Michelle's Kitchen in Toronto Passover Special - Laurie's Sephardic Charoset

It's that time of year again! No, not Easter - though that is also just around the corner. Passover (Pesach) for us Jews starts tomorrow night. Passover is an eight day Jewish holiday that commemorates the flight of the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt in biblical times. The Hebrews were trying to get out of Egypt as fast as they could so that the Pharoah would not have time to change his mind. As such, they did not have time to even allow their bread to rise so Passover is the holiday of Unleavened bread as well. Jews all over the world refrain from eating anything that expands when cooking or has leavening. This includes bread, rice, pasta and even some legumes. This is why we eat matzah - unleavened bread which resembles a large cracker - at this time of the year.

Just in time for my family's Passover seder (the traditional dinner), I decided to post my go-to recipe for charoset - one of the symbolic foods on our special seder plate. Many years ago, a dear family friend made a similar version of this charoset and I have been playing with it for years. It is in the Sephardic style, which means Jews from countries like Spain, Morrocco, Tunisia and Portugal.

Laurie's Sephardic Charoset

1 cup dried dates, pitted
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup chopped pitted prunes
1 cup pear peeled and cubed
1 cup apple peeled and cubed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup red wine (I used a fruity Beaujolais)
1/2 cup apricot jam
1/2 tsp star anise
1/2 tsp cardamom
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup water (to start but keep water handy during the cooking process)

Put the fruit, nuts, spices and wine in a pot on medium heat. Allow the alcohol to burn off the put in the remaining ingredients. Simmer 1-2 hours until the fruit is soft, the water has reduced and the flavours condense. You may need to add more water during cooking so the fruit doesn't burn or stick to the bottom.

I grind my own spices, but you can use whatever you have on hand that is freshest. Laurie only uses cinnamon and nutmeg, but I forgot to buy nutmeg so I used what I had on hand. Also, any dried fruits will do, but if you are not using dates you may need to add some sugar and omit the lemon juice. Not only is this amazing on the seder plate, I also love it to have on matzah for breakfast with some cream cheese. Enjoy!

Michelle's Kitchen in Toronto Passover Special - Laurie's Sephardic Charoset

Sasha's Kitchen: Apricot Almond Couscous Sidedish Paired With Rooster Hill Riesling

We had a wonderful home-prepared dinner on Saturday night.  Tomorrow, I will be doing my post of another wonderful New York State Riesling wine & food pairing with the main course of that meal.  However, I wanted to first introduce a sweet sidedish that also complemented the fruit-forward scents of the Rooster Hill 2007 Estate Semi Dry Riesling that I just received in the mail to review from the lovely Keuka Lake Winery, Rooster Hill Vineyards.

This side dish is very simple to prepare, and contains apricots.  I decided to prepare the couscous with apricot and almond to complement the fragrant apricot and white peach aromas in the wine, and its smooth, lovely honey finish), as well as cinnamon, almond and a bit of lemon.   The wine was a true bouquet of fresh summer fruits, the way a good Riesling ought to be.  I will give full detail on the pairing of the wine in tomorrow's post, so stay tuned.  In the meantime, here is the recipe for the super side dish that (like the lamb main course) was a wonderful complement with Rooster Hill's aromatic white wine.

Sasha's Sweet Apricot Almond Couscous
1 cup plain couscous
1 1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup dried apricot (cut into small pieces)
1/4 cup almond slivers
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon

To prepare the couscous, I placed the couscous in the pineapple juice in a small pot (instead of using water, like one normally does with couscous).  Then, I brought it to a boil and simmered until the juices were mostly gone.  This infused the couscous with the flavors of the pineapple.  Then, I mixed the couscous with the almond, cinnamon and apricot and sauteed for a couple of minutes in a small amount of canola oil (just enough so the couscous would not stick to the pan).  Finally, I added a small amount of lemon juice to add some tartness to balance out the flavors.  This couscous is a sweet and delicious side dish that can be served with either lamb or chicken dishes.  Don't be afraid of this dish even if you don't have a sweet tooth - even my husband (not normally a fan of overly sweet foods) enjoyed it.

I am pleased to enter this dish in the multi-blog sidedish showdown!

Sasha's Kitchen: Apricot Almond Couscous Sidedish Paired With Rooster Hill Riesling