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PASSOVER RECIPES

Matza Lasagna

Matza Lasagna

Cheesy Spinach Matzah Lasagna

(Dairy, Gebrokts)

Serves 4-6

“Are you Kosher Like Me?” Liz Rueven asks on her website called, appropriately, “Kosher Like Me” (www.kosherlikeme.com). If you are, the Westport cook has lots of recipes to share (also, restaurant reviews, travel tales and more). The following recipe is from her new e-cookbook, 4 Bloggers Dish: Passover – Modern Twists on Traditional Flavors.

 

From Liz Rueven:

This matzah lasagna goes beyond the ordinary with béchamel sauce topping the construction. The creamy sauce keeps the lasagna moist and adds unexpected and mild flavors.  

It is a few extra steps but well worth it. I throw in a few bunches of raw, organic spinach to ensure the lasagna is loaded with nutrients. 

The spinach virtually disappears and nobody will notice. Of course, you can leave it out entirely if you have picky eaters who shy away from anything green.

 

Tomato Sauce Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 16 oz. can chopped tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Pinch of sugar

 

Lasagna Ingredients

4 sheets plain matzah

1/2 cup lowfat milk

1 egg, beaten

8 ounces shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup Parmesan or other hard cheese

(or 3-4 tablespoons extra shredded mozzarella)

4 cups raw, organic spinach, washed and spun dry

 

Béchamel Sauce Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon potato starch

1 cup hot milk

1 egg yolk, beaten

1/4 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Ground nutmeg to taste (1/2-1 tsp.)

 

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425ºF. Butter 8×8 baking dish and put aside. Make the tomato sauce by heating butter in a medium saucepan. Add onions and simmer until soft, approximately seven minutes. Add garlic and cook one minute. Add canned tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. Simmer actively, uncovered for about one hour. You want the sauce to thicken and reduce. To begin lasagna construction, set up two shallow bowls. Place 1/2 cup milk in one and beaten egg in the other. Dip one sheet of matzah into milk, then egg mixture. Place sheet in buttered pan and gently top with four tablespoons tomato sauce. If matzah breaks, just piece it back together in the pan as best you can. Place 1/3 of the shredded mozzarella on top of sauce. Repeat twice more, in same order and finish with fourth matzah on top. Set aside and make béchamel sauce.

Heat butter in a heavy saucepan and whisk in potato starch. Work quickly over medium heat until roux is slightly browned, giving it time to cook the starch. Whisk in milk and continue whisking until all lumps have dissolved and mixture has thickened. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and cream together until smooth. Pour into pot with roux. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Pour béchamel sauce over the top layer of lasagna, sprinkle with grated parmesan or additional mozzarella. Bake uncovered at 425ºF for 20 minutes, or until golden. Allow to cool 15 minutes before cutting.

 

Tips: Jarred tomato sauce may be used instead of simmering your own.

Prep Ahead Guide: Lasagna may be made in advance and reheated at 325ºF for about 15 minutes or until warmed through.

Take To-Go: Squares may be packed in silver foil or to-go containers and enjoyed on day trips or for school lunch. Eating this at room temp is also delicious.

 

 

Quinoa-Stuffed Portobello Mushroom

Quinoa-Stuffed Portobello Mushroom

Passover welcomes quinoa!  

By Mollie Katzen/JNS.org

 

Recently, the Orthodox Union (OU) announced that quinoa — the tiny, ancient, highly nutritious grain originally from Peru — will now be certified as kosher for Passover. Quinoa is delicious, texturally interesting, and compatible with enough other ingredients to give it a wonderful range on your Passover seder table.

 

Quinoa Pilaf with Asparagus & Leeks

(Possibly stuffed into grilled portobello mushrooms)

Servings: 6

 

Enjoy this plain as a side dish, or heap it into grilled portobello mushrooms for more of an entrée. The pilaf keeps well in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to five days and reheats easily in a microwave or on the stovetop. Same with the mushrooms. The best way to clean leeks is to cut them first (in this case, very thin circles) and then submerge them in a bowl of cold water. Swish them around, then lift them out  and into a colander. Change the water and repeat, then spin and/or pat dry.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil (plus extra to taste)

1 heaping cup very thin leek rings

(1 medium leek)—cleaned and dried

1 teaspoon minced or crushed garlic

1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into

1-inch pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

Black pepper

4 ounces feta cheese, cut into tiny dice

Optional: Six 4-inch portobello mushrooms,

prepared for stuffing (see below)

 

Directions:

Combine the quinoa and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to the slowest possible simmer, cover, and cook (with a heat diffuser, if available, inserted underneath) until the grains are tender—20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork to let steam escape. Set aside. Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat and wait about a minute, then add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Toss in the leek rings, and sauté for about 5 minutes. When the leek is very soft, add the garlic, asparagus, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is just tender—about 5 minutes, depending on its thickness.  Fork in the cooked, fluffed quinoa, and stir to combine, adding the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and a generous amount of black pepper as you go. Stir in the feta as well. If the mixture seems dry, you can drizzle in a little extra olive oil. Serve hot or warm, plain or stuffed into mushrooms.

 

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms directions:

Remove the mushroom stems, and wipe the caps clean with a damp paper towel. Place a heavy skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add a little olive oil, wait about 30 seconds, then swirl to coat the pan. Place the mushrooms cap-side down in the hot oil, and let them cook undisturbed for about 10 minutes. Turn them over and cook on the other side for 10 minutes, then flip them over one more time to cook for about 5-10 more minutes on their cap side once again.

 

Mollie Katzen is a best-selling cookbook author, named by Health Magazine as one of “The Five Women Who Changed the Way We Eat.” Her most recent book is “The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation.”

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