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PASSOVER FOOD
Adding other flavors to the seder table: gefilte fish poppers and matzah casserole with bitter herbs COOKING FAITH KRAMER Every Passover, I add a little extra discussion to the seder table by serving a few dishes based on international Jewish foodways. This year I’m spicing up my gefilte fish (and stuffing it in peppers) and serving a matzah casserole with bitter greens and a lemon-egg sauce. Many Ashkenazi Jews who settled in Mexico (and in Central and South America) add some spice to traditional Eastern European foods, which inspired me to add salsa to gefilte fish. Since the word gefilte actually means stuffed or filled, I decided to stuff the Faith Kramer is fish into small, sweet peppers. Serve this dish as you would regular a Bay Area food gefilte fish, or use as an appetizer as “gefilte fish poppers.” writer. She blogs Mina is the name for a dish traditional to Sephardic seders: a about her food at layered matzah casserole. My recipe below is vegetarian, stuffed clickblogappetit. with bitter greens tamed by Swiss chard and chopped fennel. I com. Contact used dandelion greens (believed by some to be the original bitter Faith at clickblogherbs). Leeks are a Sephardic Passover food and fennel is an appetit@gmail.com. Italian-Jewish seder choice. Shumar (fennel in Hebrew) is said to sound similar to the phrase in Exodus for Pesach night, leil shimurim (the night of watching, or watchfulness). The sauce is adapted from traditional Passover recipes used by Greek Jews. Passover begins on the night of April 8 this year.
MINA WITH BITTER GREENS AND LEMON-EGG SAUCE Serves 10 to 12 (see note below) or 4 to 6 as a side dish
Heat half the oil in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and leeks until softened. Add 1 Tbs. garlic, sauté until golden. Stir in 1 tsp. paprika, half the salt and pepper, 1 Tbs. minced fennel fronds (or parsley) and 1 tsp. lemon zest. Add chopped fennel bulb; sauté until fennel is tender. Remove to large bowl. Do not wash the pan. Add 2 Tbs. oil to pan, sauté 1 tsp. garlic until golden. Stir in 1 tsp. paprika and remaining salt and pepper. Add chard and dandelion greens. Sauté until wilted. Taste. If bitter, stir in sugar, adding more as needed. Combine greens with fennel. Taste. Adjust seasonings. Make lemon-egg sauce (see below). Heat oven to 350 degrees. Oil 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Place heated stock in rimmed dish large enough to fit matzah. Quickly dip both sides of one matzah so the sheet begins to soften. Place flat in baking dish. Top with half of the vegetables. Spoon a quarter of the lemon sauce over vegetables. Dip a second sheet of matzah in stock, place on top. Spread remaining vegetables on top, spoon another fourth of sauce on top. Dip remaining matzah. Place on top. Cover with another fourth of sauce, sprinkle with remaining paprika. Lightly cover with foil. Bake 25 minutes, remove foil and bake about 20 minutes until sauce is bubbly and top matzah is crisped. Serve hot, warm or room temperature. Just before serving, drizzle with remaining sauce (reheated if necessary) and sprinkle with remaining garlic, fennel fronds and lemon zest. Lemon-egg sauce: Stir together until well combined (or process until smooth in blender) 4 large, beaten eggs; 1 tsp. lemon zest; 1½ cups fresh lemon juice; 2 Tbs. matzah cake meal; and ¼ tsp. salt. Place in pot and whisk in 2 cups room-temperature vegetable stock or water. Simmer over low to medium-low heat (do not boil), whisking almost constantly until reduced by half. Taste. Add salt if needed. Strain to remove any bits of cooked egg. Notes: If desired, replace bitter greens with additional chard. To serve 10 to 12 people, use 9-by-14-inch pan. Double filling and sauce (make in batches). Use 8 to 10 matzahs. For each layer, place two side by side and use pieces of others to fill gaps.
¼ cup olive oil, divided, plus extra for pan
1 tsp. plus 2 Tbs. minced grated lemon zest
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped fennel bulb
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts
8 cups chopped Swiss chard
SPICY GEFILTE FISH BAKED IN MINI PEPPERS
3 Tbs. finely chopped garlic, divided
Serves 8
3 tsp. paprika, divided
4 cups chopped dandelion or other bitter greens (see note)
½ tsp. salt, divided
¼ tsp. sugar, or as needed
¼ tsp. ground black pepper, divided
lemon-egg sauce (see recipe below)
1 Tbs. plus 2 Tbs. minced fresh fennel fronds (leaves) or parsley
¼ and ½ cup Passover salsa (see recipe below)
1 large celery stalk
½ cup warm vegetable stock or water
2 1-lb. bags mini sweet peppers (see note)
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
3 sheets plain matzah
vegetable oil 1 lb. rockfish or similar white fish 1½ tsp. fresh lemon juice 2 large eggs 1 medium carrot 1 small onion
¼ cup matzah meal 1 tsp. sugar, or to taste ½ tsp. ground black pepper ¼ tsp. crumbled, dried oregano leaves ¼ tsp. cayenne, optional Chopped cilantro or parsley Jarred, ground white horseradish, optional
Prepare salsa. Oil a rimmed baking sheet. Choose peppers that are about 2½ to 3½ inches long and lay flat. Leave stems on. Slit peppers horizontally, leaving connected at tip and stem ends. Pull out seeds. Place fish, lemon juice and eggs in food processor. Process until puréed. Scrape into large bowl. Process carrot, onion and celery in food processor (no need to clean the work bowl) until minced but not puréed. Combine in bowl with fish and ¼ cup salsa. Sprinkle with matzah meal, salt, sugar, black pepper, oregano cayenne. Mix thoroughly. Taste a spoonful of batter. Add salt, cayenne and sugar, as needed. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Firmly pack fish into peppers, mounding an inch above top. Place on prepared sheet, bake 25 to 30 minutes until the peppers are tender and filling is firm and lightly browned. Serve hot, warm or room temperature, topped with cilantro and remaining salsa. Pass horseradish if desired. Passover salsa: Combine ¾ cup fresh diced tomatoes, ½ Tbs. minced garlic, 2 Tbs. finely chopped garlic, 1 Tbs. minced jalapeño (or to taste; remove seeds for milder flavor) and 2 Tbs. finely chopped cilantro or parsley. Mix. Add ⅛ tsp. salt and 1½ Tbs. fresh lemon juice. Stir well. Use ¾ cup for recipe. Refrigerate remainder and reserve for another use.
Mina with Bitter Greens and Lemon-Egg Sauce.
38 3.20.2020 | J. THE JEWISH NEWS OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA | JWEEKLY.COM
Notes: This recipe doubles very easily. Bags of mini sweet peppers are available in the produce section at your supermarket. You can substitute small red, yellow and/or orange bell peppers, if desired. Cut in half top to bottom, lay flat and stuff. n
