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Seder's sweet solution
By JANET K. KEELER, Times Food Editor Complicating the very specific food requirements of Passover's seder meal is the need to prepare "forgiving" food. That means dishes that can chill out or stay warm and delicious while the story of Exodus is recounted. At Passover, the cook can never be quite sure when dinner will be served. First, the observance begins after sundown, this year on April 16. Then there's the ritualized aspect of the gathering and the retelling of the exodus of Israelites from slavery in Egypt. From sundown, at 7:56 p.m., until dinner could be 15 minutes or it could be an hour or more depending on the number of people taking part or the detail in recounting the ancient story. Dessert is somewhat problematic because most flours, leavening such as baking soda and powder, and grains are prohibited during the weeklong observance. Because the ancient Jews were forced to flee Egypt quickly, there was not enough time to wait for bread to rise to take on the journey. To commemorate this, modern Jews do not eat leavened bread or traditional baked goods during Passover. Many standard desserts are not suitable. Because of the baking challenge, and the heavy nature of the seder meal, where the main event is often a brisket, Susan Friedland, author of The Passover Table (HarperCollins, 1994), prefers fruit compote and, perhaps, macaroons, for dessert. She suggests mixing dried fruits, orange juice, water, sugar, cinnamon and lemon peel to make a luscious compote to compliment chewy macaroons. Jeffrey Nathan, author of the new Adventures in Jewish Cooking (Clarkson Potter; $32.50), looks at the restrictions of the Passover meal as a challenge. "I actually love Passover desserts because they give me the chance to come up with new ways to celebrate my heritage," he writes. "Many of (my) desserts depend on whipped eggs for their leavening." Nathan's Passover Banana Cake with Strawberry-Marsala Compote is a light-textured bundt cake made more tempting with a boozy compote nestled in the cake's hole. Ricky Kaplan of Largo contributed a recipe for Brandied Chocolate Orange Tort to the new Hadassah Jewish Holiday Cookbook (Hugh Lauter Levin Ass.; $29.95). The compilation includes contributions from Jewish cooks around the country. Brandy, orange zest and juice, and toasted ground almonds give this tort a depth of flavor and interest worth waiting for. If you're interested in experimentation, the editors of the Holiday Cookbook say that 2 tablespoons of matzo cake flour and 6 tablespoons of potato starch can be substituted for 1/2 cup flour. Some larger grocery stores carry Jewish food products but a better source would be Jewish specialty shops such as Jo-El's (2619 23rd Ave. N, St. Petersburg, (727) 321-3847). At Jo-El's, you'll not only find all the variations of matzo, but leaveningless cake mixes, too. Meringues are a Passover tradition but can fall prey to humidity, something we know about in Florida. In April, though, the sweaty factor is low so meringues, which can be dressed up with chocolate, should hold their form. A sweet ending to the seder is necessarily thoughtful, but it's always nice when it can be mouthwatering as well. Information from Times wires was used in this report.
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From the Times Taste section From the features wire | |||||||||||||||||
