Charoset is one part of the Passover seder, and it comes in different forms that might look similar to fruit and nut relish, a thick spread, or a pliable sweet truffle like you see here. Its name come from the Hebrew word for “clay,” and it’s meant to recall the mortar Jews used to construct the Egyptian pharaoh’s buildings.
Along with fruit and nuts, charoset is made with spices, wine or fruit juice and often a binder like honey. Ingredients depend on what’s abundant in the area where it’s made, like this Moroccan-inspired version that relies on dates and other dried fruit.
Ingredients
¾ – 1 cup Turkish dried apricots, cut into ¼’s
6 – 9 dates, pitted and crowns removed, roughly chopped
¼ cup golden raisins
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup almonds and shelled pistachios, mixed
2-4 Tbsp raw honey
2-3 Tbsp grape juice, kosher wine or pomegranate molasses (reserve for end)
Optional: Additional finely ground almond flour or shredded coconut, for rolling balls in
Directions
Make sure there are no crowns/pits/stems in dried fruit.
Pre-chop nuts in food processor so they’re close to the size you’d like. Remove from food processor and set aside. Separate and save any dust/crumbs for rolling the balls in.
Add dried fruit, cinnamon, honey to food processor. Blend everything together completely. If texture is too thick, add grape juice/wine/pomegranate molasses, to thin it out.
Add chopped nuts (minus dust) back into food processor along with fruit mixture. Pulse several times to incorporate into fruit mixture but not chop nut pieces too much smaller.
Roll mixture into balls about 1” inch diameter. Roll these in reserved nut dust, as well as additional ground almond flour and/or shredded coconut as desired.
Store in a cool place in a tightly sealed container.
Muhammara is a Middle Eastern walnut and roasted red pepper dip that’s all sorts of savory, sweet, slightly smoky, and just enough spicy! It’s like romesco sauce.
This recipe is easy to make, and you can make it even easier if you use roasted red peppers from a jar. Serve with warm pita as part of a Mezze platter, top your grilled fish or chicken or spread it on your sandwiches.
Ingredients
2 red bell peppers
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
4 oz walnuts, toasted
1 garlic clove roughly chopped
2 ½ Tbsp tomato paste
¾ cup breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tsp Aleppo pepper, or 2/3 tsp sweet paprika and 1/3 tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp sumac
½ tsp salt
Additional pinches cayenne pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°. Line an edged sheet pan with parchment paper.
Brush bell peppers with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Place on sheet pan and roast for 30 minutes or so, turning them over 1-2 times.
Remove peppers from oven and place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for a few minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel peppers and remove seeds. Slice peppers into small strips.
In a large food processor, combine the roasted red pepper strips with 3 Tbsp olive oil, garlic, walnuts, tomato paste, breadcrumbs, pomegranate molasses, Aleppo pepper, sugar, sumac and salt. Blend into a smooth paste. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Transfer to a serving bowl. Can refrigerate for several days, bring to room temperature before serving.
When ready to serve, top the dip with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and garnish with a little more walnuts and fresh parsley, if you like. Serve with pita bread or pita chips. Enjoy!
These Turkish rolls are filled with herbed feta filling. This recipe calls for baking them, although you could shallow-fry them in olive oil for a more traditional preparation. Feel free to get creative with the cheese/herbs depending on what you’ve got on hand. No salt is needed if you’re using feta; if you use something else, adjust seasonings to your taste.
Ingredients
6 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cups feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 scallions, both white and green parts, chopped
1 cup chopped parsley
2 tsp fresh thyme, finely minced
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt/pepper to taste
Optional: 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Directions
Preheat oven to 375° and put one rack in the middle of the oven. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine cheeses, parsley, scallions and thyme. Add pepper flakes (if using) and a drizzle of olive oil.
Lay phyllo sheets flat on cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut into four equal strips along the long edge of the dough. Working with one strip at a time, spoon about 1 ½ Tbsp cheese mixture onto phyllo along bottom edge closest to you. Leave a little room on either side for filling to expand. Roll tightly away from you (4-5 times) so filling is encased in the roll. Repeat until strips/filling are used up and brush outside of rolls with olive oil.
Place rolls on sheet pans in a single layer. Bake on center rack of the oven for about 10 minutes; turn them over halfway through cooking, until golden brown and crispy on all sides.
This recipe is a great intro to Jazz apples, and perfect for topping burgers, mashed potatoes, pork chops, pancakes and grilled cheese. Other firm-fleshed apples will also work well.
Ingredients
6 oz. bacon, diced
½ yellow onion, diced small
3 Jazz apples, peeled/cored and diced small
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup & 2 Tbsp maple sugar
Directions
In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add bacon and render until golden brown.
Add diced onion and sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add diced apples and sauté/stir 2 minutes more.
Add vinegar and maple sugar and simmer on medium-low for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Eat immediately or spread evenly on a tray to cool. Can keep in the fridge for several days.
This is the perfect filling for a pretzel pie crust (get the recipe here).
Salty, crunchy pretzels and smooth and silky chocolate are a great combination.
Ingredients
1 pretzel pie crust, baked and cooled completely
Filling
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
8 oz bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao), finely chopped
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup heavy cream
Topping
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (or other flavor, see note)
¼ tsp salt
Extra pretzels, berries, dried rose buds or mint sprigs for garnish/serving
Directions
In a medium heatproof bowl set over a large saucepan of lightly simmering water, whisk together eggs and sugar (bowl shouldn’t touch water). Whisking often, heat until sugar is almost completely dissolved and mixture is pale yellow and slightly aerated, about 5 minutes.
Add chocolate and flavoring, and stir with a rubber spatula until chocolate is melted and mixture is thick and smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cool about 30 minutes.
Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter in a large bowl until light/fluffy, about 3 minutes. In a medium bowl, beat 1 cup heavy cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.
Fold the whipped butter into the cooled chocolate, and then fold in the whipped cream. Scrape filling into the crust and smooth into an even layer. Chill, uncovered, in the refrigerator at least 4 hours.
Just before serving, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat 1 ¼ cups heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl until light/fluffy, about 2 minutes. Dollop whipped cream over pie filling and spread out to crust in an even layer using a spoon or offset spatula.
Notes: For a twist, use orange, almond or mint extract in place of vanilla to flavor pie filling. Pie (without toppings) can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cover/keep chilled.
Got extra pretzels, potato chips, crackers, breakfast cereal? Then you’ve got what it takes to make a pie crust for a no-bake pie recipe.
Just swap out the pretzel crumbs for whatever you’ve got, adjusting salt/sugar to taste depending on what you’re making the crust out of (the pretzels have enough salt so we didn’t include it in the ingredients).
Ingredients
4 cups (5 oz) mini pretzels
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
3 ½ Tbsp light brown sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°.
In a food processor, pulse pretzels until finely ground (about 1 ¼ cups ground pretzels). Pulse in melted butter and brown sugar until combined.
Press evenly into 10-inch buttered pie dish. Bake 12-15 minutes, until firm. Let cool completely, refrigerating it once the dish is cool to the touch to speed process.
