Jewish Holiday Kitchen - Joan Nathan - Paperback - ENL

Greek Egg-Lemon Chicken This is a favorite Greek Passover dish. INGREDIENTS One 2 1/2-pound chicken Salted water 5 eggs Juice of one lemon Salt and fresh pepper 1/4 cup pareve margarine 1. Place the chicken in a heavy pot. Cover with salted water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 1/2 hour, or until chicken is cooked. Remove to a separate plate and cool the chicken. 2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 3. Bone the chicken and place all the meat and skin in an ovenproof low caserole. 4. Pour off all but 2/3 cup liquid from the original pot. Gradually beat in the eggs, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and margarine. Pour this sauce over the chicken. 5. Bake about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Yield: 4 - 6 servings. Yemenit Haroset Probably the closest to the way the Jews originally ate is the Seder of the Yemenites. According to Hava Nathan, an Israeli cookbook writer, the Yemenites transform the entire dining room table into a Seder plate, with the guests sitting on the floor all around it. While the men set the table with greens, radishes, and parsley which they bring in picked straight from the garden, the women prepare the meal. The men set the table in gratitude for the women who prepare the food. This comes from Nathan's Passover Seder Cookbook, published by Zmora Bitan Publishers in Tel Aviv. INGREDIENTS 1 pound fresh dates 1 pound raisins 3/4 pound almonds 1/2 pound walnuts 3 whole pomegranates, peeled and seeds removed 1 tablespoon mixed spices of cinnamon, pepper, cumin, cardamon, cloves, andginger In a food processor or with a chopper in a wooden bowl, chop all the fruits, including the pomegranate seeds and juice and the nuts. Add the spices, adjusting the amounts of each to your family's tastes. Yield: About 7 cups. Orange-Chocolate Cake Once in a while, someone writes me about a favorite recipe. Gary Stotsky, a speech therapist in York, Pennsylvania, wrote because he liked the wine cake recipe for Passover. He then shared his favorite Passover dessert recipe. The cake is delicious, and leftovers can be diced, soaked in Sabra liqueur, and served with whipped cream and orange slices for a divine Passover trifle. INGREDIENTS 9 eggs, separated 1 cup sugar 1 cup ground almonds or walnuts 1/2 cup chopped almonds or walnuts 1 tablespoon potato starch 3 tablespoons sifted matzah cake meal plus matzah cake meal to flour cake pan 1 tablespoon powdered instant coffee 4 ounces coarsely grated bittersweet chocolate Grated rind of 1 large orange 1. Beat egg whites until foamy. Slowly add 1/2 cup sugar while beating until stiff but not dry. Set aside. 2. Beat egg yolks with remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Fold yolks into whites. Gently fold remaining ingredients into egg mixture. 3. Pour batter into a 9 or 10-inch tube pan greased with pareve shortening or oil and floured with matzah cake meal. 4. Bake in 350-degree oven 45 minutes. Yield: 10 servings. I peeked into our own courtyard and saw all the neighbors washing and scrubbing, scraping and rubbing, making tables and benches kosher-for-Passover. They carried huge pots of boiling water, heated irons and red-hot bricks, all of which gave off a white vapor . . . . We had bought our matzohs a long time ago and had them locked in the cupboard over which a white sheet had been hung. In addition, we had a basketful of eggs, a jar of Passover chicken-fat, two ropes of onions on the wall, and many other delicacies for the holiday. --Sholom Aleichem, "The Passover Eve Vagabonds" Passover is probably the Jewish holiday that occasions more joyful anticipation than any other. It is one of the world's oldest continually observed festivals and still, despite intrusions of modernity, retains its ancient charm. It is celebrated in commemoration of the Exodus of theNathan, Joan is the author of 'Jewish Holiday Kitchen - Joan Nathan - Paperback - ENL' with ISBN 9780805209006 and ISBN 080520900X.