Haroset | too GOOD to PASSOVER

Sweet and Spicy Ethiopian Style Haroset

I was surprised to learn from many Jews who had grown up in Ethiopia, that haroset simply had never been a part of their Seder meal. But for those few who did have it, the addition of fresh ginger was essential to creating a paste that was both sweet and spicy. Because the Ethiopian diet traditionally has very little in the way of sweets, the haroset also became the dessert, spread over matzah either at the end of the Passover meal or during the long holiday week.

Recipe from “Too Good To Passover,” Section 1: Africa, Chapter 3: Ethiopia

ETHIOPIAN STYLE HAROSET
(Date and Fig Spread with Fresh Ginger)

Yield: Serves 8 to 10 / Makes 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
1/2 pound Medjool dates (about 8 large), cut in half, pits discarded
1 pound dried Black Mission figs, quartered, stems discarded
1/4 cup peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger root
1/2 to 3/4 cup cold water

Steps:
1. If your figs are dry and hard, place them in a small bowl filled with enough cold water to cover. Let the figs soak long enough to soften slightly, 1 to 2 hours. Drain well. (Figs should be soft enough to squeeze between your fingers.)

2. Place dates, figs, ginger root, and 1/2 cup water in a food processor and pulse until a smooth and thick paste (if you need to add more water, do it one tablespoon at a time so that it doesn’t become too watery).

3. Place in a small, decorative bowl and serve at room temperature with matzah.

Moroccan Date-Raisin Haroset “Truffles”

Charoset_Moroccan_TruffleBalls_10_blog

Moroccan Style Haroset
(Cinnamon Dusted Date-Raisin “Truffles” with Walnuts, Rolled in Cinnamon)
Yield: Serves 12 / Makes approximately 3 cups or 4 dozen 1-inch balls

A recipe from my cookbook Too Good To Passover: Sephardic & Judeo-Arabic Menus and Memories from Africa, Asia and Europe, Section 1: Africa, Chapter 5.

This Moroccan haroset is shaped into a small ball, then rolled in ground cinnamon to resemble an elegant truffle. For the most impressive way to serve visually, stack balls on top of one another into a pyramid shape on an elegant platter alongside any other more classic haroset spread in a bowl. When it comes time to eat, guests may help themselves to a single truffle and eat it straight, or pressed down between two small pieces of matzah as a sandwich.

For Haroset:
1 cup walnuts
½ cup slivered almonds
12 large Medjool dates or 20 regular-size dates, pitted and cut into large pieces
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup dark raisins
3 to 4 tablespoons sweet Passover wine, such as Manischewitz

For Serving:
1 box of matzah/matzo squares or mini matzah crackers
Cinnamon (for rolling and dusting the outside)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place the walnuts and almonds in the food processor and pulse until coarsely ground, but not into a meal-like consistency (about 30 seconds).

2. Add the dates and raisins and combine in the food processor for about 30 seconds.

3. Add the wine and pulse until the mixture becomes a soft paste.

4. Taking one level tablespoon (or mini melon ball scoop) at a time, roll the thick paste into 1-inch balls* (if the paste is sticking too much to your hands, try dipping your hands in cold water and then rolling them).

5. When all of the balls have been rolled, pour a couple of tablespoons of ground
cinnamon onto a small plate and gently roll each ball in the cinnamon to lightly coat the outside. (You can also dust your hands with cinnamon and then roll each ball again
between your palms to lightly coat, whichever way is easier.)

6. Serve haroset balls at room temperature stacked in a small decorative bowl or on a small platter alongside tea matzahs. Store balls in a tightly covered plastic container between layers of parchment or wax paper in the refrigerator for up to three days, or the freezer for up to one month.

*Note: If you wish to serve the mixture in the more common way of a paste in a bowl, then add a little more wine or warm water to make a bit smoother and softer for spreading.

Spanish-Portuguese Congregation Mikvé Israel-Emanuel of Curaçao: Winner of the best haroset in 2011

Posts, Recipes June 1, 2017 Leave a comment

The original Mikvé Israel congregation was created in the 1650s — a community formed by Iberian Jews from Holland, whose ancestors had once fled the Inquisitions of Spain and Portugal. After merging with the Sephardic Reform Temple Emanu-El in 1964, the synagogue became known as “Mikvé Israel-Emanuel,” and affiliated itself with the Reconstructionist stream of Judaism. The building that stands today was built in 1730 by Spanish and Portuguese Jews from the Netherlands and Brazil, and is the oldest remaining synagogue in continuous use in the Americas. The Jewish population of Curaçao today is about 300 people out of 160,000 residents.

In a recent trip to Curaçao, my friend Katie Sanders and her family visited this synagogue shortly before Passover 2017. Katie was nice enough to send me the following photos of the synagogue:

CuracaoSynagogue_8

CuracaoSynagogue_1

As explained in the synagogue’s brochure, the sand floor of the synagogue symbolizes the following three things:

The Sinai desert that the Israelites wandered in for forty years
when fleeing Egypt for the Holy Land
The sand that the Spanish and Portuguese Jews once poured on the floors
of their secret prayer rooms in order to muffle the sounds of their services.
(During the Inquisitions, a Converso or “Secret Jew” could face
life imprisonment, loss of property, and even death if discovered.)
God’s promise to Abraham:
I will multiply your seed of the seashore and the stars in the heavens.
— Genesis 13:16

CuracaoSynagogue_3

For more information, please go directly to the Mikvé-Israel Emanuel Website.

The following recipe — courtesy of Myrna Moreno and the Mikvé-Israel Emanuel Sisterhood — won Berlin’s 2011 “Milk & Honey Tour” for best haroset. Combining Sephardic and Caribbean ingredients, this haroset is rolled into balls, and is the most exotic I have ever seen or tasted!

GAROSA
(Sephardic Style Haroset Balls from “The Jewish Kitchens of Curacao”)
Yield: About 5 dozen balls

½ pound pitted dates
½ pound pitted prunes
½ pound raisins
½ pound figs
¼ cup lemon or orange peel
2 pounds unsalted peanuts
½ pound unsalted cashew nuts (optional)
1 pound dark brown sugar
½ cup honey
2 to 3 tablespoons cinnamon plus extra for coating
2 jiggers kosher wine
¼ cup orange and lime juice or watermelon and tamarind juice, if available.

Grind fruits and nuts.
Add the sugar, honey, cinnamon, wine and juices to form a moist but firm mixture.
Roll into balls (about 1” to 1-1/2” in diameter) and coat with cinnamon.NOTE: These can be made ahead, wrapped individually in wax paper and placed in an airtight container in the refrigerator or frozen.

Seder Plate Checklist: Are you set?

Posts April 13, 2014 Leave a comment

Below is a list of all the necessary Seder foods, along with the variety of ingredients that individuals from all over the Middle East, Mediterranean, Central Asia, and parts of Africa have used on their Seder table:

Z’roah (sacrificial lamb): Roasted lamb shank or chicken wing or leg (any with or without the meat on the bone)

Beitzah (egg): Hardboiled, singed, or slow-cooked with onion skins & coffee grinds

Charoset (sweet fruit spread): Variety using any or a mixture of the following: dates, apricots, apples, oranges, pomegranate seeds, figs, raisins, bananas, sesame seeds, walnuts, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, fresh and dried ginger, ground rose petals, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, anise, red wine, grape juice, vinegar, orange blossom water

Karpas (spring vegetable): Celery, celery leaves, cucumber

Maror (bitter herb): Romaine lettuce, red radish, bitter greens salad, lemon peel,
endive, frisée, chickory, arugula

Representing sweat & tears: Salt water, white/red/cider vinegar, lemon or lime juice

Matzah: Commercially-bought small square kind, larger Shmura Matzah type,
homemade and soft, or very crispy and smooth: up to 3x size of a large pizza!

QUESTION: What do YOU use on your Seder plate or table?
SEND ME YOUR SEDER PLATE PHOTOS!

Charoset of the Day: Persian Hallegh

Recipes April 10, 2014 Leave a comment

Persians refer to their charoset as “hallegh“. Many of them use some combination of nuts with dates, often adding pomegranate juice and/or seeds to round out the flavors. Today my friend Simona stopped by to show me her family’s hallegh, and what intrigued me the most was its addition of fresh red grapes to the mixture of nuts, raisins and dates (which have been marinating overnight in apple cider vinegar and sweet Passover wine). The result was a tangy, fruity spread, the texture of a paté:

Hallegh: Persian Charoset with Nuts, Apples, Grapes & Marinated Raisins & Dates
(Yield: Makes 5 Cups)

For Hallegh:
1 cup black raisins (preferably larger ones, if available) Charoset_Halegh_Nuts_1_blog
6 medjool dates (about 1/2 cup), pitted
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sweet Passover wine
(such as Manischewitz)
1/4 pound (about 1 cup) of each of
the following:
hazelnuts
walnuts
pistachios
almonds
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper (optional)
1/2 red seedless grapes
1 large red apple (about 8 ounces),
cut into large chunks

For Serving:
1/4 to 1/2 cup sliced red grapes

Charoset_Halegh_Nuts_2_blog
1. Place raisins and dates in a small bowl and marinate with the cider vinegar and sweet wine overnight (do not refrigerate).

2. Rinse nuts and spread out on a large kitchen towel to dry about 15 minutes.

3. Place nuts, salt, and red pepper (if desired)
in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground.

4. Add grapes, apple, and marinated raisin-date mixture (with soaking liquid) to the processor and pulse until fairly smooth and well-blended.

5. Serve immediately garnished with sliced red grapes, or refrigerate in container for up to 2 days.

©Jennifer Felicia Abadi: www.TooGoodToPassover.com / jabadi@FistfulofLentils.com

You Say Haroset, I Say Harose. (Charoset, Jarose…)

Posts September 1, 2013 Comments: 2

We all know haroset. We all love haroset. And, come on, we all think that OUR family’s haroset is the best, no? The Ashkenazim (at least here in the USA) tend to make theirs with chopped apple as its base, adding walnuts, cinnamon, a little sugar, and sweet wine, while the Sephardim generally use dates as their base, with cinnamon, wine or even vinegar, and perhaps apples or dried apricots depending upon the region. But what is most interesting to me right now is how many names exist in the Sephardic and Mizrahic (Middle Eastern) world for this sweet Seder treat. In Israel the spelling and pronunciation is “charoset“ with a more guttural “ch” sound in place of the softer Ashkenazic “h” sound. In speaking with several individuals with Turkish roots the Ladino spelling “harósi” or “haróse” has been most common (although in a recipe by Elsie Menasce from South Africa, she spells it “jaróse” with a “j”, which I have been told is more Castillian). Yemenites and Persians refer to it with a different name all together: “dukah” or “dukeh” (which supposedly means “pounded” or “ground” in the Yemeni Arabic dialect). But when the consistency or style of the haroset changes from that of a thick purée or paste to that of a syrup (made of dates to the texture of honey or molasses) the names become the following: “silan“ for those originally from Baghdad, or mysteriously changes to “halech,” “hallaq,” or “halék” for those Baghdadis who later settled in parts of Asia, such as Singapore, China, or India. While looking through a Bukharian cookbook I noted that the charoset recipe was called “haleko” which makes me think that the word comes from an Asian/Central Asian root of some sort. In Curacao, the Sephardim (who have Dutch roots via Portugal) call their haroset “garosa.” My latest discovery was the word, “aropi” from a community cookbook by the Sephardi Ladies of Zimbabwe. In old Greek the word is “sirópi” which sounds pretty close but with the initial letter “s”. I can see the relationship between this spelling and the word, but have yet to really pinpoint the language.

QUESTIONS:
Has anyone else heard of this spelling “aropi” to refer to any kind of syrup?
How do YOU say charoset in your family or community?

Silan Date Honey: A charoset for all year-round?

Posts August 1, 2013 Comments: 4

Yesterday I was reviewing my Passover food interviews from Iraqi Jews, and found it interesting that in all of them the individuals described their charoset as not so much of a date purée, but of one resembling molasses. This thick syrup (called silan) was sometimes mixed with chopped walnuts, almonds, or pistachios. At their Seder, they would either drizzle it on the matzah or dip the matzah (as well as bitter herbs) directly into it. In my interviews with Iraqi Jews that had at some point moved on to other countries in Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia (such as India, Bornea, Singapore, or Iran), the description was the same, but instead of silan they called it halék/halech. I have been trying to find out the origin of both of these words and see if there is any specific meaning (such as “honey,” “syrup,” “molasses,” or “jam”), but I have not been so far successful. It sounds very much like an Arabic word but perhaps from an ancient dialect?

What is also interesting is how timely my research is on this particular subject. While speaking with a Yemenite Israeli yesterday (the same day I had been researching silan), the first thing that she asked me was, “Jennifer, have you ever heard of something called ‘silan’? I just returned from Israel and it is such a craze over there now. They are doing everything with it!” She went on to tell me how one friend mixed it in with tahini to make some kind of nutty sweet, and how chefs in restaurants were putting it in and on everything. I too had found that the trend was hitting over here in the U.S. In my searches online for “silan”, all kinds of recipes were popping up, including a cauliflower dish that called for it drizzled on top. In fact during this recent Passover I was able to find a jar of it in my local kosher market, which I bought right away and still have.

So my questions still remain:
What is SILAN and how is it different from and/or related to HALEK?
Does anyone out there (who is NOT from the Iraqi community) also call their charoset
by one of these names, and if so, where are you from?

Egyptian Take-Out: The Seder ceremonial plate (for those on the go…)

Posts March 22, 2013 Leave a comment

The story goes that while fleeing the land of Egypt, the ancient Israelites didn’t have time to wait for their dough to rise, which in turn created the first matzah. Every year for the Seder, we serve this matzah, alongside
a perfectly arranged ceremonial plate filled with symbolic foods to help us recount the miraculous story of our ancestors’ survival.

The image of Israelites fleeing reminded me of the Jews constantly moving from one place to another. I thought about the modern Jew who takes off for vacation to enjoy Passover week with his family in sunny places. Images of full Seder dinners in take-out trays on airplanes or ordered from a menu online came to mind. I imagined Chinese restaurants taking Passover orders on the phone, delivering dry white rice in white cardboard containers (for Sephardim only!), or even better, Japanese restaurants delivering ceremonial plates in Bento Box containers (Box A: Egyptian, Box B: Syrian…) all for the constantly moving Jew on the go.

Below is the description that one Egyptian man shared with me about his Seder plate while growing up in Alexandria:

BOX A:
THE EGYPTIAN CEREMONIAL SEDER PLATE

KORBAN (Pesach Sacrifice):
Lamb Shank Bone

KORBAN CHAGIGAH / BEIT’ZAH (Festival Sacrifice):
Hardboiled Egg (whole with shell, or cut into pieces)

KARPAS (Green Spring Vegetable):
Swiss Chard

MAROR (Bitter Herb):
Romaine Lettuce Leaves

CHATZERET (2ND Bitter Herb):
Radish (dipped in black pepper)

TEARS & SWEAT OF ENSLAVED JEWS:
Small Bowl of Salt Water

CHAROSET:
Whole fresh dates dipped in ground walnuts and hazelnuts

MATZAH:
Softened slightly with water

Menu for Marge’s Passover Seder, 2013 (2nd Night)

Posts March 11, 2013 Leave a comment

Chocolate Dipped Dried Apricots
with Slivered Almonds

For the last few years I have taught several Passover cooking classes at three of the major cooking schools in Manhattan (ICE, The Natural Gourmet, and The JCC) that focused on Sephardic specialties. One year one woman contacted me saying that she was very disappointed that she could not attend my upcoming Italian style Passover cooking class, but would I instead be interested in preparing that same menu for her family Seder? (Her husband then drove in from upstate to pick it all up.) This ended up being my first official Passover catering job, and since then every year I get several requests for anything from Middle Eastern Passover desserts, to appetizers, full entrees, and even entire Seder meals.

Of my regular clients, one of my most favorite is Marge, who lives just across the park from me in New York City. Together we have cooked two Chanukah meals, and now I am planning my third Passover dinner menu for her and her family. As is often the case with several of my clients, Marge likes to have some of her own family’s traditional Ashkenazic dishes (such as gefilte fish, matzah ball soup, chopped liver, or perhaps a kugel) while adding some new and unusual Sephardic dishes to change things around and make her meal more unique. With Marge’s family I now know that I have to balance certain individual likes and dislikes, such as the following: apricots and dates are preferred over prunes, cumin over curry (but not too much), no bell peppers, and not to put onions into every dish we make. This year the meal will be for 15 people. Here is my working menu (but there might be changes):

STARTERS:
Syrian Charoset with Dried Apricots, Orange Blossom Water, and Slivered Almonds
Gefilte Fish (Marge’s cousin will bring)
Chicken Soup with Matzah Balls (check with Marge who will bring?)

MAINS:
Tossed Green Salad with Artichoke Hearts, Avocado, and Toasted Walnuts
(with olive oil, lemon juice, and dried mint vinaigrette)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Parsnips, and Carrots (toss with olive oil and salt)
Syrian Meatballs with Allspice and Cinnamon in Tomato-Cumin Sauce
Sephardic Style Brisket with Coriander, Ginger, Tamarind, and Apricots (leave out the prunes)
Potato Kugel (with lots of onions and eggs–not too dry!)

DESSERT:
Syrian Flourless Pistachio Macaroons with Orange Blossom Water (1 1/2 dozen enough)
Egyptian Toasted Walnut-Pecan Macaroons with Dates and Cinnamon (1 dozen enough?)
Chocolate-Dipped Dried Apricots with Slivered Almonds (make fewer than last time)
Other Passover-friendly Cake or Chocolates (someone will bring?)
Fresh Fruit, Sorbets

too GOOD to PASSOVER

Tag Archives: Haroset

Sweet and Spicy Ethiopian Style Haroset

ETHIOPIAN STYLE HAROSET
(Date and Fig Spread with Fresh Ginger)

Moroccan Date-Raisin Haroset “Truffles”

Spanish-Portuguese Congregation Mikvé Israel-Emanuel of Curaçao: Winner of the best haroset in 2011

Seder Plate Checklist: Are you set?

Charoset of the Day: Persian Hallegh

You Say Haroset, I Say Harose. (Charoset, Jarose…)

Silan Date Honey: A charoset for all year-round?

Egyptian Take-Out: The Seder ceremonial plate (for those on the go…)

Menu for Marge’s Passover Seder, 2013 (2nd Night)

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Tag Archives: Haroset

ETHIOPIAN STYLE HAROSET (Date and Fig Spread with Fresh Ginger)

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ETHIOPIAN STYLE HAROSET
(Date and Fig Spread with Fresh Ginger)