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If you follow these few simple steps and these recipes, your Pesach will not be overwhelming, nor will you feel like you don’t have what to eat or that you ate too much and your stomach hurts from too much Matzoh! Pesach is a really holy and beautiful holiday and if you are organized and get your whole household on board in an exciting way, you will feel the beauty of the holiday without the stress.  

Last Days Chag Night 1

Orange ginger grey mullet fish
This tastes like butter, but better. It is light and creamy and beyond delicious. Be sure to double this recipe if serving it to big eaters!
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Fish
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Prepare a baking dish with parchment paper.
  3. Add the fish and sprinkle with salt. Add the rest of the ingredients except the thyme and rub them in well.
  4. Cover and bake for 13 minutes.
  5. Remove and serve with juices and garnish with fresh thyme.
Notes & Tips:

You can use this recipe for any thin fillet white fish including denise, tilapia, and flounder.

 
Steak with mint pomegranate sauce
The better quality your steak, the more amazing this dish is! Since you are serving the steak with bread, you can get away with buying less!
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Meat
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. In a medium size bowl, add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic, mint, basil and lime juice. Mix well and set aside.
  2. Prepare grill pan on high heat. Pat steaks dry and sprinkle evenly with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper on both sides. Rub in 1 tablespoon olive oil and place on hot grill.
  3. Grill on each side for 6-7 minutes for medium rare. Let rest for 5 minutes before thinly slicing.
  4. (optional step: Brush bread slices with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place on grill pan for 1 min per side) Place steak on top of bread or cutting board. drizzle with mint sauce and sprinkle pomegranates on top.
Notes & Tips:

Cut your pomegranate in half. Hold the pomegranate face side down over a bowl and use a wooden spoon to hit the skin side and all the seeds will fly right out! Try this recipe in a wrap with avocados and rice or if you want to not use bread at all, serve it on top of roasted sweet potatoes or sweet potato mash!

 
Grilled chicken with sauted spinach
This is so flavorful! I love using orange and red tomatoes because they have different flavors and add such a variety of colors.
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Poultry
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. In a large baking dish add the chicken. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, garlic powder and turmeric. Mix well.
  2. Add the remaining olive oil and the tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, mixing often and once the tomatoes soften mash them gently with a wooden spoon and mix well.
  3. Add the garlic and cook for 5 more minutes.
  4. Add the spinach and mix. Cook for 1 more minute.
  5. Turn off heat and add fresh basil. Place on top of chicken and salt to taste.
Notes & Tips:

If you don’t want to spend time cutting the tomatoes in half, leave them whole and just cook them a bit longer. When you buy tomatoes, don’t put them in the fridge, it kills their flavor!

 
Lettuce with beets, zucchinis, oranges, grapefruits, pistachios and grilled chicken drizzled with a citrus honey dressing
If you get invited last minute to a meal and want to bring something, this salad is the answer! If you have leftover chicken from the night before, the rest of the ingredients are fresh and can be prepared on the spot!
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Poultry
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Grilled chicken
Lettuce salad
Citrus honey dressing
Directions:
Grilled chicken
  1. Prepare all chicken and ingredients in a baking dish and mix well. Marinade overnight (or at least a few hours!).
  2. Place a grill pan on high heat, grill for seven minutes per side but turning after 4 minutes to get diamond grill marks.
  3. Don’t slice until ready to serve! Serve warm or room temperature
Lettuce salad
  1. In a bowl, add lettuce, beets, zucchini, oranges, grapefruits and pistachios.
  2. Add chicken and dressing right before serve.
Citrus honey dressing
  1. Prepare all ingredients in a jar.
  2. Bring to room temperature and shake before serve.
 
Sundried tomato salad
This salad dressing makes the salad! If your sundried tomatoes come in olive oil use that oil instead of regular olive oil and it will be even more flavorful. Make double the amount of dressing and use it as a marinade for chicken or in a cold pasta salad!
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: Vegan, Vegetarian
Special Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Add sundried tomatoes, oil, salt, basil, vinegar and sugar into a food processor and mix until smooth.
  2. In a large bowl add the mixed greens, chickpeas, tomatoes, and onion. Dress right before serve.
Notes & Tips:

Taste for salt at the end, sometimes the sundried tomatoes come with salt and sometimes not.There are three things that when in a time pinch I will use from a can instead of fresh : canned chickpeas, canned corn and canned tomatoes. That's it!!!

 
Roasted cauliflower yellow 'rice'
This is just one of those foolproof recipes that you can whip up whenever you need a filling side dish. It will get devoured in minutes and is amazing with the juice of chicken or meat. If you can get already riced cauliflower it is ideal but if not use a fresh one!
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Prepare two sheet pans with parchment paper.
  2. Spread the cauliflower on the sheet pans and evenly add all the ingredients. Mix well so each piece is evenly seasoned.
  3. Place in oven for 45 minutes.
  4. (optional last step:) Place on cutting board and chop until looks like rice. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.
Notes & Tips:

You can add any fresh herbs to it if you wish or keep it simple as is. If you don't feel like chopping it at the end, don’t! I just chop it so it feels like rice but it is equally as delicious left in pieces.

Last Days Chag Lunch 1

Sweet potato tuna burgers
I crave these tuna patties. They have such flavor and you can make them a day in advance, they reheat so perfectly! Place a non peeled carrot into the oil when frying to avoid burning!
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. In a small jar or bowl add the yogurt, ½ the chili pepper and ¼ cup of fresh basil. Mix well and set aside.
  2. Grate the sweet potatoes and place in a large bowl with the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil and mix well.
  3. Prepare a large skillet on high heat. Add a ¼ cup of olive oil and get hot. Use your hands to make burgers, squeezing out excess liquid right before you place it in the pan. Fry for 4 minutes per side.
  4. Use a wooden spoon AND a fish spatula to turn them over.
Notes & Tips:

If you make them in advance, reheat them in the oven uncovered. They last up to 6 days in the fridge and are even delicious room temperature!

 
Yellow pear tomato salad
These beautiful tomatoes are called pear tomatoes, they are sweet, robust and full of flavor. You can use any shape, color or size tomato for this salad but please use good tasting and seasonal tomatoes!! Feel free to add fresh mozzarella to this salad!
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and serve.
Notes & Tips:

This lasts up to 5 days in the fridge!

 
Beet carpaccio
Carpaccio is an Italian word which means thinly sliced meat or fish for an appetizer. Today we are thinly slicing beets instead for this beautiful dairy and vegetarian dish.
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: Dairy
Special Diet: Gluten Free, Soy Free
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Peel the beets and slice them as thin as possible.
  2. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Add goat cheese on top. Drizzle with honey. Add almonds and serve.
Notes & Tips:

This is such an impressive dish that can be pulled together in minutes. If you find yellow beets, add them to the mix for an even more impressive color contrast.

 
Crustless roasted pepper quiches
These really take under 10 minutes to make and if you have pretty little cupcake papers, use them! I love these little muffin tins because there is no clean up and they look divine! If you would rather make a large quiche, use the standard round pan or tin and this recipe might even make 2 of them!
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  2. Prepare a saute pan on high heat. Add the olive oil and get hot. Add the peppers and onions and saute for 5 minutes, mixing periodically.
  3. Place in large bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
  4. Place muffin cups on a sheet pan with parchment paper. Drizzle oil or spray the muffin cups. Using a large spoon, put the mixture evenly into the cups.
  5. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Notes & Tips:

Yields: 12 mini quiches You can of course add this recipe into a quiche crust if you wish as well. Feel free to mix and match your favorite cheeses!

 
Enlarged Israeli salad
I love Israeli salad but it is very time consuming! Here is an alternative that is just as crunchy, fresh and flavorful but hardly any work at all. I used goat feta cheese for this because I love the flavor (and it is much less salt) but feel free to use regular feta cheese or Bulgarian cheese.
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: Dairy, Vegetarian
Special Diet: Gluten Free, Soy Free, Sugar Free
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and serve
Notes & Tips:

Add salt according to taste.

Last Days Chag Night 2 (outside of Israel)

salmon with spicy peach jam
This fish really tasted like butter. The trick is to buy really fresh fish, it’s so worth it! The jam can be made up to 5 days in advance, just bring to room temperature and place on top of fish and add fresh mint right before serving.
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Fish
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Place the fish in the baking dish and sprinkle evenly with 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the coconut oil and cover well with tinfoil. Bake for 22-25 minutes, depending on thickness of fish (but not longer!).
  2. Prepare a skillet on high heat. Add the olive oil and get hot. Add the onions, chili pepper, cinnamon, curry powder and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well and cook for 3 minutes, mixing often.
  3. Add the wine and cook for 7 more minutes. Add the peaches and silan and cook for 5 more minutes.
  4. When fish is ready, place peach jam on top and sprinkle with fresh mint.
Notes & Tips:

Living in Israel, we can’t get peaches whenever we want. I love this with frozen peaches, it makes it more jam like! If you live in Israel and want an amazing assortment of frozen fruit delivered to your area, visit Nectarina, the most amazing frozen fruit and specialty items online store in Israel. http://nectarina.co/product-category/frozenfruit/

 
Pear salad
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: Vegan, Vegetarian
Special Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place sweet potato cubes on and add ¼ cup olive oil, the garlic powder, zaatar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Place in oven for 40 minutes. Remove and place in salad serving bowl.
  2. Add lettuce, dried cherries, pears and scallions.
  3. In a separate jar, add the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Shake well and add right before serving.
Notes & Tips:

Add Roquefort cheese to this dish for a restaurant flavor!  

 
Persimmon chicken
Persimmons originated in Japan and can now be found around the world. They are a beautiful bright orange fruit with a delicate sweet taste.
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Poultry
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Place peppers, balsamic vinegar, two tablespoons of olive oil and honey on the parchment paper and mix well. Place in oven for 15 minutes. Mix again and let cook for another 15 minutes.
  2. In the meantime add salt, garlic powder, paprika and 3 tablespoons of olive oil to chicken and mix well. Place grill pan on high heat and get hot. Place chicken on grill for 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from heat and put on serving plate.
  3. Add sliced persimmons, roasted peppers and drizzle with lemon juice and fresh mint before serve.
Notes & Tips:

Be sure the persimmons are very bright in color and ripe when eating them to avoid bitterness. They are very high in vitamins and antioxidants and also make this dish pop in both flavor and color!

 
Smokey osso buco
Osso Buco is a veal shank. It is an incredible cut of meat that has a flavorful marrow bone attached to it. Go to any butcher and ask for Osso buco and they will know what you are talking about. This recipe goes great with a brisket, short ribs or a shoulder roast too!
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Meat
Special Diet: Dairy Free, Sugar Free
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Prepare a large saute pan or dutch oven on high heat. Sprinkle meat evenly with salt and pepper.
  2. Add olive oil and get hot. Add meat and sear for 5 minutes per side.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Cover and place in oven for 2 hours, turning meat over once halfway through cooking time. Garnish with fresh mangoes.
Notes & Tips:

Natural smokey flavoring comes in a bottle usually in the vinegar section of the supermarket or in specialty spice shops. I use the brand Colgin but you can use any you find. I promise it makes the biggest and best difference in this dish! If you dont have fresh or frozen mango you can use dried apricots or dried mango.

 
Mushroom fries
I love calling these fries. Even though they aren't fried or crunchy, they are such a great flavorful and meaty side to a burger.
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
  2. Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper. Add all ingredients and gently mix well.
  3. Bake for 10 minutes. Discard any excess liquid. Serve hot or room temperature.
Notes & Tips:

Make extra and save leftovers for salads, sandwiches, or a topping for fish.

Last Days Chag Lunch 2 (outside of Israel)

Melt in your mouth rosemary brisket
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Meat
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Prepare a large skillet or Dutch oven on high heat.
  3. Season your brisket with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil to your pan and get hot but not smoking. Add the meat (be careful it will splatter a bit) Leave in pan without touching and let sear for 8 minutes per side.
  4. Remove and add the rest of the ingredients except the chicken stock. Mix well. Add ¼ cup of chicken stock and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the meat back in and the rest of the chicken stock.
  5. Cover and place in oven for 2 hours. Remove from oven and turn the brisket over, cover and place back in oven for 2-3 more hours until brisket is falling apart from a fork.
Notes & Tips:

Feel free to add fresh thyme and sage to amp up the flavor a bit!

 
Vegan gluten free potato kugel
If you are making a thin soup during the time of making this recipe, boil the two potatoes in the soup instead of creating a whole additional pot situation. They will taste better and no mess!
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a baking dish with parchment paper.
  2. Boil 2 of the red skinned potatoes until soft, and then mash and add to the baking dish.
  3. Grate the rest of the white and sweet potatoes and squeeze out any additional liquid. Add them and the remaining ingredients to the baking dish. Mix well and then flatten.
  4. Bake for 1 ½ hours until golden and crispy on top.
Notes & Tips:

Feel free to play around with this recipe, instead of scallions you can add fried onions. Instead of sweet potatoes you can use all regular potatoes.

 
Ultimate cucumber salad
Everyone loves a good cucumber salad, but usually it is the same few ingredients. Here is a twist on the one you love. I promise there won’t be any leftovers
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: Vegan, Vegetarian
Special Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Prepare a grill pan on high heat. Spray with olive oil and get hot. Add the onions and let cook for 5 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat and add to serving bowl.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Serve room temperature or cold.
 
Sweet potato citrus salad
This salad is so filling, you won’t be hungry until the next morning! Make double the amount of salad dressing and use it throughout the week, it will be good for up to 4 more days in the fridge.
Servings: people USA imperial/metric conversion:
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Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F
  2. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper. Place sweet potato wedges on pan without overlapping.
  3. Drizzle with ⅛ cup of olive oil and spices, mix well and place in oven for 35 minutes
  4. In a large serving bowl, add lettuce, sundried tomatoes, tangerine slices, scallions and sweet potatoes
  5. In a jar with a lid, add ⅛ cup of olive oil, juice of 2 tangerine cores, mustard, silan, fresh mint and ½ teaspoon of salt and shake well before dressing salad.
Notes & Tips:

Feel free to substitute oranges for tangerines, or even clementines - just double the amount because they are small!

Have a question about these recipes? Need a substitution for an ingredient? Chef Zissie is here to answer!

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