Celebrate with Sides

For Passover, I prefer the gastronomic “middle ground” which means you make your usual entrees — simple and delicious — and elaborate on the side dishes.

But in truth, foods do not have to be “traditional” to any holiday for inclusion. Salad for example, is an American addition that has nothing to do with, well, anything. Still, we like to serve greens in one form or another. They make us feel lighter and healthier. And there’s no reason it can’t be included as part of the main meal, along with a vegetable or served as a bed for gefilte fish.

Some foods are almost always reserved for the week of Pesach and special holidays. Matzah brie is one that quickly comes to mind. While some of us may eat matzah from time to time during the year (even buying it when it’s not “the season”), most people just don’t think of it as a year-round food. For that reason, we tend not to prepare matzah brie many other times of the year.

The most adventurous will risk it all by serving new foods at the first seder.

Most American-style Jewish foods are Ashkenazi, or of Eastern European origin. Sephardim, the other major classification of Jews, have their roots in Southern Europe and the Middle East. Most Israeli Jews, no matter where they came from, enjoy mostly Sephardic foods, with Middle Eastern influences. Why, then, do Americans choose to prepare the more Ashkenazi-inspired holiday foods? Perhaps because serving Israeli or Sephardic foods during Passover just doesn’t feel right or special to some who wait all year for gefilte fish and matzah brie.

The greatest Passover food disparity has to do with kitniyot (legumes or grains). While Ashkenazim permit no kitniyot, other than those used in matzah during Passover, many Sephardim allow the use of fresh legumes and rice. The main reasoning is that “in the past” for Jews living in the countries of the Sephardic diaspora, legumes and rice were the major sources of nourishment. The following recipes are Sephardic in origin, using the flavors and ingredients inherent to the Sephardic diaspora, but contain no kitniyot for our American sensibilities. Try adding a few of these

Annabel recipes for your seders or during the week Cohen Contributing writer of Passover.

GOOD BASIC BEEF BRISKET Some people trim the fat from the brisket before they cook it, others do so afterwards. It’s a matter of preference but trimming first is easier and makes for a leaner sauce, right off the bat.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place brisket in a large roasting pan. Season it with salt and pepper and roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Turn brisket over and roast another 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle onions, garlic and brown sugar around the meat. Pour the wine and tomato sauce over the onions and add enough water to reach about halfway up the side of the meat. Add the bay leaf to the liquid.

Cover the pan well with foil and cook 325ºF., covered, 3½ hours. Remove the beef from the oven and chill for 4 hours or up to one day (the brisket may not be tender at this point.)

Remove the meat from the liquid (it will most likely be slightly jellied). Discard fat from the top of the brisket liquid (a spoon should lift the solid stuff quickly) and discard it.

Slice the cold brisket against the grain into about ¼-inch slices and replace it in the pan (If there is a lot of liquid, remove some of it to a sauce pan and boil to reduce the amount and thicken the liquid before returning it to the pan).

Cover the pan with foil and heat for 1 to 4 hours at 250ºF. Or, carefully transfer the meat to an ovenproof serving dish with the sauce poured over, and heat it the same way. Makes 6 or more servings.

BERENJENA (Savory Eggplant Stew) This is a vegetarian version of a recipe that calls for cooked ground lamb or meatballs.

In a large pan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often for about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and cook for 1 minute more. Add the eggplant, tomatoes and lemon juice, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the parsley, almonds and raisins if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes more. Keep warm until ready to serve. Serve alone or over rice. Makes 12 servings or more if serving with other foods.

ROASTED CARROTS WITH ONIONS AND SAGE

PIGNOLI AND DRIED-FRUIT FARFEL PILAF

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the farfel and sauté until the farfel is lightlytoasted and browned.

Add the stock and sauté until the liquid is incorporated. Add remaining ingredients and season to taste.

Cover and chill until ready to

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Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Toss carrots with oil in a large bowl and transfer to a roasting pan or disposable aluminum pan (the carrots should be in a single layer as much as possible).

Roast, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Turn the carrots and roast for 10 minutes more, until just tender-crisp (do not overcook).

Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss with the sage. May be made several hours in advance (do not add sage) and reheated in the microwave oven (add sage after reheating). Makes 8 or more servings..

LEMON CHICKEN

Pound chicken breasts slightly to make them more or less the same thickness throughout, or, if breasts are large, slice through them horizontally making two halves for each breast half. Dredge the chicken pieces in the matzah cake meal and coat well.

Heat oil, about ¼ cup or more, in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Sauté the chicken breasts (you’ll need to do this a few times if you have a lot of breasts) on each side until they are light golden. Remove and set aside to finish remaining breasts (you may need more matzah cake meal).

After all the breasts have been cooked, place them back in the pan. Pour wine over the breasts and cook until the wine mixture is reduced and makes a thickened sauce.

At this point, you could put this away until the next day or later the same day (place in glass baking dish in fridge). Or, serve right away with juice sprinkled on top and garnished with artichokes, etc. If keeping to serve later, 1 hour before serving, place in 250ºF oven with garnish ingredients (except parsley) and heat through. You may need to add more liquid if the sauce has become too thick. Wine or chicken broth will do.

Make sauce: Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste and add basil. Keep warm until ready to serve or chill and reheat.

Combine cod, onions, egg, matzah meal, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and mash well with your hands until the mixture is uniform. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 or more hours (up to overnight).

Heat about ¼-inch of oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Place 1 cup of matzah meal in a shallow dish. Using wet hands, shape the fish mixture into flattened patties (about one-third cup of mixture each). Carefully dredge the patties in the matzah meal and fry on both sides until golden. Place the finished patties on the prepared baking sheet. Add more oil if needed and the second cup of matzah meal if needed for dredging.

About 30 minutes before serving, place the patties (uncovered) in a 250ºF. oven to heat. Serve keftes with sauce spooned over the top and sprinkled with chopped parsley. Makes 8 servings.

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serve. Reheat in the microwave and serve warm. Makes 8 or more for servings.

KEFTES DE PESCADA (Sephardic Fish Patties) For variety, replace the fish with fresh cooked spinach (well drained) and serve with a wedge of lemon.