Cooking for Passover
March 29, 2013 10:06 AM Subscribe
I am hosting a dinner party and one of the guests is observing passover. I need to stay away from rice, beans, corn, and bread. I am looking for some awesome dishes / dish combinations to serve so everyone is happy. Bring on your tasty dishes.
Have a brisket and a potato kugel with a nice salad.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:15 AM on March 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 10:15 AM on March 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
You can use a lot of low carb resources to help you here.
If you want to make something breaded, you can use matzah meal instead of other crumbs. Potato starch instead of corn starch if that comes up. Fry/saute in olive oil.
The real challenge of Passover is separating dairy and meat for observant people. If that's not an issue, you really have no problem. Frittatas, potato dishes, meat and veg dishes, fish... quinoa is kosher for passover if you need a starchy side; potatoes or sweet potatoes also work for that.
posted by fingersandtoes at 10:25 AM on March 29, 2013
If you want to make something breaded, you can use matzah meal instead of other crumbs. Potato starch instead of corn starch if that comes up. Fry/saute in olive oil.
The real challenge of Passover is separating dairy and meat for observant people. If that's not an issue, you really have no problem. Frittatas, potato dishes, meat and veg dishes, fish... quinoa is kosher for passover if you need a starchy side; potatoes or sweet potatoes also work for that.
posted by fingersandtoes at 10:25 AM on March 29, 2013
If you want something easy, elegant and springy, without having to worry about milk/meat, try this meal:
Salmon (Poached in white wine, or grilled, or pan-fried in a bit of olive oil) garnish with dill. I make a yummy sauce for it out of mayo, fresh lemon juice, sweet relish, fresh dill, green onions, a dash of tobasco and a dash of Worchestershire sauce.
Asparagus, either in a room temperature salad, or dressed with hollendaise sauce, spiked with lemon. (I buy my hollendaise at Trader Joes, in the milk/egg section. It's pretty fantastic!)
Boiled potatoes, or roasted potatoes, or mashed potatoes. You get the drift.
A simple tossed, green salad is good as well.
Last year I made a Tzimmmis (yiddish for the dish, and also for anything that's a big production.) Although I expected it to be a hassle, it was really easy and people gobbled it up!
For pre-dinner nibblies, a yummy cheese, some matzo, olives, cornichons, etc will make a nice platter.
Trader Joes also had some decent Kosher Wine, if that matters.
Flourless chocolate cake is an excellent dessert. Macaroons are also mighty tasty if you want to offer something more traditional, but still have a little something for your observant guests.
Frankly, you can cook this meal for everyone and no one will even notice that there's nothing leavened in it, or that it's Kosher!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:44 AM on March 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
Salmon (Poached in white wine, or grilled, or pan-fried in a bit of olive oil) garnish with dill. I make a yummy sauce for it out of mayo, fresh lemon juice, sweet relish, fresh dill, green onions, a dash of tobasco and a dash of Worchestershire sauce.
Asparagus, either in a room temperature salad, or dressed with hollendaise sauce, spiked with lemon. (I buy my hollendaise at Trader Joes, in the milk/egg section. It's pretty fantastic!)
Boiled potatoes, or roasted potatoes, or mashed potatoes. You get the drift.
A simple tossed, green salad is good as well.
Last year I made a Tzimmmis (yiddish for the dish, and also for anything that's a big production.) Although I expected it to be a hassle, it was really easy and people gobbled it up!
For pre-dinner nibblies, a yummy cheese, some matzo, olives, cornichons, etc will make a nice platter.
Trader Joes also had some decent Kosher Wine, if that matters.
Flourless chocolate cake is an excellent dessert. Macaroons are also mighty tasty if you want to offer something more traditional, but still have a little something for your observant guests.
Frankly, you can cook this meal for everyone and no one will even notice that there's nothing leavened in it, or that it's Kosher!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:44 AM on March 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
Yup, I agree with Ruthless Bunny that the general formula of:
*Meat (salmon, roast chicken, lamb, steaks)
*Vegetable (asparagus, roasted carrots & parsnips, etc.)
*Potato (roasted baby potatoes, roasted sweet potato rounds, etc.)
*Salad
is perfect and there are infinite recipes out there for any of the above. Depending on your budget, I'd be partial to lamb, asparagus, and roasted baby potatoes as a very pleasant spring meal, but roasted chicken is pretty much always a winner and not very expensive either.
posted by iminurmefi at 11:30 AM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
*Meat (salmon, roast chicken, lamb, steaks)
*Vegetable (asparagus, roasted carrots & parsnips, etc.)
*Potato (roasted baby potatoes, roasted sweet potato rounds, etc.)
*Salad
is perfect and there are infinite recipes out there for any of the above. Depending on your budget, I'd be partial to lamb, asparagus, and roasted baby potatoes as a very pleasant spring meal, but roasted chicken is pretty much always a winner and not very expensive either.
posted by iminurmefi at 11:30 AM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
You really need to ask your friend what she will and will not eat. I grew up keeping kosher and there was no way in hell my family would have dined at a non-Passover observing household during the holiday, no matter what the composition of the meal was. Your friend's willingness to eat at your house suggests that she's pretty relaxed about the whole thing. If she is observant enough not to mix milk with meat, she's not ever eating at your presumably non-kosher house, Passover or not. Just use potatoes as your starchy side, put out some matzoh, and you're likely fine, but ask to be sure.
posted by Wordwoman at 11:34 AM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Wordwoman at 11:34 AM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
There are some good suggestions in this recent askme, in case you missed it.
posted by rtha at 11:43 AM on March 29, 2013
posted by rtha at 11:43 AM on March 29, 2013
Quinoa doesn't count as kitniyot, so you should think about using it if you're looking for a grain.
posted by yellowcandy at 11:53 AM on March 29, 2013
posted by yellowcandy at 11:53 AM on March 29, 2013
Another really good dessert idea is a fruit fool - although it involves dairy, and I'm not Jewish, so I will let someone else speak to whether it is kosher if you serve meat as a main dish.
But it's super-easy - get a couple containers of raspberries, save a handful aside and mash up the rest with some sugar; then whip a couple cups of cream and fold the mashed berries into the whipped cream. Dole that out into fancy dessert glasses or bowls or whatever and top with a couple whole berries. You can either serve right away or chill until serving.
You can also do something similar with strawberries, whipped cream, some nuts and yogurt; get a container of strawberries, save a few aside and slice up the rest and simmer them on the stove with some lemon juice and sugar so they just soften up a bit. Then whip up some cream and fold that into about a cup of yogurt. Then chop a handful of nuts in the food processor super-fine. Then layer that in a dessert glass - a layer of whipped cream/yogurt, a layer of cooked strawberry, a sprinkle of chopped nuts, then another layer of everything...keep layering, then top with a splop of whipped cream, a sprinkle of the nuts, and then a couple slices of whole strawberry. Serve right away or chill until you're ready.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:06 PM on March 29, 2013
But it's super-easy - get a couple containers of raspberries, save a handful aside and mash up the rest with some sugar; then whip a couple cups of cream and fold the mashed berries into the whipped cream. Dole that out into fancy dessert glasses or bowls or whatever and top with a couple whole berries. You can either serve right away or chill until serving.
You can also do something similar with strawberries, whipped cream, some nuts and yogurt; get a container of strawberries, save a few aside and slice up the rest and simmer them on the stove with some lemon juice and sugar so they just soften up a bit. Then whip up some cream and fold that into about a cup of yogurt. Then chop a handful of nuts in the food processor super-fine. Then layer that in a dessert glass - a layer of whipped cream/yogurt, a layer of cooked strawberry, a sprinkle of chopped nuts, then another layer of everything...keep layering, then top with a splop of whipped cream, a sprinkle of the nuts, and then a couple slices of whole strawberry. Serve right away or chill until you're ready.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:06 PM on March 29, 2013
I bring you the Passover section of Couldn't Be Parve for dessert.
I second asking for more specific parameters, though. There's massive variation.
posted by hoyland at 12:28 PM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
I second asking for more specific parameters, though. There's massive variation.
posted by hoyland at 12:28 PM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
May I recommend What Jew Wanna Eat, a fine recipe blog with lots of Passover-friendly recipes. Try the sweet potato kugel, very tasty.
posted by greatgefilte at 1:09 PM on March 29, 2013
posted by greatgefilte at 1:09 PM on March 29, 2013
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posted by chesty_a_arthur at 10:09 AM on March 29, 2013 [2 favorites]