The Jewish Chronicle
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April 12, 2018 08:39
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3 min read
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Every year’s the same. Pre-Pesach, I cruise the aisles of the kosher supermarket loading my trolley with plastic table toys for our Seder along with vast quantities of kosher for Passover ingredients that we’ll never get through.
I end the eight days with surplus matzah meal, matzah, potato flour, dried fruits, ground nuts and desiccated coconut. Then there’s that giant horseradish root that festers in the fridge while I deliberate what to do with it until I have to admit defeat and consign it to my compost bin.
None of these foods should end up in landfill and most of us will make use of them over the next few months, but if you are also contemplating a cupboard full of matzah, here are some tips on how to empty your pantries and fridges that bit sooner:
Matzah
It has more uses than you think:
l Matzah granola — make a huge batch (you’ll find my recipe on the JC’s website) which is so tasty you’ll be happy to eat it for the next week or so.
l Millionaire’s matzah — matzah topped with layers of toffee and chocolate that is so delicious you’ll have no trouble scoffing the lot.
l Treat yourself to a few more matzah brei breakfasts this weekend. Add grated apple and cinnamon to the mix or make a matzah version of bread and butter pudding for an indulgent brunch treat.
l As a stuffing for roast chicken or peppers/aubergines — Denise Phillips advises crumbling it and mixing with herbs, garlic and chopped, dried apricots. You can also make sausage shapes of the stuffing and use it to roll schnitzel cuts of chicken around. Secure with a cocktail stick and roast.
Matzah meal
Most of us use it all year to coat fish fillets or schnitzels; for kneidlach or in salmon rissoles. If you do have a glut, try these ideas:
l Frozen kneidlach — make a huge batch of kneidlach but do not cook them. Open freeze them raw on a tray. Once solid (a couple of hours) pop them into a ziplock bag and they’ll be ready to drop into a pot of boiling water on Shabbat. You won’t have to make more for months!
l As a crispy topping for vegetables — Silvia Nacamulli’s recipe (right) adds texture to fennel and onion for a Shabbat side.
Potato starch
l Use it instead of cornflour to thicken sauces and stir fries.
Charoset
If you do still have any over — and the chances are slim in my house as I generally eat it straight from the bowl — there are a few options:
l Dolloped onto yoghurt — for a tasty breakfast, especially with matzah granola over the top.
l In crumbles, baked apples and strudels — Judi Rose recommends adding whole nuts, sultanas and orange zest to turn it into a filling for pies, strudels or a baked apple topping.
l Charoset ice cream — It’s a thing! Ben & Jerry’s made a flavour for the Israeli market, but if you want to make your own, drain off any liquid and stir through softened vanilla ice cream, dairy or parev, for an unusual but tasty pud. It works better with Sephardi-style charoset which is drier and chunkier.
Nuts, whole and ground
Make sure you store them in the fridge to avoid them going rancid. Nuts are great for healthy snacking and also have have a multitude of uses:
l Cakes and cookies — Lisa Roukin’s almond butter cookies (recipe: right) are great for a gluten free snack.
l Pancakes — mash ripe bananas and mix with beaten eggs and ground almonds for gluten free pancakes.
l Pesto — blitz almonds or walnuts with parsley (which you also may have from Seder night) plus a clove of garlic, olive oil and some parmesan cheese for a delicious pasta sauce or to spoon over grilled fish.
l In salads — Judi Rose suggests adding nuts and dried fruits to rice, bulgur wheat or Israeli couscous to make tasty salads. Add plenty of freshly chopped herbs too — which is where that parsley may again come in useful. I would always toast them first for five minutes in a hot oven to really bring out their flavour.
Horseradish
There are more uses to this fiery condiment than you would think.
l Fish pate — blitz creamed horseradish with smoked fish fillets and crème fraiche and perhaps some dill and lemon zest to make a delicious fish pate.
l Spread or dip — Rose suggests folding it into yoghurt, cream cheese, sour cream or mayonnaise to slather over smoked salmon bagels (next week).
lTopping for roast salmon – Helen Goldrein (of kosher food blog Family, friends, food) suggest sautéeing grated beetroot with chopped spring onions and grated horseradish, then roasting it on top of salmon fillets.
Enjoy the last few days of kitchen slavery.