Below you will find several recipes traditional for Passover: charoset, chicken soup, matzah balls (to add to the soup), roast lamb, and Passover nut cake. With these few dishes, you would have a good taste of a traditional Jewish Passover meal.
Charoset
Charoset is a simple fruit mixture that can be spread on matzo or eaten alone. This recipe includes the standard apples and walnuts, but there are many versions of this Seder favorite.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Level of Difficulty: Easy
- Serving Size: 3 to 4 cups
Ingredients
- 3 apples, peeled and diced
- 1 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon red wine, sweet like Manischewitz
- 1 tablespoon honey
Directions
- Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine evenly.
- If you want this to be more of a spread, combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until just forming a paste.
(Recipe from FoodRepublic.com)
Chicken Soup from a Jewish Mother
(page 28 of The Jews for Jesus Family Cookbook)
Some of us were fortunate enough (and attentive enough) to learn from our mothers while they were busy in the kitchen. The rest of us have learned to cook by trial and error (sometimes many errors). This recipe for chicken soup is fairly easy—it takes little more than throwing a chicken in a pot and covering it with water. Although not necessary, a kosher chicken may taste better than a regular chicken for making soup. If you’re fortunate enough to live near a kosher butcher, then, by all means, try a kosher chicken for this soup.
Ingredients:
- 5 pounds chicken parts
- (backs, necks, etc.)
- 3 ¼ quarts water
- 2 onions, peeled and halved
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
- 1 ¼ tablespoons salt
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- several sprigs parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried dillweed
Directions:
Place the first four ingredients in a large pot (at least five quarts). Bring to a boil, skimming off fat as it rises to top. Lower heat, cover pot and simmer for two hours. Add carrots, salt, and parsley; simmer one hour more. Stir in dillweed; heat for 15 minutes and serve. Makes 12 cups of soup.
Notes:
This is even better if refrigerated overnight before serving. The hardened fat can be removed before reheating. This soup can also be strained into a clean pot and served with sliced carrots and small bits of chicken. [The knaidlach recipe below is intended to go with this soup.]
(Photo Credit: Allrecipes.com)
Knaidlach #1 (Matzoh Balls) for Soup
(page 166 of The Jews for Jesus Family Cookbook)
Ingredients:
- 6 eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ? teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons melted chicken fat or margarine
- 1 cup matzoh meal
Directions:
Beat egg whites until stiff. Beat egg yolks separately until light. Add salt, pepper, and melted fat to yolks; fold gently into egg whites. Fold in matzoh meal one spoonful at a time. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Moisten hands and form batter into walnut-sized balls. Drop into a large pot of rapidly boiling chicken soup or water. Reduce heat and cook slowly, covered, for 30 minutes. Makes 12 servings.
(Photo Credit: https://www.bonappetit.com)
Moishe’s Roast Lamb for Passover
(page 167 of The Jews for Jesus Family Cookbook)
Directions:
Have butcher bone and roll a lamb shoulder or leg—figure on ½-¾ pound boned and rolled lamb per person. You will need two cloves of garlic for every one pound of lamb. Slice garlic into thin slices; make holes with the point of a sharp knife in the fatty part of the lamb. Insert slices of garlic into holes. Place a meat thermometer in the center of the thickest part of the lamb. Roast at 325 degrees on a rack in a shallow pan until meat thermometer reaches 175 degrees (medium done) or 180 degrees (well done)—about 35–40 minutes per pound.
(Photo Credit: https://www.foodandwine.com)
Passover Nut Cake
(page 170 of The Jews for Jesus Family Cookbook)
Ingredients:
- 8 eggs, separated and at room temperature
- 8 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon grated lemon rind
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons matzoh cake meal
- 1 cup almonds or pecans, finely ground
Directions:
Beat egg yolks until light and lemon colored; add sugar gradually and continue to beat until well blended. Blend in lemon rind, juice, matzoh meal, and ground nuts until well-mixed. Beat egg whites until stiff and blend in gently. Bake in an ungreased 10-inch springform pan for one hour at 300 degrees or until the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the middle. Invert pan on the cake rack to cool. Remove from pan when cool.
(Photo Credit: https://www.lilcookie.com)
