A Special Vegetarian Passover Post

Good afternoon and an early Happy Passover!  Thank you for letting me visit you two days in a row.  I wanted to write a bonus post in honor of the high holidays as they are almost here.  Although we grew up, for the most part, with huge roasted chickens, turkeys and briskets, it is not only possible but delicious to have a vegetarian Passover.

First let me tell you about one of my most favorite people I never met.  That would be a lady by the name of Mollie Katzen.  Not only do I feel a kinship to her because my mother's family is named Katz but because she is a chef and an artist and grew up with a tremendous respect for food and where it came from. She was one of the first voices to sing the praises of vegetarian cooking back in the 1970's-the same time I thought the best food came from Nathan's.  She opened a restaurant with some friends called "Moosewood Restaurant" up in Ithaca, NY and soon after began writing cookbooks based on those recipes.  As an amazing artist, her books are filled with her beautiful illustrations. Her philosophy is that food is sacred and should be beheld and honored and slowly enjoyed.  I could not agree more...which may explain why am I always the last one finished at the table.

Many years later, a roommate of mine owned one of her books called "Still Life With Menu Cookbook".  Not only was it filled with beautiful illustrations but gave menus for complete meals including Vegetarian Thanksgiving and Vegetarian Passover. It was in that apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn, that I denounced my relationship with meat and looked to Mollie Katzen for guidance.  My roommate and I made the Passover dishes (plus a roasted chicken for my parents) and had a beautiful Passover.  A couple of years later, I moved out of that apartment and regretfully left the book with its owner.  That was the period in my life that I decided to go to culinary school and something moved me to write a letter to Mollie. I told her of my love of "Still Life" and my plans to start a career in the culinary world.  To my absolute astonishment and joy I came home to a package in the mail. It was a copy of "Still Life" with an inscription from Mollie!  So in her honor I am going to pass on some of her wonderful recipes for a very happy and healthy Passover.

First off...the soup. This is Mollie's "Not-Chicken Soup".  Combine in a large soup pot the following ingredients: 8 cups of water, 2 teaspoons salt, peel and cut into small chunks - 1 medium parsnip, 2 large carrots, 2 medium onions, 2 stalks of celery, 8-10 garlic cloves cut in half, a handful of button mushrooms cleaned and trimmed of their stems, 1/2 teaspoon tumeric and a little black pepper. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer partially covered. Let cook slowly for 1 1/4 hours. Let cool and then strain out all vegetables. Heat it gently before serving. It's really wonderful and you serve it with her matzoh balls.  This is her Matzoh Ball recipe: Break 2 eggs in a small bowl and beat lightly.   Add 1/2 cup of Matzoh meal and 1 teaspoon salt.  Take a few springs of fresh parsley and use scissors to snip in a few tiny feathery pieces right into the matzoh meal. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for 30 mins.  An hour before serving, heat a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Dust your hands with a little extra matzoh meal and form 1 inch balls, placing them one by one on a dusted plate.  Then drop the matzoh balls gently into the boiling water and cook for 40 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place them to serving bowls. Ladle the hot soup on top.

Matzoh Kugel- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking pan with butter or margarine.  Break 1 box of plain matzoh into pieces (size doesn't matter) and soak them in a large bowl of warm water for 10 mins. Drain well and return to bowl.   Chop 3 medium onions into small pieces, mince 2 stalks of celery, chop a 12 oz package of button mushrooms, and mince 6 garlic cloves. Saute these vegetables (except the garlic!) in a large heavy skillet in butter with a little salt and pepper until it is all very tender. At the last  minute, add the minced garlic and cook for five more minutes.  Add the sauteed vegetables to the matzoh and mix well.  In a separate bowl beat 5 eggs and add to the matzoh and veg mixture.  Adjust seasoning and then spread into the prepared baking pan.  Sprinkle the top generously with paprika and (if you like) sunflower seeds for added crunch.  Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 30 mins. Then uncover and allow to bake for another 20-25 mins. to achieve that lovely golden brown on top.

Steamed Fresh Asparagus and Hard Boiled Eggs with Horseradish Sauce- This is a very easy recipe and a great holiday twist for a side dish.  Hard boil 3 eggs for 8 minutes.  Remove from simmering water but do not peel and cut into quarters until 30 mins

Finally...dessert! Mile High Sponge Cake- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Have an ungreased stand sized tube pan ready.  Separate 9 eggs into two large bowls.  Beat the whites with an electric mixture at high speed, gradually adding 1/2 teaspoon of salt, until stiff peaks are formed. and set aside.  Juice 2 lemons and grate the rind.  Put the lemon juice into a measuring cup and add enough water to make 3/4 of a cup of liquid and set aside.  Combine 3/4 cup of matzoh cake meal and 1/4 cup of potato starch in a small bowl and stir in the lemon rind and set aside.  Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is light yellow and thick (5-8 mins at high speed).  Add everything else (except the egg whites!) and beat at medium speed for a few more minutes until everything is combined.  Finally add the egg whites and fold in gently by hand until incorporated.    Turn the batter into the tube pan and bake for 1 1/4 hours or until the top springs back when touched lightly.  Turn the pan upside down and cool thoroughly.  Remove from pan onto a serving plate and serve.

So here are some of my favorite Passover recipes.  I hope you try them and enjoy them as much as I have!  Have a beautiful and healthy holiday!

Love,
Robina