternatively–as pictured above–a washed and reused empty tomato sauce jar and its original lid; this was a 1lb. sauce jar. Waste not, want not in your homestead!

Saucepan

VERSION 1: WICKED ZESTY

This one packs a punch with strong acidity. It has a bossy flavor profile that is well-suited for enlivening otherwise plain items like a basic grilled chicken breast or a bowl of rice and beans.

• 1 large red onion, peeled, halved through the root end then very thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed then minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

Put the sliced onions in the jar(s). In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, black pepper, cumin, oregano, garlic, bay leaf and salt. Boil this for two minutes, then pour the mixture over the onions. Cover and chill jar in the refrigerator. Serve the next day.

VERSION 2: MELLOW LIME

This version has a simple flavor profile. The raw flavors of onion–and garlic, if used–get mellowed out by the citrus juice.

• 1 large red onion, peeled, halved through the root end then very thinly sliced
• ½ cup of lime juice. Fresh squeezed will provide the brightest flavor, but bottled juice is OK, as long as it’s well-shaken before pouring
• ¼ cup of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp sumac, or Za’atar, or black pepper & zest of a lemon
• minced garlic clove–optional

If using garlic, the first step is to combine it with the lime juice in a bowl, allowing a 5-minute steep. If no garlic is being included, the next step is your first step. Combine the onions and salt with the lime juice. Let it steep for 20 minutes. Add the cilantro and sumac and toss well. Pour the mixture into a jar, cover it, and chill in the refrigerator. Prepare this up to 3 days before serving.

Bialy

Pronounced “bee-AL-eeh,” in Yiddish: ביאלי‎, is a Yiddish word short for bialystoker kuchen (ביאליסטאקער קוכען‎), which originates from the city of Białystok in Poland. These are yeasted, individually-portioned rolls that are a traditional dish in Polish Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. At first glance, you might think a bialy is just another bagel. But you would be very wrong.

Bialy is an eggless flatbread roll made from gluten flour and baked without pre-boiling. Consider it a cousin to the bagel, which contains malt, is boiled before baking, and is formed with a hole in its center. Bialys keep their middles. In fact, their belly-buttons are dolloped with savory morsels like chopped caramelized onions, garlic, and poppy seeds.

Bialys satisfy a primal craving for savory carbs. You can eat them plainly, fresh off the cooling rack. You can top them with lox and cream cheese. You can toast them with butter. Bialys can be enjoyed for breakfast or lunch sandwiches (although I’ve rarely sliced them for a sandwich: it can be done). They are a small pleasurable creature comfort.

Unlike the hole you expect on a bagel, a bialy has a central indentation that gets filled with savory morsels of caramelized onions and poppyseeds [if you have them]. The dough is yeasted but does not use eggs.  If you use vegetable oil instead of butter, a bialy is perfectly vegan and parve. I know plenty of people who like that because of kosher dietary restrictions and food allergies.

The preparation of bialy dough is easy and eating them fresh in your kitchen is quite wonderful.  If you have the supplies, double the recipe (you needn’t double the yeast because that only makes the fermentation go faster), and after cooling them off, put half the batch in the freezer in a sealed freezer bag, where they keep well. After 2 days on the counter (if your eaters haven’t swallowed them already), they begin to go stale. Toasting them will crisp up their outer crust and warm up the incredible flavorful bits in the center.  If you don’t have a bakery to support, and you are hankering for carbs, this is the recipe for you.

I grew up eating bialys. Contrary to what I have read on other food blogs, bialys have indeed been available outside NYC, wherever Polish Jews have been baking traditional bread. My family bought them from kosher bakeries and delis North of Boston. One particular venue on Route 1 North, near Malden where my parents grew up, was where dad scored our bialys. I remember sitting in the backseat of the family car, reading a book in my own world while dad disappeared into the shop. When he returned to the car, the aroma of the onion bialys would fill the cabin. He would let me eat one right then. Mmm. That’s a pleasant memory.

If you live away from a center of Ashkenazi Jewish culture, you may be hard-pressed to find a fresh bialy.  Yes, good bagel shops ought to make them. They should offer bialys as special orders if they don’t prepare them on the regular. I’m in Albuquerque. Before the pandemic, I drove outside my city limits to Rio Rancho where I found a decent bagel deli that can make bialys.  But in these Stay-At-Home times, there is a revival in home baking going on. Frankly, you may want to make bialys in your very own kitchen.

When I prepared the batch pictured above, my second oldest child was immediately hooked.  His favorite method of eating bialys was to nibble around the center and save the onions for a final mouthwatering bite. I am partial to eating around the center, taking small bites of the onions with each mouthful. Really, what a simple pleasure no matter how you enjoy them.

INGREDIENTS

BIALY ROLLS

2 cups/250 ml–warm water (up to 115F/46C)

2 1/4 teaspoons/11 ml–active dry yeast*

2 tsp / 4.9 ml–granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons/11 ml–salt

1 3/4 cups  /219g–bread flour**

3 1/2 cups / 438 g–AP flour

*These could be made using sourdough starter if you have sourdough discard ready to go. It would require one extra day, in advance of baking, for the leavening stage. I have been using my discard for baking crumpets and challah. If you prepare with a sourdough starter, share your tips in the comments below!

**Use what you can procure: if you don’t have bread flour, use all AP, and don’t sweat it!  Also, if you substitute wheat flour for bread flour or some AP flour, you’ll need to hydrate the dough more (add more water) because whole-grain flour is thirstier by nature and it’s also less elastic. In the comments below, let us know your alternative proportions and how the final product came out!

BIALY TOPPINGS

1 T olive oil

1/3 cup minced onion

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds**

2 tsp minced garlic**

**Onions are non-negotiable, but these additional morsels can be omitted if you don’t like their strong flavors, or can’t procure them.

INSTRUCTIONS

PAN PREP: Set up two half-sheet baking pans: line them with parchment paper.

TOPPING PREP: Saute the minced onions and salt with the oil (and whatever other toppings you decide to use) in a skillet.  Carmelize them slowly. Use Medium heat until a rich dark color sets in; be careful not to burn or scorch them. Set the mixture aside to cool. When you bake the rolls, the fillings will continue to cook and the onions will deepen in color and flavor.

DOUGH PREP: In a large bowl, combine 1/2 of the water, all the yeast, and the sugar. Stir to combine. Let stand for 10 minutes or until the mixture is foamy. Depending on the kitchen warmth this can go faster or take longer. Just keep your eyes on it. The reason you want warm–not hot–water is so you don’t accidentally kill off the precious yeast.

Add the remaining water, salt, and flour. Knead the mixture by hand (old school) or use a stand mixer with a dough hook until the dough becomes smooth. It can take anywhere from 8-10 minutes. It’s a soft dough. Depending on the humidity of your kitchen and the flours being used, you may need to add warm water if the dough is too shaggy and dry. If it’s too moist, add more flour. Whichever is your issue, just add one tablespoon at a time to reach a soft consistency. Form your ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, turning all sides of the dough so it’s glistening. You don’t want a crust to form on the dough over while it’s resting: cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and then cover that layer with a tea towel.

Rise one: let the dough rise until it is tripled in bulk. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, this can take 1-3 hours.

Rise two: punch down the dough inside its bowl, turn it over and recover with plastic and towel. It will double in bulk after 45 minutes-1 hour.

[HELPFUL KITCHEN HACK FOR THOSE WITH COLD, OR DRY KITCHENS: fill a saucepan midway with water and bring it to a boil. Move your bottom oven rack shelf to the lowest position and place the saucepan of water, uncovered, on that lowest shelf. The second oven rack shelf should go above in the oven’s center. Place the bowl of rising dough on the centered rack. There should be room for the bowl and risen dough. Close the oven door. Steam from the hot water will bring up the oven’s internal temperature, and that will promote a great rise. I live at high-altitude in a dry high-desert. I use this method almost every time I bake bread. Alternatively, you can let your dough rise in the fridge overnight. I don’t do this. With a family of 5, it’s near impossible to give up fridge shelf real-estate.  You do you.]

On a floured counter or large cutting board, empty out the dough and punch it down. Roll it into a log and then use a bench scraper or sharp knife to divide the dough into 8 same-sized portions; start in the middle and make subsequent cuts in the middle of each cut piece.  Shape each portion into a circle and lay each, evenly spaced, on the baking tray. They should be approximately 3-4 inches in diameter.  Cover them with plastic wrap and put them back into the warm humid oven for another 30 minutes so they rise in bulk by half.

Remove them from the oven, and use two fingers to make an indentation–a belly button–from the center outward leaving a rim of 1 inch. Place a dollop of 1 tsp of the topping in each navel. Cover the rolls again, leaving the sheets on the kitchen counter for the final proofing. When the dough puffs up, the bialy navels will get surrounded without becoming completely covered over.

Meanwhile, remove the saucepan of water from the oven. Move the center rack to the top-most shelf spot. Preheat the oven to 425F/218C.

Bake each sheet pan for 6-7 minutes then reverse their shelf and rack positions for another 6 minutes. The outside of each bialy should be lightly browned. Don’t overbake them because they will become too dry. Remove from the oven, put on the wire cooling rack until fully cooled. Place the bialys inside a sealed container or plastic bag.  As I mentioned before, double the batch and put half in the freezer, inside a tightly sealed bag. These are enjoyed lightly toasted. They can be stored in the freezer and removed onesie-twosie. When they’re gone, you will want to make another batch!

Hard-boiled eggs have a certain place in my refrigerator because they’re a perfect snack for grazers. With everyone hanging around the house–quarantining–I thought to jazz up some eggs. That’s where this recipe came from.

Originally, I had wanted pink pickled eggs like my grandmother would’ve made in her kitchen. But in this “use what you have” kitchen moment, I didn’t have beets that make the eggs distinctively pink. What I did have was soy sauce. The outcome was a batch of sweet and salty, semi-hard-boiled eggs that are very nice for snacking, plate garnish, and for topping off salad and soup.

Ingredients:

8 eggs

3/4 cups soy sauce

2 T rice wine vinegar

1 T sugar

1/4 cup water

**Additional flavorings that could be infused in the marinade, if you have them available: chopped scallions, freshly grated ginger, 5 spice powder (or make your own: cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, and Szechwan peppercorns), nutmeg, and licorice.

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Ordinarily, when I make a batch of hard-boiled eggs, I keep them in the boiling water for 12 minutes (I am at high-altitude), then remove them to a chilled water bath before peeling the shells. The yolks become solid and opaque, which makes them easy to slice for egg salad, or easy-to-pop-in-one’-mouth-finger-food. HOWEVER, with this recipe, I didn’t want the yolks to become that firm.

Here, I kept the boiling bath time to 6.5 minutes. This produced semi-translucent yolks that had a creamy texture more comparable to the inside of a chocolate Cadbury cream egg, or fudge. The firm whites absorbed the marinade color and flavors. When sliced open as in the photo above, you can see how the marinade penetrates. The eggs in my photos were cut open after 18 hours. The longer you keep them in the marinade, the saltier and darker they become. And maybe, that’s exactly what you are craving right now.

Preparation:

First, find a container to hold the eggs you wish to marinate. I used a tallish plastic container with a snap-on lid. You could also use a mason jar or used pickle jar*. You definitely need a lid to avoid splashing and spills in the fridge.

Place the eggs in the saucepan. Fill it with cold water to a level just above the shells. Bring the water to a boil and keep it rolling for 6-6.5 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat. Carefully pour out the hot water into the sink. Refill the pan with the coldest water you have, and add ice if you have some. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

While you are waiting for those eggs to cool off, make the marinade:

Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and water (and any infusion flavors as listed above) and boil it in another saucepan for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat. Cool in the pan while you peel off the egg shells.

Peel and rinse off all the eggs. Place the eggs inside the marinade container. Pour in the marinade. Cover and gently shake up so all the eggs get covered. Refrigerate overnight. The longer they marinate, the darker and saltier the eggs will get. Give them a swoosh every few hours to move the eggs around and insure they get access to the marinade.

*COOK TIP: don’t throw away glass jars from store-bought condiments and specialty items. Reuse them to house your sourdough starter, homemade quick pickles, small batches of homemade condiments like mustards or salad dressings, and other tidbits, like the olives that came from a can that you didn’t finish at one sitting.

Contributed by Rachael, Ancesister @ Ancestreats.

This recipe is my first submission under our new category of Quarantine Cooking. I prepared it on Day 60 of the Great Pause of 2020: staying at home because of the novel coronavirus.

It’s a savory main dish. In sum: it’s a firm-textured, dairy-based, noodle casserole baked in a bundt cake pan. Slice it as you would a sweet cake, and serve the pieces hot, warm, or cool. It would be great for a potluck or a picnic. And yes, we will hold those events someday in the future. I made this recipe for my daughter’s 8th birthday celebration-family dinner. She loved it. So did my other kids. Because it was easy to slice, they confidently self-served themselves a second round for lunch the next day. Win-win!

A Mac N’ Cheese Bundt is made with items from a typically stocked American pantry. During these trying times you may have to substitute the pasta shape or varieties of cheeses used. But who cares? Use what you have and enjoy it. In the recipe below, I put in parenthesis some substitutions you might use because of what’s readily available in your kitchen right now.  This recipe produces comforting food that can be treated to an elegant presentation if you feel like being fancy. At least pair the cake with bright-colored vegetables. I served this as the main dinner entre, accompanied by a side of steamed broccoli florets and halved Soy Sauce Eggs.

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Serves 10-12: depending on the generous size of your slices.

Baking Equipment: one 10-12 inch bundt pan.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded for the first layer (or mild, or extra sharp)
• 4-5 T unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup plain bread crumbs (or panko; or seasoned crumbs)
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 T dry mustard powder
• 1 tsp mild red chile powder (or green chile powder, or paprika)
• 2 cups buttermilk (re-hydrated from powdered will work, or plain unsweetened soymilk or unsweetened almond milk; or goat milk–you get the picture, right?)
• 1/2 cup whole milk (or sour cream, or plain yogurt)
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups Mexican mixed cheeses, shredded (or Colby Jack, or a combination of whatever you have; ie: gruyere, cheddar, mozzarella)
• 16 oz dry pasta, boiled in salted water to just past al-dente.  Small-medium sized shapes are best. I used nickel-sized pasta shells (or use standard elbows, or orecchiette; or break up spaghetti strings into 1/4 lengths, etc.)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350F at sea level; 375F for high-altitude.
• Spray bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray, make sure to go around the central stem of the pan.
• Evenly distribute the shredded cheddar on the first layer inside the bundt pan.
• In a medium-sized bowl, combine melted butter, 1/3 of the bread crumbs, red pepper, mustard, chile powder/paprika. Whisk in the buttermilk, milk, and eggs. Mix together to form the “cake batter.”
• Add the remaining cheeses and stir together for a uniform consistency.
• Add the strained hot cooked pasta. If you are using a funny shaped pasta, make sure the batter gets into the crevices or folds of the shape. Mix it into the batter: cheese will melt into the hot pasta noodles. This is “noodle batter.”
• Pour the noodle batter into the prepared bundt cake pan. Spread out with a small spatula so the noodle batter gets evenly distributed.
• Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle remaining 1/3 bread crumbs on the bottom of the noodles. There should be enough to cover the full exposed layer of the noodle batter. Replace to the oven for another 15-20 minutes.
• Cool the cake pan for 20-30 minutes. Place the serving plate or platter on top of the cake pan, then invert the bundt pan onto the serving platter. It make take a few jiggles to get it out without breakage. If at first it won’t come loose, flip the plate and cake pan back over and poke a small spatula around the cake edges to pry it loose. Retry the inversion.
• You can slice the cake when it’s cool enough to touch with one’s hands.
• Cut the cake slices as people wish to eat it. If you’re cooking this to prepare it as a make-ahead item for meals, don’t slice it up until you are ready to eat (and re-heat) the pieces.  Refrigerate the leftover portion of the cake in its whole form: keep it covered on the serving plate, or move it into a food tub with a sealed lid so it stays fresh. For a family of 4, you’ll squeeze two meals out of this pleaser.

Originally, I produced this vegan item for a potluck family picnic mezzah in the park. I doubled it to produce enough that a small amount could be kept in the house for later!  I give a nod to the Curried Carrot Dip recipe from Moskowitz and Romero’s Veganomicon; since it inspired me to prepare this as an oil-free, pressure cooker recipe.

This dish can fulfill several roles for you and the mouths you feed. At its core, this rocks for dunking in crudités, pita crisps, pretzels, or whatever crunchy crisp snacks need a punch of flavor.  You can swirl it into plain hummus dip for a spiral of twist of flavor and color. You can also treat it as a condiment spread to replace mayonnaise on sandwiches, which is great if you desire a lower-fat alternative to mashed avocado. Finally, you can thin it out with a few additional ingredients (see below) to transform it into a flavorful oil-free salad dressing.

If you double or triple it to feed a hungry crowd,  you needn’t increase the amount of water in the pressure cooker to process the carrots. If the dip doesn’t come together smoothly in the processor/blender, you can always add small amounts of water until the blades get moving again.

MAIN INGREDIENTS

1 pound organic carrots (washed, scrubbed, and cut into 1/2 inch evenly sized pieces)

1/4 cup roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds

1 T microplaned fresh garlic cloves (I’m heavy-handed with garlic, try as little as 1 tsp)

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 T fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup water (add more if your pressure cooker requires more minimum liquid to process)

BASIC RECIPE DIRECTIONS

Place the trivet inside your pressure cooker. Pour in the water. Add the carrots. Cover and seal. Run at high pressure for 2-3 minutes. Let pressure come down naturally. The carrots should be soft when pieced with a fork.  Drain out the cooking liquid into a heat-resistant measuring cup of at least 1 cup volume if not greater. Soak the sunflower seeds in that set aside hot water. The carrots should be cooling down off the heating element by now.  Also, wait a few minutes until the sunflower seeds have softened up. Try breaking a seed or two with a fingernail pinch test to tell if they are ready to get blended.

When the seeds are ready, add the contents of the measuring cup to your blender jar or food processor container. Run the blades until whole seeds are no longer recognizable. Then add the remaining ingredients and blend together until smooth. Taste. Adjust seasonings if needed. Pour out the puree into a bowl that can be sealed. Cover and cool it off. Refrigerate. An overnight chill lets the curry meld with the sweetness of the carrots and the nuttiness of the seeds. It also thickens up as it cools. Before serving you may need to stir back in any water that separated out from steam resting on the dip’s surface.

TO TRANSFORM DIP INTO AN OIL-FREE SALAD DRESSING ADD AN ACID AND UMAMI

**For the acid**

Use a vinegar of choice, such as rice wine vinegar, kombucha vinegar flavored with herbs, malt vinegar or white balsamic;

**For the umami**

Use Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, soy sauce or tamari.

DIRECTIONS

Once the basic recipe has refrigerated overnight, measure out a small ratio like  3: 1: 1  into a small glass bowl or stainless steel bowl.  For example, 1 T dip :  1 tsp vinegar : 1 tsp soy sauce. Whisk together until it the viscosity has thinned out to the consistency desired for being tossed among greens and cut up vegetables for a mixed salad. Add more acid or umami to your liking after tasting. You can always thin it out further with more water.

Hello beautiful food-loving people!  This is one of my most treasured perennial family recipes. There’s still plenty of time remaining over this Passover holiday for you to make your own batch.  First, a brief explanation of why this recipe, and why now.

Jews all over the world who observe Pesach (Passover) will abstain from eating “chametz;” this is food containing leavened products derived from five types of grain (wheat, barley, oats, spelt and rye). After these grain flours get mixed with water and co-mingle for greater than 18 minutes, the flour begins to ferment. That’s a no-no on Passover.  Matzoh, which is a strictly supervised unleavened flatbread cracker made with flour and water, is the major game changer for the holiday. Matzoh is briskly baked before the 18-minute point to remind us of the hurried flight of the Israelites from Egypt during the Exodus. If you need a refresher, listen to the spiritual, “Let My People Go!!”  Or watch this cool video.

We don’t have to fast on Passover, but we don’t eat bread, bagels, muffins, biscuits, croissants, doughnuts, crackers; we don’t drink fermented grain spirits like whiskey and beer. And yet, with all these exclusions, we still have plenty to enjoy. Over the years,  kosher mammas (aka the Momeles) have created a palatable path of recipes specifically Passover only (Pesakdek). This recipe is one of them.

I don’t know who originally gave this recipe to my Grandma Francis, but she passed it on to my mother who shared it with me. When Grandma gave me a copy of  “The Momele’s Ta’am Cookbook: Adventures in Jewish Cooking” by Rosabelle Edin and Shushannah Spector, I wrote this recipe on the inside back cover. My recipe is different from the book’s Pesakdek recipe for a similar baked item.

Forty years ago, my New England public schools offered hot lunch, but I would opt-out and bring in homemade lunch in a paper bag. While classmates around me would munch down their fluffernutters (that’s peanut butter with marshmallow fluff on white bread) I ate something completely different; usually a cheese-tomato-lettuce sandwich with a piece of fruit. It really got their attention on the school days when I was observing Passover. Kids being kids, they’d ask about my food. Every school day of Passover, the scenario repeated again and again. It was my personal version of Bill Murray’s 1993 comedy movie, Ground Hog Day, where he portrays a weather man trapped in a loop that repeats the same day over and over again.

I harbored awkward feelings for having to explain to my classmates about Passover and why I was eating matzoh instead of regular sandwich bread. Once the holiday got underway, however, mum would find time to bake “Not So Obvious” rolls and save me!

The rolls, while made with matzoh meal, had an appearance closer to an ordinary bulkie roll, than compared with the crisp flat matzoh crackers. When I pulled out a sandwich on these rolls from my lunch bag, the other kids didn’t ask what I was eating. I could eat in peace, which was all I wanted to do. Besides, the rolls were delicious: crisp on the outside and soft and eggy on the inside. My favorite way Mum packed them was sliced in half and filled with cream cheese and sliced green Spanish olives stuffed with pimiento. Sometimes there was tuna fish salad on them, too. “Not So Obvious” rolls were so delectable, I didn’t want Passover to end. At any rate, we never had leftovers of these rolls. I would have to wait another year to enjoy them again. You needn’t be restrictive if you want to give them a try.

My eldest son begs me to make “Not So Obvious” rolls for him all year-long. He eats his tuna fish salad when it’s on these rolls. Nevertheless, I keep the recipe special to our holiday and refuse to bake them at any other time of the year.  His whole wheat tuna sandwiches come home untouched during the rest of the school year. I make him eat those  in the kitchen. Yes, I’m that mom.

DIETARY NOTE: If you are on an oil-free Ornish/Esselstyn diet, this recipe isn’t for you. I’m very sorry you’re stuck with plain matzoh. However, PLEASE, if you have figured how to create these with an oil substitute that is Pesakdek, share in the comments section below, so everyone can learn from you! I’d sure appreciate it.

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MAKES APPROXIMATELY 12, 2 oz “NOT SO OBVIOUS” MATZOH ROLLS

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup safflower oil [canola is fine if you eat kitniyot]*

1 + 1/3 cup water

2 T sugar [at high altitude, use 1/2 tsp less sugar]

1 tsp salt

2 heaping cups of matzoh meal [whole grain, plain or gluten-free if that’s your diet]

6 large eggs**, cracked open and visually inspected to remove blood and shell bits [at high altitude, add one additional egg]

DIRECTIONS

In a 3 Liter/3.17 quart sauce pan, heat up to boiling the oil, water, salt, and sugar. Stir and make certain everything is dissolved. Remove from heat. Carefully stir in 2 cups of matzoh meal. Cool. Add 3 eggs and mix together.  Add the remaining eggs and mix together; scrape down the sides and bottom of the pan. Transfer dough to a right-sized bowl, cover and place in the refrigerator to rest and chill. At least 1 hour; more time is fine.

When nearly ready to bake the rolls: preheat oven to 375F degrees [at high altitude, set oven to 400F degrees].

Meanwhile, line a cookie sheet with baking parchment. Fill a small bowl with cold water. Moisten hands in the water. Scoop out 2 oz of dough. Roll gently in the wet hands to form a ball.  Place on the lined pan. Flatten them slightly to spread out the shape for sandwich use.  Bake for 40 minutes. Cool. When ready to serve for sandwiches, slice them gently. Leave whole to use for noshing or dunking in a bowl of soup.

Drink plenty of water and Chag same’ach = Happy Holiday!

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UPDATE 4/2017:

*Since we have gone “oil-free” in our home baking and cooking, I have been producing this recipe using SMOOTH UNSWEETENED APPLESAUCE as a replacement for the oil~~Substituting 1:1 in the amounts~~. The end result is a soft roll (no crunchy crust) with a mildly sweet flavor.  My littlest critic, as she reaches into the container to help herself to one, says, “I do LOVE these rolls!”

**In case you are lowering your cholesterol intake, you could also replace the whole eggs with liquid egg whites.

Contributed by Rachael, Ancesister @ Ancestreats.

The first area of the world to embrace beet roots as a dietary staple was Northeastern Europe. Beets would have nourished many of my ancestors because they grew well throughout winter.  Grandma usually had a jar of borscht (beet soup) in her refrigerator, and she would eat the soup hot or cold, with a dollop of sour cream.

As part of a lifestyle regimen for helping to reverse high cholesterol and nascent cardiac disease, someone in my house was prescribed an oil-free vegan diet by a cardiologist.  In posts down the road, you’ll see more plant-based recipes coming out of my kitchen; as they are going into medium and heavy rotation.

The same doctor urged that beets get incorporated into the daily food consumption, in any form:  cooked, raw , powder, or beet root crystals. Before the “go vegan” pronouncement was received, already I was making us beets in a pressure cooker.  I would slice them up while hot, toss them with freshly ground pepper and salt, a light amount of oil and vinegar dressing to marinate. Now, without use of oil, I have re-considered other flavors to partner with the sweetness of the beets. I arrived at this recipe below, which I served hot as part of a fancy meal.

I keep the finished recipe in the fridge in an easy-opening container. While the beets can be served off the hotplate as a side-dish for a main entrée, they are equally satisfying at room temperature, as well as chilled; for stuffing into sandwiches and mixing into salads.

INGREDIENTS

1.5-2 pounds whole beet roots (if yours came with greenery, save the tops for other chard-like recipes!)

1 cup citrus juice (fresh squeezed juice of tangerine, lime, lemon, or orange)

1 tsp organic citrus zest (from whatever was juiced)

1 tsp pure maple syrup

1 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

Peel, quarter and slice the beets into 1-2 cm wide pieces. Mix with the other ingredients into a large pan and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to simmer and cover with lid.  It can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes for the beets to become tender. Periodically check on the garnet colored mix with a gentle stir. Once the slices are tender, reduce the cooking liquid to a highly flavorful glaze.

We invited friends over for dinner and a guest told me she intended to bring a lemon chiffon cake for dessert.  I made this fruit salad to accompany her cake. I caught one of my guests tipping back her ramekin to drink the dressing (the juices!), so it’s probably not a far step off to collect some juices for use in a champagne cocktail if you are serving this at brunch. This is one of my favorite fruit salads because it is bright tasting and fresh. My recipe is basic, although you could try complicating the flavor profile by adding toasted crushed walnuts at the last minute, or chopped cherries, or raspberries, or even some chopped hatch chiles or de-seeded sliced cucumbers. Maybe basil in place of the mint. If you do, let us know how it turned out!

Yields: 8+ servings

Prep time is quick. Then you chill it in the fridge for the flavors to become friendlier anywhere from one to six hours.

You need a zesting device (I use a microplane), a sharp knife, a juice extractor, small whisk, small glass bowl and a large non-reactive bowl.

INGREDIENTS

4 Grapefruits

4-6 Navel Oranges (depending on how large)

Zest of two limes, plus the extracted juice

2-4 Tablespoons honey

2 tsp warm water

Fresh mint; rinsed and shaken dry. You need enough to chiffonade at least 2 T; use more or less to suit your taste.

DIRECTIONS

1) With your sharp knife, cut off the ends of each orange and grapefruit.  Carefully slice away the pith.

2) Cut out the sections of the fruits (and remove any obvious seeds). Try to discard the membranes and take out only the flesh. Place all the slices into the large bowl.

3) Make the “dressing.” Zest the limes. Cut them in half and extract the juice. Place juice and zest in the small bowl. Add the honey and warm water. Use a fork or small wire whisk to mix until the honey is dissolved. Pour the dressing over the large bowl of fruit.

4)  To chiffonade the mint: stack 8-10 leaves and roll them along their length into a small tight cigar. Carefully make small thin ribbon-like strips following the width of the cigar. Watch out for cutting off your fingers. Collect and toss the mint into the large bowl.

5) Toss the fruit until the zest and mint threads are evenly distributed on the sectioned dressed fruit. Cover with plastic wrap and set into the fridge for the flavors to comingle while being chilled.

Serve in small bowls.

An alternative for serving for guests who don’t like frosting or whipped cream (yes, it helps to know this in advance): You can use this fruit salad as a plain cake topper when the slices are served. For example, the fruit salad can be carefully poured over a slice of an unglazed pound cake, or slice of lemon chiffon or plain vanilla cake. The dressing is not a thick syrup but a thin liquid.  Store the leftovers in the fridge.

Contributed by Rachael, Ancesister @ Ancestreats.

With so many people going gluten-free, here is an end of dinner party clincher that can please folks with that dietary concern. Frankly, anyone who loves a dense decadent chocolate cake will consider it fantastic. It can be served all-year-long for a rich delicious adult dessert. It’s not my most popular cake with children; unless they are dark chocoholics. There is a nut allergy in my household, so I use almonds, which are tolerated. They add dimension to the flavor profile and a je ne sais quoi to the crumb texture.  If nuts aren’t an issue for you, walnuts would make a fine substitution.

My custom for my husband’s birthday is to bake him a chocolate cake, since it is his favorite. Every birthday he gets a different recipe, unless his birthday should fall on Passover. That’s when I pull this recipe out of my bag of tricks. It happens every few years, as it did this year (see that big number on the candles?). This recipe guarantees a chocolate cake for his celebration while observing the requirement of being unleavened.

If in a hurry, you can leave the cake naked as long as it is served with the whipped cream and berries.  If you have a few moments to spare dust it lightly with confectioner sugar through the holes of a doily acting like a stencil. Turn up the fancy button and cover it with the optional chocolate glaze from the recipe below. Throw it into a tuxedo by placing whole almonds (or walnuts if that’s what you used in the batter) in a decorative pattern across the top glazed surface. By the way, this glaze also dresses up Passover brownies, too.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND FLOURLESS TORTE 

10 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate broken into pieces to aid melting

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (use margarine if you need to be Pareve about it)

½ cup granulated sugar

5 large eggs, separated (use 6 at high altitude)

1/3 cup finely ground almonds (just pulse in the food processor)

2 T {Kosher for Passover] cognac, dark rum or apricot brandy

Lightly sweetened whipped cream for garnish/decoration

Fresh strawberries or raspberries for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees (325 at high altitude) and grease a 9-inch spring form pan after lining it with baking parchment paper cut to the size of the round.

In your favorite double boiler (I simply use a stainless steel bowl over a saucepan) melt the chocolate. The water should neither touch the bottom of the bowl, nor be boiling; it simmers gently. Once the chocolate has melted, cool it slowly.

In the bowl of your electric stand mixer, beat the butter and ¼ cup sugar until it is white and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, give it a mix for a moment or two, and then add the almonds and liquor. Beat until it is evenly incorporated. Add the cooled chocolate to the egg yolk mixture slowly and mix until evenly combined. Use a rubber spatula and put this back into the chocolate bowl.

Wash, dry and replace the mixer bowl to the stand mixer. Add the egg whites and beat on high until foamy and gradually add the remaining sugar. You beat this until they are stiff and glossy. Using the spatula, fold in the whites to the other bowl. Do it in thirds. In the first round make sure it’s well incorporated but not deflated. With the two remaining portions of whites, add them gently and fold them in carefully so you don’t deflate them.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. The cake tester will come out with a damp but not wet coating. It continues to cook while cooling. Put the pan on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. Use a knife to loosen the edges from the pan, release the spring form, and carefully turn the cake out onto your serving plate. Peel off the parchment if it didn’t stick to the pan. Decorate with the glaze or confectioner sugar. Serve at room temperature, although it can be chilled (though who has room in the fridge when preparing a holiday meal, like a seder?) Serve with the whipped cream and berries.

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Chocolate Glaze (optional)

3 T sugar

2 T unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)

1/3 cup sweet Kosher wine (Concord grape is what we keep on hand)

2 oz. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces

6 T unsalted butter (or Margarine if keeping pareve)

Whisk together sugar cocoa and wine in saucepan. Bring to one boil then simmer and give it an occasional whisk. Add the chocolate and whisk it in while it melts. Remove from heat and add the butter (margarine). It should be smooth. Place in the fridge and give it an occasional stir to make sure it doesn’t separate, and to check on how it thickens. It will become spreadable. Use a frosting knife and spread it over the cake. Use a fork or frosting comb to pull a pattern across the cake surface.

Contributed by Rachael, Ancesister @ Ancestreats.

This elegant fish dish can be served any time of the year. It is a special first course, following the conclusion of a Passover Seder; at the beginning of the actual meal; either before or after the matzo ball soup depending on how ready things are in the kitchen. The traditional accompaniment is a fresh beet-horseradish relish called Chrain (Yiddish: חריין, khreyn) that I will share in the next post.

When you are preparing a meal for a large dinner party, it is perfectly acceptable to make tiny shortcuts to save time, especially if the results are impressive.  This recipe can become one of your best friends if your crowd looks forward to the fish course.  I honestly don’t remember from whom I learned this simple recipe. When I was a newlywed, my husband and I were welcomed into the homes of several established families for holiday meals. While helping in the kitchen, I always listened as my hostesses offered unsolicited kosher cooking tips. This came from that period.

I know Fran, my own grandmother, used to make her gefilte fish the long way (with fresh fish) and the short way (with frozen loaves). She never let me watch this business. I remember her telling me that when she was growing up, the family kept live fish in their bathtub until it was time to prepare this forcemeat dish.  The deboned, chopped up fish (carp, pike, whitefish) would have been stuffed into the fish skin and poached.  I don’t remember hers being sweetened with sugar and topped with carrots and onions (Galitzianer-style) or savory and seasoned with pepper (Litvak-style);  frankly, it is because I refused to eat this course as a child. What a shame! By the time I was interested in learning how to prepare such a fish course, Grandma was satisfied to spoon it from a jar.  When she downsized from a villa to an apartment in Florida, she gave me a wooden bowl with a rounded bottom that she and her own mother used for chopping up their fresh fish. The double-handled blade they would have used was long gone.

Grandma’s recipe would have included matzah meal to aid her formation of fish balls.  The matzah meal would have served as a binder to “stretch” further the fish and help eliminate the need for picking out errant fish bones at the table on Shabbat.  Religiously, it is forbidden to pick out bones on the Sabbath, and the fish that would have been used in such a preparation would have been bony and a challenge to eat in whole form.

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INGREDIENTS

3 (22 ounce each) frozen gefilte fish loaves; defrost in their wrappers in the refrigerator

1 can (14.75 ounce | 475g) wild Alaskan salmon, well-drained

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (or cilantro if you are going for the Southwestern flavors in your subsequent meal)

1/2 tsp pepper (optional)

*If you want or need to stretch the fish further, add 1 cup of matzah meal to each layer, and the resulting loaves will be larger and require a larger loaf pan. Unless you use gluten-free matzah- meal, this will negate the gluten free-ness of the original recipe.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350F (or 375 in high altitude). Spray 3 loaf pans (9×5 in each) with nonstick spray.

First Layer: Unwrap the one gefilte fish loaf. Place it in a large non-reactive bowl, and add the optional pepper if you choose. Mash it evenly up then divide the mixture evenly between 3 loaf pans. Spread it evenly with a spatula.

Second Layer: Unwrap the second loaf. Select the steel blade for your food processor. Place the drained salmon and the loaf inside the bowl of your food processor. Process until combined. Divide the mixture and spread evenly in the loaf pans to make your second layer.  You need not clean the food processor out for the next step.

Third Layer: Process the dill or cilantro in the food processor with the steel blade until minced. Unwrap the third fish loaf and add it to the processor bowl. Pulse until combined evenly. Divide the mixture again, spreading evenly in the loaf pans to make a third layer. Cover each completed loaf pan with cooking foil.

Bake covered at 350F (or 375 in high altitude) for approximately one hour. The yield is 3 loaves (6-8 servings each).

Cool and store in the refrigerator.  It will “thicken” up to make slicing the resulting loaf easy; you will do that when you plate it either on a platter or on individual dishes.  Serve cold or at room temperature with fresh beet-horseradish relish.