An Italian-Inspired Passover
I grew up in a Christian home, attending church every Sunday and celebrating Christmas and Easter. When I first started dating my husband, Greg, it was apparent that his Jewish background was very important to him. Early on, we started sharing our family traditions. He would attend church on Christmas eve with my family. I started learning how to cook Jewish recipes for his holidays. It became a really fun part of our relationship.
One of the great joys of our marriage has been merging our traditions to create our own new ones. People always ask us “How do you deal with being from two different religious backgrounds? Sharing holidays? How do you plan on raising your children?” We never saw it as a challenge. We always saw it as a way to have experiences together and create our own unique memories.
Every year for Passover, we host my husband’s family and I cook a lot of the traditional Jewish dishes. We have a Seder, followed by a meal all together. This year, I planned on doing the same thing.
Then my mom sent me an article from Food & Wine magazine about an Italian-inspired Passover meal served at one of my favorite NYC restaurants called Vic’s. I read the article and was so inspired by the way the Chef, Hillary Sterling, interpreted and created the Passover dishes.
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense for us. This is already how we operate, with no rules, doing things “our way.” In addition, Greg’s brother-in-law (who attends our Passover every year) is Italian. Italy is also a very special place to Greg and I. We went on our honeymoon there. We took a cooking class in Rome together and fell in love with the flavors and culture.
I took some of the recipes from Vic’s and put my own spin on them. I also made some changes to the menu based on ideas I had. But the principal is the same: Bring different traditions and people together through food.
I’ll be prepping Friday afternoon and cooking on Saturday. Stay tuned to see how the recipes turn out! Oh, and on Sunday, we will be dyeing Easter eggs.
Here is our Italian-inspired Passover Menu:
For the Seder Plate:
One of my favorite ideas in the article was to make dishes for the Seder that are not only symbolic to put on the plate, but are also served as appetizers and become part of the meal.
Beets with Yogurt & Pistachios
Italian Parsley Pesto Served with Matzo
Pear Charoset with Toasted Almonds
Horseradish Butter Served with Matzo
Roasted Ramps with Meyer Lemon
Roasted Egg with Pecorino Cheese
Main Course:
These dishes represent Spring and new life as well as Italian takes on some traditional Jewish recipes.
Brisket Meatballs with Spicy Tomato Sauce & Fennel
Patate Al Forno (Italian Oven Roasted Potatoes)
Roasted Long-Stemmed Roman Artichokes & Spring Asparagus
Dessert:
Pears with Sweet Wine & Honey
Recipes
Beets with Yogurt & Pistachios
4 large beets, roasted & pickled with vinegar (you can often find these pre-made if you don’t have time to do it yourself. I always get them from my local Farmer’s market)
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste
¾ cup shelled, salted and roasted pistachios, finely chopped
Chop beets in thin slices. Set aside. Mix Greek yogurt, lemon, salt & pepper in a bowl. Plate the beets and drizzle the yogurt mixture over them. Sprinkle pistachios on top and serve.
Italian Parsley Pesto Served with Matzo
1 cup pine nuts
1 bunch chopped Italian parsley
½ cup grated pecorino cheese
3 garlic cloves, chopped
½ cup olive oil
Squeeze of fresh lemon
Salt & pepper to taste
Blend ingredients together in a food processor. Spread on Matzo and serve.
Pear Charoset with Toasted Almonds
3 pears, peeled and diced
1 cup almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon of red or sweet wine
1 tablespoon honey
Mix all ingredient together well in a bowl. Can be served alone or spread on Matzo.
Horseradish Butter Served with Matzo
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
3 tablespoons horseradish
Salt & pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients well with a fork. Spread on Matzo and serve.
Roasted Ramps with Meyer Lemon
1 large bunch of ramps (about 15-20)
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed Meyer lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste
On a large, flat metal baking sheet, toss ramps with olive oil, lemon, salt & pepper until fully coated. Roast in the oven at 375 for 15 mins. Serve whole with fork & knife.
Roasted Egg with Pecorino Cheese
3 eggs, medium boiled and peeled (medium boiled is about 10 mins)
3 tablespoons grated pecorino cheese
Olive oil
Cut eggs in half lengthwise and lay with the yolk facing upwards on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with pecorino cheese. Drizzle olive oil on top. Roast in the oven at 375 for 3-5 minutes until cheese has browned. Serve.
Brisket Meatballs with Spicy Tomato Sauce & Fennel
Meatballs:
2 cups crumbled Matzo
⅓ cup water
3 lbs ground brisket
3 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Spicy Tomato Sauce with Fennel:
1 head fresh fennel, thinly sliced
½ cup sliced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cans whole peeled tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt & pepper to taste
To make meatballs, add Matzo and water in a large bowl. Add brisket, eggs, oil, salt and pepper. Mix with hands until combined. Shape mixture into approximately 20 balls. Arrange on a baking sheet prepped with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 425 for 20-22 mins.
For the sauce, on medium heat sauté sliced fennel and garlic with olive oil until they soften. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt & pepper and stir together for 3 mins. Let simmer for 10 mins. Plate meatballs and pour sauce on top. Serve.
Patate Al Forno (Italian Oven Roasted Potatoes)
3 lbs small potatoes, cut in quarters
¼ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
3 dashes Paprika
⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
Salt & pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a bowl and toss with tongs. Mix well until potatoes are evenly coated. Place potatoes evenly on a metal baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 40-50 mins. Periodically check on potatoes and move around with a spatula to help with more even roasting.
Roasted Long-Stemmed Roman Artichokes & Spring Asparagus
1 lb marinated long-stemmed Roman Artichokes, whole
1 large bunch asparagus
Fresh squeezed juice from ½ lemon
Olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
Cut artichokes lengthwise. Place on one half of a large metal baking pan. Cut the ends off asparagus. Toss asparagus with a dash of olive oil, garlic and lemon juice. Place asparagus on the other half of baking pan. Sprinkle thyme, salt & pepper over artichokes and asparagus. Bake in the oven at 400 for 10-15 mins until browned.
Pears with Sweet Wine & Honey
4 pears
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons honey
½ cup sweet wine (I’m using Manischewitz)
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Peel, cut in an half and core pears. Spread butter on the bottom of a baking dish. Place pears in the dish face down. Drizzle honey over each pear. Pour in wine. Sprinkle cloves and cinnamon over the pears. Bake in the oven at 375 for 40 mins. Can be served with vanilla ice cream.
