Chametz Time: Recipes from Joan Nathan, Debbie Kornberg and Judy Elbaum
Share
From Munching on Matzah to Carb-olicious Favorites
By Debra Eckerling
Passover is a time for beautiful Seders, family bonding and lots of matzah.
When it’s time to break the Passover carb-fast, everyone seems to have a different food they enjoy that welcomes carbohydrates back to the table.
JLiving spoke with three amazing women who work in the Jewish foodie space to ask about their favorite break-the-Passover-fast foods. They also shared some helpful tips for pre-holiday, during and post-holiday.
Cookbook author Joan Nathan enjoys celebrating post-Passover with pasta.
“My whole family loves this recipe that we all eat after breaking the fast with a local slice of pizza,” says Nathan, author of “My Life in Recipes: Food, Family, and Memories” and “A Sweet Year: Jewish Celebrations and Festive Recipes for Kids and Their Families.” She calls it “a delicious, easy recipe that means getting back to normal after the eight days of eating matzah.”
Nathan loves the Passover Seder. While she finds it the most difficult meal of the year to prepare, she says it is well worth the effort. She typically has 30 to 40 people at her home, and she only does one Seder. She sets aside a part of her kitchen to cook in advance, making soup, brisket and chicken, then freezes it all.
“I make gefilte fish with friends two days before, and the week of Passover, I do the rest of the cooking,” she explains. “Of course, my family helps me, all coming in from Los Angeles. I always make lots of lists, working my way through them and to get everything ready for the Seder. I give a big sigh, followed by a big smile. It all seems so worthwhile.”
Chag Sameach!
Learn more about Joan, her cookbooks and events, plus get recipes, at JoanNathan.com.
Pasta with Almond Pesto, Green Beans, Eggplant and Cherry Tomatoes
from “A Sweet Year,” Joan Nathan’s comprehensive guide to Jewish holidays and celebrations
Ingredients
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus 2 tbsp for the pasta pot
1 pound Japanese eggplant, sliced into ½-inch rounds
4 cloves garlic
Leaves and tender stems from 1 bunch fresh basil (about 2 cups)
1 cup blanched almonds
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
1/2 cup grated Pecorino, Romano or Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 ounces busiate, or other pasta of your choice
8 ounces string beans, broccoli and/or zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
Directions
Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of the salt over the eggplant slices and let them sit in a single layer on a paper towel for about an hour.
To make the pesto, put the garlic, all but a few leaves of basil, all but 2 tablespoons of the almonds, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a mortar or food processor. Slowly add 3/4 cup of the olive oil and all but a tablespoon of the cheese. Pulse just a few times in a food processor, or work the mortar with a pestle, to grind until the sauce is rich and crunchy, yet spreadable, and the nuts are grainy in texture and still slightly crunchy. Add a little more oil, if desired. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Blot the eggplant dry. Put the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil into a frying pan and warm it over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant rounds and cook until they’re golden on both sides. Drain them on paper towels and sprinkle them with pepper to taste. Fry the remaining almonds until
they’re golden, then drain them.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the pasta with 2 tablespoons of salt, stir and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally. When the pasta has been cooking for a minute or so, add the snipped beans, broccoli and/or zucchini and cook until done, or steam the vegetables in a colander over the pasta and cook until they are both al dente.
Strain the vegetables and pasta. Transfer them to a bowl. Gently stir the pesto into the pasta and vegetables until everything is thoroughly combined. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon grated cheese, the remaining basil leaves and the fried almonds. Decorate with the eggplant
rounds and halved cherry tomatoes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
If you prefer to make your own post-Passover pizza, Debbie Kornberg, founder and CEO of SPICE + LEAF, has the perfect recipe: za’atar pizza with roasted eggplant, garlic and feta.
“After a week of matzah and leaven-free meals, there’s nothing more satisfying than that first bite of crispy crust and melted cheese,” Kornberg says. “It’s the perfect way to reintroduce chametz, bringing back the familiar comfort of bread in a fun, delicious way.”
Before packing away your Passover dishware, she says that a little prep-work can make post-holiday cooking a breeze.
“You can roast the eggplant and garlic ahead of time and mince the red onions so everything is mise en place (ready) when the holiday ends,” she says. “That way, when the Hag goes out, you’re just minutes away from enjoying your first delicious slice.”
When planning for both pre- and post-Passover, Kornberg agrees that organization is key.
“Start by creating a menu and listing all your shopping ingredients,” she says. “I recommend keeping this information in a notebook or on your computer so you can refer to it year after year and avoid starting from scratch every time you begin preparing for Passover.”
Aside from all the delicious traditional foods, her favorite part of the seder is singing together. She says it fills the room with joy and a deep sense of togetherness.
“At the end of the Seder, before we sing the very last song, we clear off the table with all of the fragile stemware and dishes, making way for a spirited version of ‘Chad Gad Ya,’ which includes banging on the tables,” Kornberg says. “It’s an energetic way to close out our Seder and is a ton of fun for people of all ages.”
Get more recipes, organized by spices, at SpiceandLeaf.com.
Debbie Kornberg’s Za’atar Pizza with Roasted Eggplant, Garlic and Feta
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
SPICE + LEAF Galili Olive oil
SPICE + LEAF Authentic Za’atar
Feta cheese
Fresh mozzarella
1 eggplant, 1/4-inch slices
10-12 whole garlic cloves
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained, or 3-4 fresh tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup red onion, minced
Directions
To roast the eggplant:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Slice eggplant into 1/4-inch slices and then cut into quarters. Lightly baste eggplant with olive oil. Sprinkle za’atar on top of eggplant. Roast for about 15 minutes, until toasty brown.
Use 2 teaspoons of za’atar for 1 cup of eggplant.
To roast the whole garlic cloves:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Baste whole garlic cloves lightly with olive oil. Roast until toasty brown and soft on the inside.
Roll out pizza dough and drizzle olive oil as base
Sprinkle healthy portion of za’atar over pizza:
1 tablespoon of za’atar for a small pizza
1½ tablespoons of za’atar for a medium pizza
2 tablespoons of za’atar for a large pizza
Sprinkle feta cheese or fresh mozzarella cheese over pizza, according to your liking.
Add za’atar-roasted eggplant, roasted garlic cloves, tomatoes and red onions.
Dust additional za’atar over pizza, about 3-6 teaspoons, depending on the size of pizza.
Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes (depends on thickness of dough*) or until the dough is toasty brown and cheese is melted! Yum!
*If using a pre-made pizza dough, review the baking instructions for suggested
baking temperature and baking time.
The dessert Judy Elbaum’s family misses the most during Passover is her coffee cake, so that’s what they dig into first!
“While I’ve had great success adapting many of my year-round dessert recipes for Passover, I haven’t yet found a coffee cake recipe to my liking,” says Elbaum, founder of the “Leave It to Bubbe” blog. When she started hosting family Seders in the 1980s, as a dessert lover, she was disappointed with the scarcity of tasty Passover desserts.
“I started adapting my family’s yearround favorites and developed some wonderful Kosher for Passover desserts such as chocolate chip cookies, Oreos (I call them Oreovers), mandel bread, sponge cake, chiffon cake, chestnut torte, and many others,” she says. “I’m still working on developing a tasty Passover coffee cake.”
Elbaum’s best cooking tip for both experienced and new cooks, for Passover and year-round, is to buy an oven thermometer and check the temperature of your oven.
“If the oven temperature is higher or lower than the setting, you can adjust the temperature or have someone calibrate it,” she says. “This will prevent overcooked or undercooked dishes.”
Elbaum does not miss too many foods during Passover — she feeds her family really well.
“In addition to the desserts, I’ve developed many other fun recipes that my family looks forward to during Passover,” she explains. “To name a few: We eat Passover waffles, which I make by placing my matzah brei into a waffle maker — I call them matzah braffles — and I make potato brioches in which I shape a potato mixture into what resembles brioches. My family also eagerly anticipates these wonderful matzah meat pies that I make only on Passover.”
Get more recipes at LeaveItToBubbe.com.
Judy Elbaum’s Coffee Cake
Cake Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 ounces or 1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
8 ounces or 1/2 pint sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
Filling and Topping
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Directions
Before you begin: Grease and flour a 9” x 5” loaf pan or an 8” x 2” springform pan. Line the bottom of the loaf or springform pan with parchment paper; this will prevent the cake from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Combine in a bowl and set aside.
In the medium bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter for about 1 minute, then add the sugar and beat the mixture for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Then add the sour cream and vanilla and beat for another minute, until well combined.
Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda mixture. Beat on low speed until just combined.
In a small bowl, combine well the filling and topping ingredients. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the filling/topping mixture on top of batter. Spread the remaining batter into the pan and sprinkle with the remaining filling/topping mixture.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 55 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean and the cake is golden brown and starting to pull away from the sides.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan.
Gently remove the cake from the pan and serve on a cake plate. If desired, dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Serves 8 to 12
