Feasts of faith: An Italian-themed Easter, Jewish-style pot roast for Passover
Friday marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday and Sunday is Easter.
Here we offer a feasts for both celebrations.
Passover
Passover is one of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays -- celebrated this year beginning Friday at sunset and the through April 13 -- and so it is a time for a special feast.
Passover commemorates Exodus, when the ancient Israelites fled Egypt to find their freedom at last.
The Pharaoh was beset by 10 plagues before he relented and set the Israelites free. It is said that they left in such haste they could not wait for their bread dough to rise and so to this day no leavened bread is eaten during Passover and matzo, a flat unleavened bread, remains the symbol of the holiday.
The first two nights of Passover a ritual meal, called a Seder, is eaten and seven traditional foods are served -- unleavened bread, bitter herb, a mixture of apples, nuts, wine and cinnamon; a roasted egg; a vegetable such as parsley or celery; roasted lamb and four glasses of wine. All of these offerings are highly symbolic with significance too complex for this short accounting.
While the traditional Seder meal is important, many also celebrate with a family feast of more common recipes. My friend Mike Edelstein suggested the following as a typical Passover meal for his family. Serve the soup as a first course.
MATZO BALL SOUP
1/2 cup matzo meal
2 beaten eggs
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch black pepper
2 tablespoons chicken stock
For the soup
2 to 3 quarts chicken
1 sliced carrot
A few sprigs of dill
Mix the ingredients for the matzo balls and cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. In a stock pot or large sauce pan add the chicken stock and carrots and simmer for 30 minutes. Form the matzo into equal size balls and drop into the simmering stock a few at a time and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve a few matzo balls and broth to each guest and garnish with the dill.
JEWISH-STYLE POT ROAST
This recipe is traditionally made with chicken fat, schmaltz, but any oil can be substituted for it.
4-pound shoulder roast
2 sliced onions
3 to 6 cloves chopped garlic
1 chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 sliced carrot
1/2 teaspoon paprika
10 to 12 pepper corns
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 bay leaves
2 cups beef stock
Salt and pepper as needed
Oil as needed
Sear the roast in hot oil until well browned. Add the vegetables and seasoning and cover with the stock. Simmer on top of the stove for 1- 1/2 to 2 hours with the lid slightly ajar. The roast will be very tender when done. Serve with the latkes.
LATKES OR POTATO PANCAKES
1-pound peeled Russet potatoes
1-pound onion
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 pinch black pepper
Salt as required
Oil for frying
Grate the potato and onion together, add a pinch of salt and let stand 20 minutes. Squeeze off the excess water by placing the potato mixture in a kitchen towel and twisting vigorously. Return to a mixing bowl and add the eggs, flour, pepper and another pinch of salt, mix well. Heat 1/8 inch of oil in a large frying pan (black cast iron would be perfect) too medium high. Form the potato mixture into cakes of about1/4 cup each, add to the pan and fry until brown, flip and continue cooking. Remove to a paper towel to drain. These will go very well with the roast beef but you can also top with a little apple sauce.
Easter
Easter marks the end of Lent. Therefore, many people treat Easter as a feast day, a day to offer something special at the family table.
The traditional menu in the South for Easter includes lamb and ham as the center pieces.
Lamb has religious significant as some believe it represents Jesus and his sacrificial death. The ham comes to the Easter table because a ham cured in the fall would just be ready to eat in the spring and so made for a long-awaited treat. Side dishes abound on a heavily loaded Easter table and seem to depend more on family tradition than custom.
The Creoles, known for a multitude of offerings even on non-feast days, went all out at Easter. The "Picayune Creole Cookbook" suggests oyster soup, broiled pompano, new potatoes with beurre a la matre d'hotel, pigeons and mushrooms, lamb with mint sauce, green peas, cauliflower and asparagus and that doesn't include dessert.
This Easter, however, why not try something a little different?
An Italian-themed menu might be fun and not too difficult to prepare. Start with prosciutto and goat cheese bruschetta, followed by Parmesan and rosemary roasted sweet potatoes, a Southern accent and herb-grilled lamb chops. End the meal with a cheese and fruit plate, a delicious and easy finale.
PROSCIUTTO AND GOAT CHEESE BRUSCHETTA
4 to 6 ounce Gorgonzola
3 to 6 thin slices of prosciutto
Crusty French bread cut into 1/2-inch slices
Butter as needed
Cut the bread into slices, lightly spread with butter (only to help with browning) and toast quickly under the broiler. Remove and spread thickly with Gorgonzola (or another blue cheese to your taste) and top with slices of the prosciutto. Serve immediately.
Serve this first course with a good bottle of Chianti Riserva.
PARMESAN AND ROSEMARY ROASTED SWEET POTATOES
1 pound sliced potatoes
3 to 4 chopped cloves of garlic
3 to 4 tablespoons coarsely shredded Parmesan
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1 to 2 bay leaves
2 to 3 tablespoons good quality olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss all of the ingredients until well-mixed, place in a roasting pan and roast until the potatoes are done and starting to brown and be crispy. Alternatively this may be made on the stove top. Start with high heat until starting to brown, then reduce the heat and cover until done. Keep warm until served.
HERB-GRILLED LAMB CHOPS
4 to 6 lamb chops (figure 1 or 2 per person depending on their size)
4 to 6 chopped sage leaves
1 large chopped sprig rosemary
Black pepper to taste
4 to 6 cloves chopped garlic
6 tablespoons good quality olive oil
Wood or charcoal fire or grill pan on stove top
Place all of the ingredients in a zip-lock bag, mix well and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, overnight is preferred. Remove from the bag, shake off excess herbs and grill over a hot fire or almost smoking grill pan for 2-3 minutes on a side (depending on thickness). Lamb should not be served well done. Allow to rest 3-5 minutes before serving.
Pair the chops with a good Chianti Classico from Tuscany or a Barolo from Piedmont.
CHEESE TRAY
A cheese tray with these three great Italian cheeses, accompanied with a simple fruit offering, is a wonderful way to end a meal. The Taleggio and the Asiago should be served at room temperature, as should all cheese. They should also be served whole and not pre-sliced. The Parmigiano-Reggiano, the king of Italian cheese, can be served whole or in curls. Make sure to spend a few moments arranging the cheese tray into a pleasing presentation. Serve with a fruity red wine.
Taleggio
Asiago
Parmigiano-Reggiano
White grapes
Strawberries
Thick sliced French bread
Julian Glenn Brunt, who has been a Mississippi Gulf Coast resident for more than 20 years, has a deep and abiding interest in art, culture and the culinary heritage of the South. His column runs weekly in Taste. You can contact him at living@sunherald.com.
This story was originally published April 4, 2012 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Feasts of faith: An Italian-themed Easter, Jewish-style pot roast for Passover ."