Month: April 2025

Fudgy Passover Brownies – Gluten-Free

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

There isn’t a great deal to say about why you would want to make brownies for Pesach. I mean, why wouldn’t you? After all, who doesn’t love a good brownie? And since these Fudgy Passover Brownies are gluten-free, they also can be used all year-round for those with gluten intolerance. Dense and fudgy with a deep chocolate flavor. Be extra decadent and serve them with vegan vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

There are a LOT of brownie recipes out there and I have several on my blog. People also have very strong ideas about what makes the perfect brownie – fudgy vs. cakey, with extra chocolate chips or without, frosting or no frosting. Etc. etc. etc.

My personal all-time favorite brownie is my Java Brownie, but it is not for Passover. Is this brownie the absolute sine quinone of brownies? Probably not. But it is an easy recipe that comes together quickly, is Kosher for Pesach and is quite satisfying when you are looking for that chocolate something dessert. And best of all, I had all of the ingredients in my fridge or pantry so there were no additional trips to the store. Give it a try.

Just a note. These brownies will only be as good as the ingredients you use. If you use a cheap chocolate or cocoa, artificial vanilla etc. your results will not be as good as when using quality ingredients. There are some excellent kosher for Passover chocolate brands and you should be able to find one without too much difficulty. This recipe only calls for two eggs so make sure that they are fresh. There is also some excellent vegan butter on the market in addition to vegetable margarine. I would definitely go for the vegan buttery sticks. You will see the difference in the end result. Your output will only be as good as your input.

RECIPE

YIELD: About 9 servings

INGREDIENTS

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan butter cut into chunks, plus extra for the pan

3.5 ounces dark or bittersweet kosher for Passover chocolate, broken or coarsely chopped

1 cup superfine almond flour or almond meal

½ cup granulated cane sugar

¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 Tablespoons of potato starch

1.5 teaspoons instant espresso powder

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ cup dark, white or a mixture of chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8-inch metal pan with parchment. Butter the paper and set aside.

Place the butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a microwave safe bowl. Just place a heat proof bowl over a pot of water, but do NOT allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Bring the water to a simmer and checking frequently, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally with a spatula. If you use a microwave for this, start with 30 seconds at full heat. Keep checking and stirring. Do small increments after that until almost all the chocolate is melted. Then remove the bowl from the microwave and stir with a spatula until the chocolate is smooth and glossy.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sugar, cocoa powder, potato starch, salt and instant espresso granules. Stir out any lumps that may have formed. Add the chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients and incorporate it using a spatula.

Lightly whisk the eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl and add it to the batter. Add in the chocolate chips and mix everything through until you have a fairly thick but smooth batter (except for the chocolate chip lumps.)

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use a spatula to spread everything evenly.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the brownies are just firm to the touch and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.

Allow the brownies to cool completely in the pan. Then either invert them onto a plate, remove the paper and turn the brownies right side up to cut them OR just ease theparchment and brownies out of the pan and place on a cutting board. You can then just cut them on the parchment and peel the parchment off each piece.

Matzah Salad

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

If you are like me, a great salad is a beautiful thing. Not merely some healthy secondary player, but a star performer. In the great tradition of fattoush, that delightful Levantine salad made with fried pita or panzanella, a classic Tuscan salad made with stale, soaked bread, we have Matzah Salad. I adore it and can eat an entire bowl meant to serve six! Over the years, I have added some elements such as garlic and feta cheese. But if you are serving it as a side to a meat main course, just leave out the cheese. And while I think this tastes best using rendered chicken fat, Matzah salad can be made using just EVOO or Avocado oil.

I first came across the recipe in Joan Nathan’s Jewish Cooking in America cookbook, but have made quite a few changes from the recipe which originated at the now defunct Quilted Giraffe Restaurant. Amounts are a suggestion. Followed exactly, this recipe is great, but if there are some ingredients that you like more than others, try making those substitutions.

The original recipe calls for traditional square matzah. However, we love the Shmura Matzah from Ukraine that we buy from our Chabad rabbi. It is thin and toasty with a great texture. While pricey, we can eat as much as we like with none of the negative gastrointestinal problems that people joke about with regular matzah. And once you have tasted it, every other matzah is just – okay.

Matzah salad is a wonderful side with any grilled meat or fish and makes for a great lunch when you add in the optional cheese for protein. Depending on the fat you use or the addition of cheese, this salad can be pareve, vegan or vegetarian. Versatile and delicious, I look forward to this once-a-year treat.

And for those Jews whose minhag is NOT to use matzah, let alone Shmura matzah, this way, I respect that and say, then, don’t make this. For the rest of us, it’s delicious.

RECIPE

Yield: About six portions as a side salad

INGREDIENTS

10 squares of matzah (Plain or whole wheat, but not egg matzah!) OR about 5 or 6 rounds of Shmura Matzah (I just eyeball it.)

4 to 6 Tablespoons of rendered chicken fat or EVOO or Avocado Oil (You can also use mostly the healthier oil with a little chicken fat for flavor, which is what I generally do.)

1 large red, yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped into a smallish dice. If you prefer more, go for it. (You could you use roasted peppers from a jar or fresh. They will both give a wonderful flavor, but with somewhat different textures.)

2 to 3 Persian cucumbers or 1 English cucumber, diced

1 Tablespoon drained capers in brine (Do NOT rinse them!)

18 pitted Kalamata olives coarsely chopped or sliced into thirds (You could use any olive that you like.)

2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced or finely chopped

1 bunch chives, finely chopped or snipped (You could use scallions or red onion, if you prefer. I was in H Mart, that huge Asian food market and they had gorgeous chive blossoms, which I used here.)

Kosher salt and either fresh, cracked black pepper or Aleppo Pepper, to taste

About 7 ounces of crumbled feta or chevre cheese (Optional)

2 Tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley or cilantro

DIRECTIONS

Run a rolling pin or wine or Coke bottle over the matzah to break it up into pieces that are no larger than about 1/4-inch. (Place the matzah in a plastic or cloth bag before doing this to cut down on crumbs everywhere.)

If you are using square matzah, then toast the matzah pieces in either a dry sauté pan or in a 300 degree F. oven for about 10 minutes. If you are using Shmura Matzah, you can skip this step. Transfer the matzah to a large serving bowl.

In a large skillet, heat the 4 Tablespoons of the chicken fat or oil and add the chopped cucumber and bell pepper. Then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Toss everything until the vegetables are well-coated and cook for 1 minute over medium heat. Add the capers and olives and toss through, cooking for about another minute. If you are using chive blossoms, scallions or red onion, add at the end and cook for another 30 seconds.

Turn off the heat and add in the chopped or snipped regular chives. Pour everything over the matzah and give it a good toss. If you are using cheese, add it now, along with the salt, sumac and pepper. (Go easy on the salt since the capers and olives both contain salt. You can always add it, but it is almost impossible to remove it.) Sprinkle the parsley or cilantro over the top, drizzle with additional oil and enjoy! I find that this is at its peak if made an hour ahead of when you want to eat it. This gives the vegetables and oils to permeate the matzah.

Spinach Potato Leek Pashtida

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

My husband’s sister is in town for a conference and we were able to get together at our house this past Sunday for lunch. I have a pathological need to try something new when we are having company over. Usually I then stress over it until everyone has finished eating seconds and I know that it was a success. This time was much more low-key – or maybe I’m just older. I wanted a luncheon that could be eaten at room temperature since my sister-in-law was flying in and you never can tell if flights will be on time. The main course also had to look great, taste great and not make you feel guilty when dessert rolled around.

While scrolling on line I came across a recipe that looked as if it fit the bill. The measurements were not given exactly and the directions only came when watching the video. With a lot of experience, I knew that I could adapt this. My husband had just baked a beautiful sourdough bread, there was my Baba Ghanoush in the fridge and I made another new dip called Muhamarra, which I adapted from Adeena Sussman’s cookbook Sababa. I added my Sunshine Kale Salad to round things out. The salad is so pretty, delicious, easy to make and should be made ahead! Dessert was my Mixed Berry Galette served with a lightly sweetened Crème fraîche.

The Spinach Potato Leek Pashtida is a wonderful anytime recipe. It’s perfect for a brunch, lunch or light summer dinner. And by swapping out the cornstarch with potato starch, it can be Kosher for Passover, which is coming up shortly.

So what exactly is a Pashtida? Some people say it’s like a crustless quiche, but I think it’s more like a frittata on steroids. Truly a versatile dish that can be wonderful for clearing out your vegetable drawer. The Spinach Potato Leek Pashtida, if made exactly as written works perfectly and makes a great presentation with limited effort. Of course, you can swap out onion for the leek or oregano for the dill, but try it once as you see it below before you start making changes. This is one of those recipes that you want to have in your back pocket.

RECIPE

Yield: 4 to 6 servings depending on what sides you serve

INGREDIENTS

3 potatoes (450 g) – Golden or Red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice

3 to 4 Tablespoons EVOO or Avocado Oil

1 large or 2 small leeks, washed well, trimmed, and thinly sliced (I use the white and light green part. You want about 2 cups loosely packed.)

½ of a large Bell Pepper, seeded and cut into a 1-inch dice (Any color pepper will work, but I would use a red or orange if you can purely for the visual effect.)

Rounded 1/2 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried dill

4 to 5 oz. fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided and cracked black pepper to taste

Ricotta or farmer’s cheese 180 g (Try to use a whole milk cheese.)

Cornstarch or Potato Starch 50 g (5 tablespoons)

Shredded Cheese 100 g (You could use a sharp cheddar, Gruyere, Asiago, Parmesan, Pecorino or a combination.)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. or 180 Celsius.

Place the oil in a large skillet and on medium heat, add the diced potatoes and sauté until the potatoes begin to become translucent.

Add in the leeks and continue cooking, stirring occasionally.

Once the potatoes and leeks have softened, add in the bell pepper and mix through. Continue cooking while you chop the spinach.

Once the spinach is chopped, add it to the pan with the potatoes, leeks and peppers. Add in ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and ½ teaspoon of paprika and the dill. Mix everything through to distribute evenly all the ingredients. Cover the pan and allow it to cook for about 2 minutes or just until the spinach is wilted. (I used the smoked paprika. You could also add in other dried herbs such as dill, thyme or oregano, if you wish.)

As soon as the potato spinach mixture is finished cooking, remove the pan from the heat and transfer everything into a large clean bowl.

Add in the ricotta cheese and mix through thoroughly.

Crack 3 eggs into a bowl and add ½ teaspoon of salt and a few cracks of pepper. Whisk to incorporate the whites and yolks of the eggs. Pour the eggs over the vegetable cheese mixture in the bowl.

Mix in the cornstarch. Once the cornstarch is incorporated, add the grated cheese and mix it through.

Line a 9” x 5” loaf pan with parchment and lightly oil the parchment. (A tip for easily getting the parchment to fit the pan. Wet the parchment and crumple it. Now it will be malleable and can easily be made to fit into the corners of your pan. It also keeps the parchment that sticks out from burning in the oven!

Pour the mixture into the pan and gently push it down and into the corners to remove any air. You can also lightly tap the pan on the counter. Once the mixture is in the pan evenly, bake it for 35 to 45 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and the pashtida starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and no longer jiggles. It’s kind of hard to dry this out, so err on the side of baking it a tad longer if you are unsure if it is done. If you are using Fahrenheit, the pashtida will likely take the longer time since 180 degrees C is a little hotter than 350 degrees F.

Turn the pashtida out onto a cutting board or serving platter and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting it. The pashtida can be served warm or at room temperature. I served it with a light salad and muhamarra and a crusty sourdough bread that my husband had baked.