This version of a Passover lasagna will be a hit at your Seder, and you’ll be tempted to make it throughout the year. (Go ahead. Give in to that temptation.)
Matzah Bake
You need not wait for a holiday—or be Jewish—to enjoy carrot and sweet potato tzimmes. It’s a festive dish for any cool-weather occasion.
In Yiddish, “tzimmes” means a big fuss or commotion. Fortunately, this mélange of sweet vegetables and dried fruits is not much of a fuss to make, and is a traditional side dish for the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Passover.
An article in Jewish Food Experience details the origins of tzimmes, stating, “A traditional side dish for Rosh Hashanah, the sweet compote of carrot circles, like golden coins, represents a wish for a sweet and prosperous year. The first-known use of the Yiddish name tzimmes is from 1892, and it is said to have originated from the German zuomuose, or ‘side dish.’”
Carrots are one of the most commonly used of symbolic foods in Eastern European meals. The Yiddish word for carrot also means to increase or multiply—a positive wish for prosperity and luck to bring to the table. In this classic Jewish dish, carrots are combined with sweet potatoes and prunes, adding bright color to the table and plate.
Recipe adapted from Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas.
Enter the latke recipe from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick Goudreau. Her recipe included ground flax as a binder, which freed the potato pancake from its floury, glutinous density. In fact, these latkes were exactly as I remembered them, light, crispy, and the perfect compliment to a dollop of applesauce. I am sharing her recipe in all its glory, so you too can have the perfect vegan latkes this year.
Thanks to the magic of nature’s candy, there’s plenty of rich, sweet flavor in the filling to make up for any of matzah’s shortcomings. Bolstered by the warmth of ground cinnamon and dark brown sugar, it turns into a crisp, downright buttery streusel to cap off the tender berry jumble. Served warm with perhaps a scoop of ice cream melting luxuriously into all the cevasses, or a soft dollop of whipped coconut cream melding into each layer, there are few desserts more comforting.
Matzo Brei is a classic Jewish frittata-like breakfast food often eaten at Passover. In this vegan version, soft, savory chickpea “eggs” flecked with mushrooms and rosemary contrast deliciously with shards of crispy, slightly charred matzah crackers. It’s comfort food through and through. Also a soy-free, nut-free recipe, can be gluten-free.