THESE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

Tried and True Pesach Recipes from the JCCMP/Jewish Echo Staff

Pineapple Kugel

You know how you get to that point in time over Pesach where you just can’t bear to look at another potato, but you still need side dishes to round out your meal?  This kugel hits that spot – different, but yummy.

2 20 ounce cans crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup sugar

6 eggs

4 tablespoons potato starch

Beat eggs with sugar.  Mix in pineapple and potato starch and pour into greased 9 inch round pan.  Bake one hour at 350.

-Sandy Eller

Granola

Missing your mezonos on Pesach?  Whether you eat it by the handful or sprinkle it on yogurt, this may just do the trick.

2 1/2 cups non-gebrokts matza farfel

1/2 cup chopped cashews

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 tbs. margarine

2 tbs. oil

6 tbs. brown sugar

3 tbs. honey

cinnamon

1/2 cup craisins or raisins

 Melt margarine, sugar, and honey. Mix well.  Pour farfel onto parchment paper and add nuts. Pour over hot liquid and mix well. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let it cool before crumbling and adding craisins or raisins. Store in a tightly covered container or Ziploc bag.  Oh, and try not to eat the whole thing at once.

-Sandy Eller

Pesach Mayonnaise
Ever tried to make Pesach mayo, only to end up with Pesach oil-soup?  The answer to your troubles is here in this super-simple recipe.  Just be sure to use an immersion blender and you’ll be done in seconds. Now that’s what I call a “miracle whip!”

1 cup neutral flavored oil (nut works well)
1 egg
1 tsp. salt

Put ingredients into a storage container. A taller, thinner container works better than a wider, flatter one. Set immersion blender at the bottom of the container. Turn it on, and slowly lift the blender up to the top of the mixture – by the time you get to the top, your container will be full of mayonnaise!
Enjoy the mayo baked onto fish or as a simple dip. Make a fresh and delicious coleslaw or thousand island dressing. Another tasty option is blending some extra salt and raw onion into the mayo mixture and then bake it slathered on potato wedges (you’ll thank me later for that one).

-Penina Baumgarten

Cinnamon Crumb Cake

This is a favorite in our family!

Cake:

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. vanilla sugar

1 cup oil

4 eggs

1 cup potato starch

Topping:

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup oil (place in freezer for 1/2 hour )½ box crumbled ladyfingers

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

Mix all cake ingredients in mixer. Pour into 9×13 cake pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Combine all topping ingredients. Pour over cake and continue baking at 350 for another 35 minutes. Enjoy!

-Chani Grunberger

Potato Knishes

1 large onion, diced and sautéed

5 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed

2 eggs

½ cup potato starch

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Form mixture into balls. With your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each one. Bake on parchment paper until golden brown. Can be frozen raw and then baked.

-Menucha Worcman

Mini Carrot Muffins

10 large carrots, boiled until soft

5 eggs

1 tbsp. potato starch

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup Pesach crumbs or crushed ladyfingers

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 12 mini muffin tins with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients except for the crumbs in a food processor bowl and pulse until a smooth mixture forms. Divide crumbs in half.  Evenly distribute the first half inside the muffin tins. Pour the carrot mixture over the crumbs and top with the other half of the crumbs. Bake 40 minutes until firm.

-Menucha Worcman

Pesach Kichel

This recipe came from my sister-in-law Nechami in London, and it is all her fault that I am in the kitchen making them at least four times over Yom Tov. They are that addictive! You are forewarned: they will be gone before you blink. I recommend tripling this recipe.

3 eggs

2 tbsp. sugar

Salt, to taste (I just use a sprinkle)

Scant ½ cup oil

1 ¾ cups potato starch

Mix all ingredients together with a hand blender or mixer and pour into VERY thin layers on a well-greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 6 minutes. Cut into squares and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, watching carefully to make sure they do not burn. Make sure to hide a small bag of crackers for yourself in the freezer marked “liver” (or something equally distasteful) to avoid overeager munchers. Enjoy them as a reward for your efforts while everyone else is blissfully sleeping.

-Rayle Rubenstein

Baked French Toast

I don’t remember where I found this (I have only a torn magazine page), but it is a lifesaver on busy Chol Hamoed mornings. It takes just a minute to prepare the night before, and I pop the tray in the oven just as everyone is waking up. The gang walks into a delicious-smelling kitchen for a warm breakfast treat that was virtually prep-free for me! It’s a win-win for everyone. Enjoy!

24 ladyfingers

6 eggs

1 ½ cups whole milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line up ladyfingers in a 9×13 disposable pan.  Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Pour over ladyfingers. Cover pan and refrigerate overnight. Bake in the morning at 350 for 40 minutes, or until the egg is absorbed and ladyfingers are puffed and golden.  Sprinkle with confectionary sugar and serve with syrup, jam, yogurt, or whatever you like…or are allowed to eat on Pesach.

-Rayle Rubenstein