The Modern Seder: Pesach Passover of 2023

Pesach inspires creativity.

When working with limited ingredients, I'm always trying new things and pushing beyond my comfort zone.

Cheers to 7 years of Pesach Ma Menus 🥂

I hope you enjoy, create and share away!

Love, Mushky

Salatim Starters:

These are 5 options as a starter, served in small quantities. These can all be prepped in advance and refrigerated.

Serves 6

1 ) Israeli Salad with MaMenu Pink Dressing

2 tomatoes, diced

3 Persian cucumbers, diced

MaMenu Pink Dressing:

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 small red onion

Blend all together using an immersion blender or food processor.

2) Roasted Eggplant with House Made Mayonnaise

2 Japanese eggplants, largely diced

2 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp olive oil divided

Salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread eggplant on a sheet pan and mix with 2 tbsp olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Roast for 25 minutes. Take out of the oven, add 1 tbsp olive oil, if it looks dry- toss, and roast for an additional 20-25 minutes.

Let cool. Mix in 2-3 tbsp house made mayonnaise.

House Made Mayonnaise:

1 egg - at room temperature

1 1/4 cup oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

Use a dry, tall jar or container, add egg, oil, lemon juice and salt.

Blend all ingredients with an immersion blender, keeping the stick at the bottom of the jar, and slowly lift up to the top as it forms.

3) Tomato, jicama, mango and jalapeño salad

1 tomato, diced

½ jicama, diced

1 mango, diced

1 jalapeno, minced

Season with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp salt.

4) Cooked carrot salad with minced red onion

6 medium-large carrots, peeled

Salt

1 mini red onion, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add whole carrots. Boil for 20-25 minutes until a fork can poke through easily. Drain water and cool. Use a crinkle cutter, and slice carrots about 1/2” thick. Add minced red onion, season with olive oil, lemon juice and salt.

*If you use spices and herbs, definitely add some cumin, and fresh chopped cilantro.

**Use the crinkle cutter to make potato chips, or to slice beets too

5) Beet and Apple slaw

1 large beet, peeled

2 apples, cored

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp salt

Using the shredder of a food processor, shred the beet and apple, and season with olive oil, lemon and salt.

Plating ideas:

You can individually plate this Seder plate style, or on small or large section plates.

Poached Steelhead Trout in Lemon and Grape Juice

Serves 8

2 lbs steelhead trout, cut into 2” pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion or 3 shallots

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp grape juice

Marinate fish in lemon and grape juice for 1 hour. Sauté red onion in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add fish with juices and season with salt. Cook covered for 15 minutes.

Oven Roasted Chicken with Orange and Lemon

Serves 5-6

3 1/2 - 4 lbs chicken

1/2 cup lime juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 cup orange juice

1 lime, sliced

1 lemon, sliced

1 orange sliced

1 blood orange, sliced

Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine lime, lemon and orange juice. Place chicken in a baking dish, add all juices into the dish. Sprinkle chicken with salt. Arrange sliced citrus under and over chicken. Seal pan with foil. Roast for 2 1/2 hours.

Brisket with Onion and Red Wine Sauce

Serves 12-14

5-6 lbs brisket

2 large onions, thinly sliced

4 cups broth or water

1 cup red wine

Salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Spread half the onions at the bottom of the pan or dutch oven. Season brisket with salt and place it on the onions. Add broth and wine. Cover pan tightly, and place in oven for 4 hours. Uncover and turn brisket over and bake for 1 hour.

Slice against the grain. Strain all the juices into a pot and cook down to half, and serve this gravy with the brisket and top with the onions from the pan.

Sweet Potato Pizza with Sliced Tomato and Onion Jam

Serves 4-6

Absolute greatest discovery, and is definitely a keeper. Recipe from the Kitchen, and adjusted to Pesach.

Olive oil

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into even cubes

1/2 cup almond flour, crushed almonds or potato starch

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

Pulse the sweet potatoes in a food processor with the blade until coarsely ground, like large grains of salt. Move it to a mixing bowl and combine with almond flour, crushed almonds or potato starch, salt and egg. I tried the crushed almonds and potato starch, both delicious. Mix it until it comes together. Preheat oven to 400. Brush a baking pan with olive oil. Roll sweet potato mixture into a rough ball and press on the oiled pan creating thin pizza crusts as big or as small as you want. Brush the tops with olive oil.

Bake until browned at the edges, around 25-30 minutes.

I topped mine with sliced tomato and onion jam, and another with salsa verde, tomato, avocado and onion jam. Classically, try it with sauce and cheese.

There’s so many ways to take this!

Onion jam

2 onions, diced

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp red wine

Saute the onions in oil for 35 minutes, mixing every 5 minutes until it turns into a deep golden color. Add sugar and red wine, and mix for 5 minutes.

Zucchini Noodles Served with Salsa Verde

Serves 6

2 zucchinis, julienned

Salsa Verde:

1 jalapeno

5 tomatillos, husks removed

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp lime juice

1/2 onion

2 tsp salt

Broil jalapeno and tomatillo for 5 minutes on each side. Add to food processor and blend with remaining ingredients.

Plate individually or in a serving dish, First placing a spoonful of salsa verde, then the raw julienned zucchinis and topped again with more salsa verde.

Pineapple and Lime Sorbet

Serves 6-8

1 lb or 4 cups of cubed pineapple

2 tbsp lime juice

Sugar- optional

Freeze cubed pineapple for 4 + hours until solid. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then place in a food processor with the lime juice and optional sugar. Process until smooth and creamy. Freeze immediately.

*Can do the same with mango