Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and yellow leaves removed 3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2.	Place trimmed Brussels sprouts, olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal tightly, and shake to coat. Pour onto a baking sheet, and place on center oven rack.
3.	Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, shaking pan every 5 to 7 minutes for even browning. Reduce heat when necessary to prevent burning. Brussels sprouts should be darkest brown, almost black, when done. Adjust seasoning with kosher salt, if necessary. Serve immediately.

Passover Chicken Schnitzel

Servings: 4 servings

Kosher Key: Kosher for Passover

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Total Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 large breasts)
• 1 cup matzo cake meal
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup matzo meal
• 1 tbsp paprika
• Salt and pepper
• Oil for frying (pick one with a high smoke point like grapeseed)
• Fresh lemon wedges for garnish

You will also need

Plastic wrap, mallet, skillet, paper towels

Lay down a 2-foot long strip of plastic wrap on your kitchen countertop. Place chicken breasts on the plastic, leaving a 2-inch space between each breast. Cover the breasts with another strip of plastic, so the meat is sandwiched between two layers of plastic. Use a mallet to pound the breasts until they are a little less than ¼ inch thick. Season breasts with salt and pepper.
Set up three wide, shallow bowls and a large plate on your countertop. In your first bowl, place the matzo cake meal. In your second bowl, beat the eggs. In your third bowl, stir together the matzo meal, paprika, and 1 tsp salt till well blended. Leave an empty plate nearby where you will place your coated schnitzels.
Pour oil into a skillet until it’s deep enough for frying (about ½ inch). Heat the oil slowly over medium. While oil is heating, dip each breast one by one into your breading bowls—first coat with matzo cake meal, then with egg, then with the matzo meal mixture.
The ideal temperature to fry schnitzel is around 375 degrees F. When the oil is hot (but not smoking or splattering), fry the coated breasts in single-layer batches until they are golden brown on both sides. If your oil is at the right temperature, it should take about 3-4 minutes per side. Don’t fry more than two breasts at a time in a regular sized skillet, or the oil temperature will drop and the schnitzels will become greasy.
After frying, set the schnitzels on a paper towel and pat them dry to soak off excess oil. Sprinkle the schnitzels with salt to taste. Serve hot garnished with lemon wedges and your favorite condiment.

This recipe is courtesy The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Passover Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Servings: 12-14 appetizer servings

Kosher Key: Meat

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 45 Minutes

Total Time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

• 2 large cans (20 oz. each) pineapple chunks in their own juice (no sugar added)
• 3/4 cup tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar (or sub white vinegar)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (or sub white sugar)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 3/4 tsp salt, divided
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder, divided
• 3/4 lb. lean ground beef
• 3/4 lb. dark meat ground chicken
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3-4 tbsp matzo meal
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Pinch of cayenne (or more to taste– add carefully, it’s very spicy!)

Note: I live in an area with a lot of great kosher markets, so I’ve never had trouble finding any of the items in this recipe with kosher for Passover certification. However, I’m told that in some places brown sugar and cider vinegar can be tough to track down with a KFP hechsher. If that is true in your area, feel free to swap cider vinegar for white vinegar, and brown sugar for white sugar.
Drain your two cans of pineapple chunks and reserve the juice.
In a medium pot, mix together tomato sauce, ketchup, cider vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, onion powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and the juice from the pineapple cans. Stir together and turn meat to low to let the sauce slowly warm.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl use a fork to mix together the ground beef and chicken, egg, 3 tbsp matzo meal, paprika, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, and cayenne. I like a little heat in the meatballs, so I add a heaping 1/4 tsp of cayenne. If you don’t want them spicy, you can omit it completely– or just add a pinch for depth of flavor.
Form the meat mixture into small 1-inch meatballs. If the mixture seems to moist or stick, add another tablespoon of matzo meal to the mixture. Place the meatballs into the warming sauce.
When all the meatballs are formed, bring the mixture to a boil and stir to cover the meatballs with sauce. Lower the heat to a low, even simmer and cover the pot.
Let the meatballs cook for 40 minutes, stirring frequently, till sauce thickens and meatballs cook all the way through. If the sauce seems to be reducing too fast or losing too much liquid, lower the heat and add a little water to thin it.
After 40 minutes, add the pineapple chunks to the sauce and stir to coat. Let the chunks warm in the sauce for 5 minutes.
Serve. You can serve this as an entree with a Passover-friendly starch, as a side dish, or with toothpicks as an appetizer. Enjoy!

This recipe is from The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Sephardic Charoset Truffles

Servings: About 25 truffles

Kosher Key: Pareve, Kosher for Passover

Total Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pitted dates
• 1 1/2 cups dried apricots
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 3/4 cup shelled pistachios

• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Place dates, apricots, raisins, pistachios and honey and place in a food processor.

Pulse for about 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth but still has texture. You may need to break up the sticky mixture a few times if it collects in a ball in the processor.

In a bowl, mix together the sugar and the cinnamon. Form date mixture into balls that are about ¾ inch in diameter. The balls will be sticky and soft. It will be easier to shape them if you wet your hands slightly.
Dry your hands. Dip the balls in the cinnamon sugar and coat thoroughly, and re-roll between your palms to smooth out any rough edges. Serve at room temperature.

This recipe is from The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Karpas

Karpas is a vegetable other than bitter herbs on the seder plate, and it represents the coming of spring. It is usually parsley, but celery or cooked potato are sometimes also used. At the beginning of the seder, the karpas is dipped into salt water (Ashkenazi custom), vinegar (Sephardic custom) or charoset (Yemenite custom). The practice symbolizes the tears shed by enslaved Jews in Egypt.

Ingredients:

2 oz (60 ml) Leopold’s Gin

2 sprigs Flat or Italian Parsley – leaves only

3 drops Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

1) Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake gently to chill the drink and bruise the parsley.

2) Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a chilled cocktail glass.

3) Garnish with a single parsley leaf floating in the drink.

Notes:

The gentle shaking is the key to this cocktail. You want to roll the drink back and forth in the shaker to release the flavor of the parsley without overly macerating the leaves.

Content courtesy: The Sipping Seder

Noodle Kugel

• 1/2 pound wide kosher egg noodles
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1 pound cottage cheese
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Boil the noodles in salted water for about 4 minutes. Strain noodles from water. In a large mixing bowl, combine noodles with remaining ingredients and pour into a greased, approximately 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

Bake until custard is set and top is golden brown, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Matzo Ball Soup

INGREDIENTS:

2 (10 ounce) packages matzo crackers 1/2 cup butter 6 eggs salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 2 onions, minced 5 ounces matzo meal 96 ounces chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
2.	Break matzo crackers into small pieces, and place in a large bowl. Add water to cover; allow to soak for a few minutes, until soft. Drain off excess water.
3.	Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and stir in drained matzos; stir until mixture is dry and slightly brown. Remove from heat, and mix in eggs, salt and pepper to taste, parsley, and onions.
4.	Mix in just enough matzo meal to make mixture hold together. Roll one golf ball-size matzo ball. Place matzo ball in the boiling water to test the mixture. The ball must rise to the top of the water and not break apart. If it does not rise, then too much matzo meal was added. In this case, add another beaten egg to the mixture and try again. When desired consistency is reached, roll all of mixture into golf ball size spheres.
5.	In a large saucepan, bring chicken broth to a slow boil over medium heat; add balls to broth. Serve soup as the balls rise to the top of the broth.