Sephardic Charoset Will Rock Your Seder Table This Year

By Chef Dalia

One of my favorite childhood memories from the Passover Seder (besides receiving a new book as a prize for finding the afikomen) was that first bite of the sweet charoset in the traditional maror and charoset sandwich. After patiently waiting through the entire telling of the full story of the Jews’ exodus from Egypt, that first bite always gave me hope that we were getting close to the real meal.

When Passover begins in a few weeks (the first Seder is Saturday night, April 12), Jewish people around the world will celebrate the freeing of the ancient Hebrews from the slavery in Egypt several thousand years ago. The Jewish people left Egypt in such a hurry (and I would too if Pharaoh’s army were running after me!) that they didn't have time to let their bread rise. And so, modern-day Jews avoid bread and all yeast-raised products for eight days.

Passover memories are some of my most cherished from childhood, and I continue to embrace religious customs that focus around family, culture and food. The Seder tradition is something I’m passing down to my own children. This year, I hope my boys will be able to make it through all four questions!

Growing up, my parents would host Seder in our home. Our friends’ relatives would come over for a reading of the Haggadah and participate in the festive meal.

Every Passover, I would look forward to my Safta Dalia’s famous Sephardic charoset, which I thought was the greatest! Can we all agree that charoset is the best part of the Passover Seder? Okay, searching for the afikomen is pretty fun, and the kosher for Passover chocolate cake for dessert is usually nice, but let's be honest, when you're two glasses of wine deep into a four-hour meal and all you've had to eat is some dry matzo and celery, that sweet, spiced mixture of fruits and nuts tastes pretty mouthwatering.

For most American Jews, charoset hardly varies. The mixture is made with chopped apples, chopped walnuts, sweet Passover wine, a little honey and cinnamon.

But for Moroccan Jews, the traditional staple is entirely different. Moroccan Jews know how to do food right in the most festive and colorful way. So, it is only natural that the Moroccans would do the Seder right as well! And definitely, Safta Dalia’s Moroccan charoset tastes different than other charosets and is amazingly good. The consistency is also different. While the apple and walnut version doesn’t much resemble a paste, Moroccan versions hold together much better.

My Moroccan Safta used dates in her recipe. They give it a much deeper taste than other charosets, but what really stands out is that this delicious paste is made into balls rather than left as a spread. What doesn’t taste better bite-sized?!

It was 40 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Every year, the evening before the Seder, my grandmother would go into the kitchen with huge quantities of dates and nuts, and with her little old grinder, she prepared charoset in huge quantities.

On the eve of the holiday, she would place a huge bowl full of charoset on the counter of her restaurant. All the residents from the neighborhood, as well as her customers, would come with glassware and fill them with the delicious charoset. What wonderful memories of the old days!

Can you imagine? The recipe for charoset was her mother's original recipe from Morocco. She must have improved it a bit with Israeli ingredients. Years later, she gave me the recipe, and I modernized it, too.

And since then, Safta Dalia’s charoset appears on our Seder table as a guest of honor. In fact, the charoset is no longer a guest but a permanent tenant. It is sweeter, richer and makes us happy.

This may not be the charoset you are used to, but this recipe is so good and so easy to make. My husband describes it as a “little bit of heaven,” and boy, is he right!

Chag Sameach!

Sephardic Charoset

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup pitted medjool dates

1 cup grape juice or kosher wine (like Manischewitz)

3 tablespoons Silan (date syrup) or honey

1 tablespoon pomegranate juice

1/2 cup pecan halves

1/2 cup hazelnuts

1 teaspoon mint leaves

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Finely ground nuts to roll the charoset into balls (optional)

Directions

Bring wine to a light simmer on medium heat, then stir in dried dates and cinnamon. Cook uncovered until dates are well hydrated and wine has reduced to thick syrup, about 15 minutes. Add salt to taste and set aside.

In a food processor, roughly chop pecans and hazelnuts in short pulses. There should be no whole nuts remaining; a mix of large chunks and small crumbs is preferable or finely ground nuts to roll the charoset into balls. Remove nuts from food processor and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Add dates mixture to food processor and pulse until dates just begin to come together into a paste, approximately two-to-three 30-second pulses. Do not be afraid to over process until smooth. Transfer dates to mixing bowl and combine well with nuts. Stir in pomegranate juice and silan (date syrup) or honey. Serve at room temperature.

Optional

To serve as charoset balls (12-20 balls), take a piece of the mixture about the size of a large olive and roll into a ball.

Roll it in the ground nuts and set aside.

Continue with the remaining mixture until it has all been used.

Decorate with mint leaves.