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
This vegan chili recipe is a hearty, filling meal. It’s easy to make and stores well for next-day lunches. I like to serve with crackers, but this dish is satisfying all on its own. If you’re exploring Meatless Monday, it’s a perfect dish. You won’t even miss the meat.
I really like this recipe because not only is it delicious, but it’s also easy on the budget!
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.
Baba ghanouj originates from Lebanon and is pronounced as ba-ba gha-noosh (or nooj) in Arabic. Baba ghanouj is also known as baba ganoush, bab ganouj or baba ganousche. It is written as بابا غنوج in Arabic.
The word baba means daddy and the word ghanouj means spoilt. So this is a spoilt daddy dip, haha.
It’s the dried mint in this very creamy and luxurious Baba Ghanouj recipe that makes this Lebanese eggplant dip taste even more spectacular.
A couple of my Lebanese friends even commented how wonderful it is as their family usually make it without. My Lebanese family wins!
This recipe is from my Mother’s recipe index, there are a couple of variations she has passed to me;
smokey
boiled
baked
with garlic, or without
with mint or without, but mostly with.
Whichever way baba ghanouj is made, this authentic Lebanese eggplant dip (or aubergine dip) is a great side dish for any mezze or meal.
When serving baba ganoush, it is always topped with a good glug of extra virgin olive oil.
Matzo brei is a kind of flat omelet that’s a classic breakfast during Passover week and beyond. This recipe will show you how to make a vegan matzo brei, without the customary eggs. It’s easiest to make this one serving at a time in a small skillet; for more servings, repeat the recipe as needed.
Basically, matzo brei consists of broken matzah that’s softened with hot water, then mixed with scrambled egg and fried. Not exactly your powerhouse breakfast — after all, matzah isn’t exactly a super food — it’s one of those Eastern European specialties that’s suffused with nostalgia. Here we replace the egg, easily and cleverly!
A trio of egg substitutes: I give you three choices for the egg substitute that will hold the matzo brei together. Two of the options—oats (which are hametz) and garbanzo (chickpea) flour (legumes are kitniyot) are ingredients that aren’t allowable foods during the Passover week for those who adhere strictly.
Sephardic tradition still allows legumes and some other kitniyot during Passover week. Some Ashkenazi traditions have started to allow kitniyot, too. If you’re fine with that, go ahead and try this with garbanzo flour.
Quinoa flakes, as a derivative of the relatively recently allowable food, quinoa, is the most Passover-friendly option. That’s my favorite “glue” for my Vegan Matzah Balls.
If you adhere to Passover food rules, you can always wait until after the holiday week to make matzo brei. Like most everyone else who celebrates, you’ll likely have plenty of leftover matzah to use up.
Make sure to explore the variations: Often, matzo brei is enjoyed just as is; straight from the pan, lightly salted. Incorporating a little bit of fruit into the batter (banana, apple, or pear) into the batter is a lovely touch; you can also make it savory with baby spinach or other baby greens and/or fresh herbs.
Completely nontraditional and aligned with entirely the wrong Jewish holiday, these are definitely not your Bubbie’s matzah balls. Bound together with roasted pumpkin puree, I prefer to think of them more as matzah dumplings, since they bear a denser, more toothsome texture than the fluffy pillows of Passover lore. The goal of this wintery interpretation was not to perfect the vegan matzah ball, but to create something with the same sort of comforting flavors, revamped with a more seasonal spin.