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.
Asian chicken soup
If you have leftover chicken soup, this is an amazing way to have an entirely new dish. Strain the soup and use it like stock. Discard the vegetables and keep the chicken!! Feel free to add rice noodles, or rice to make it more filling but a few bowls of this hearty goodness and you will never look at leftover chicken soup the same again!
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Ingredients:
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- Pulled chicken optional from making stock
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce (optional)
- 4 tablespoons fresh ginger finely grated
- 1 box sprouts
- 4 shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
- 6 scallions chopped
- 1 cup baby spinach
Directions:
- Bring chicken stock to a boil. Add ginger and soy sauce and mix well. Let cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
- In 4 bowls add, bean sprouts, mushrooms, scallions and spinach. Pour stock on top. Let sit for 1 minute and serve.
Notes & Tips:
Make sure not to add salt until the end if need (because the soy sauce adds salt and you probably already added salt to the soup originally). You can used store bought chicken stock for this but of course it’s not the same! Click here to see my gift recipe for making chicken stock or soup.
Pan roasted whole chicken
If you have a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven or saute pan that goes into the oven, skip the baking dish step and then it will be a one pan wonder!
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Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 onions thinly sliced
- 1 green chili pepper thinly sliced, seeds removed for less heat
- 1 box cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger finely chopped
- 2 heads garlic
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 cups white wine
- 2 cups fresh basil chopped
- 1 tablespoon salt pink Himalayan
- 2 tablespoons silan date honey
Directions:
- Cut the tops off of the heads of garlic and place onto small pieces of tinfoil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and wrap up like a purse, set into baking dish.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prepare a baking dish with parchment paper. Add the chicken and season evenly with the salt.
- Prepare a large saute pan on high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and get hot. Add the chicken, breast side down and let sear for 3 minutes. Add the onions around the chicken and saute for 3 more minutes, mixing the onions often.
- Turn over the chicken and add the chili pepper and tomatoes and ginger into the onions and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of wine and cook on high heat for 8 more minutes, mixing periodically.
- Place chicken in baking dish, breast side up and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, evenly coat with the rest of the spices, rubbing it into the chicken skin.
- Add the rest of the ingredients around.( leave a small amount of fresh basil for garnish) Cover and place in oven for 1 hour or until evenly cooked through. Carve when cooled, cover in juice, toppings and fresh basil and serve!
Notes & Tips:
If your garlic isn't really soft, leave it in the oven for longer. Feel free to substitute the basil with some sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme for a different flavor!
Potato beet salad
If you crave potatoes, this is a great way to get them in but surround them with healthy vegetable friends!
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Ingredients:
- 4 ounces romaine lettuce chopped
- 2 beets peeled and cubed
- 3 leeks cut into large rounds
- 3 red skinned potatoes skin on, cubed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt pink Himalayan
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 cup pistachios
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 tablespoon wholegrain mustard (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425ºF
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Make sure beets, leeks and potatoes are all similar in size and place on parchment paper. Add olive oil and spices and mix well.
- Place in oven for 20 minutes.
- Add dressing ingredients to jar and shake well before serve.
Notes & Tips:
Potato, beets and leeks are such beautiful flavor pairings, you could even leave out the lettuce and make it into a more proper potato salad!
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!
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Ingredients:
- 2 heads cauliflower cut into even pieces
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt pink Himalayan
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Prepare two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Spread the cauliflower on the sheet pans and evenly add all the ingredients. Mix well so each piece is evenly seasoned.
- Place in oven for 45 minutes.
- (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.
Marinated onion steak salad
Any cut of meat that is meant to be grilled (instead of slow cooked) is great for this recipe. Depending on your budget, the higher quality of meat the better this will taste. I good piece of meat needs nothing more than salt and pepper before it goes on the grill. In Israel the top cuts of meat I would suggest for this would be #1,5,6,7 (1 being the best).
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Ingredients:
- 1 pound steak for grilling
- 3 teaspoons salt pink Himalayan
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 purple onions thinly sliced
- 2 Asian pears sliced
- 4 ounces mixed greens
Directions:
- Sprinkle the steak with 1½ teaspoons salt and pepper. Rub 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the steaks and let sit for at least 5 minutes (Ideally bring to room temperature.)
- In a jar add the vinegar, remaining olive oil, salt, sugar and onions. Let sit and marinade until ready to serve (at least 10 minutes, up to 2 days)
- Add the pears and mixed greens to a large bowl.
- Prepare a grill pan on high heat. Add the steaks for 3-6 minutes per side (depending on thickness). Remove from pan and let rest for 3 minutes.
- Thinly slice and add it to the salad. Add dressing with onions right before serve (will probably have leftover dressing).
Notes & Tips:
What I love about this recipe is that you don’t need a lot of steak to feed a lot of people for this dish. This is also a great dish to serve Friday night! Add 1/2 a box of orzo pasta for a more filling dish!
Jerusalem artichoke mashed potatoes
Jerusalem artichokes (not to be confused with regular artichokes are also called sunchokes). They are similar in consistency to potatoes. They are in the root family but have a nutty taste.They will create a unique flavor and twist to regular mashed potatoes.
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Ingredients:
- 2 Jerusalem artichokes peeled and chopped
- 1 cauliflower cut into chunks
- 1 sweet potato peeled and chopped
- 1 potato peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoon salt pink Himalayan
Directions:
- Place Jerusalem artichoke, cauliflower, sweet potato and potato into a large pot. Cover with water and let boil on high for 50 minutes.
- Strain and mash with wooden spoon until desired smoothness.
- Add olive oil and salt and mix. Serve hot with meat.
Citrus bass fish
In Israel this fish is called Lokus. In America it is called Dusky grouper bass. It looks like flounder but is buttery like sea bass. Ask your local fish store if they have it! If not, use fresh flounder or denis.
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Ingredients:
- 8 filet bass fish
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt pink Himalayan
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tangerine ½ juiced, ½ peeled and sliced
- 1 orange ½ juiced, ½ peeled and sliced
- 3 sundried tomatoes sliced
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Place parchment paper in a baking dish and put fish in. Sprinkle with spices and add rest of the ingredients.
- Cover and bake for 12 minutes. Serve hot, warm or room temperature. Try not to reheat.
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!
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Ingredients:
- 7 red skinned potatoes
- 1 sweet potato grated
- 2 1/2 teaspoon salt pink Himalayan
- 2 scallions chopped
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a baking dish with parchment paper.
- Boil 2 of the red skinned potatoes until soft, and then mash and add to the baking dish.
- 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.
- 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.
Moroccan beef stew
If you are making this dish for Shabbat or Chag, skip the oven step and place it on the hotplate or in a crockpot on low for 24 hours before you are eating it. This is Moroccan inspired, but instead of using cumin I use garam masala.
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Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds beef chuck cut into medium sized pieces
- 1 red pepper seeds removed, roughly chopped
- 1 onion peeled, roughly chopped
- 1/2 long spicy green pepper roughly chopped
- 2 carrots peeled, roughly chopped
- 8 cloves garlic peeled
- 3 teaspoons garam masala spice blend
- 2 teaspoons sumac powder or paprika
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 can tomatoes peeled and crushed
- 1/2 cup cilantro roughly chopped, save for garnish
- 1/2 cup parsley roughly chopped, save for garnish
- 1 lemon for garnish
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt pink Himalayan
Directions:
- Prepare a large low pot on high heat. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper. Add olive oil to pot and get hot. Add meat, trying not to overlap too much and sear for 5 minutes per side.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Add 2 cups of water, cover and place in the oven for 4 hours. Add additional salt to taste.
- Remove and serve with fresh herbs and freshly squeezed lemon
Notes & Tips:
If you are going to a butcher, any cut of meat that can be slow cooked works for this recipe. The better the cut, the tastier it is but depends on your budget. If you live in Israel you can ask for #2, #4, or #5 or any stew meat.
Roasted garlic salad
This recipe is great if you can buy already peeled garlic, because time is money! Make extra of the garlic and it to EVERYTHING. Trust me this roasted garlic becomes an addiction!
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Ingredients:
- 4 ounces frisee lettuce or any lettuce
- 10 cloves garlic peeled
- 1/8 cup Balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt pink Himalayan
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 orange peeled and sliced, core saved for dressing
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 purple onion thinly sliced
Directions:
- Prepare oven to 400°F. Prepare a small bowl (that is oven safe) with parchment paper and add the garlic, vinegar, honey salt and olive oil. Place in oven and cook for 45 minutes or until garlic is soft.
- Place lettuce, orange and avocado in a salad bowl. Remove garlic from the oven and squeeze in the juice from the orange core and mix. Let the garlic cool a bit. Pour onto salad and mix well.
Grilled zucchini chicken salad
This salad seems like a to do but really it’s very quick with very little clean up! The sweetness of the pomegranate with the charred flavor of the zucchini and chicken will make you feel like you're at an upscale barbecue! If you can't find pomegranates, feel free to substitute sundried tomatoes or cherry tomatoes.
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Ingredients:
- 4 ounces mixed greens
- 4 pieces pargiot cut into thirds
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt pink Himalayan
- 1 zucchini large, cut into strips
- 1 pomegranate seeds removed
- 3 scallions chopped
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons honey
Directions:
- Prepare a large baking dish with the zucchini strips and add ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, ½ teaspoon of paprika and two 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well. Prepare a grill pan on high heat. Grill on each side for two minutes. Place in salad bowl.
- Without cleaning the original dish, add the pargiot, turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, ½ teaspoon of paprika, ½ teaspoon of salt, and two 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well. Place on grill pan for 3-4 minutes per side. Slice when cool and add to salad bowl.
- Add lettuce, pomegranates and scallions.
- In a jar add ¼ cup of red wine vinegar, ⅛ cup olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon of thyme and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Shake well and dress salad right before serve.
Have a question about these recipes? Need a substitution for an ingredient? Chef Zissie is here to answer!
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