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: Date Spread With Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese

This recipe is a favorite spread or hors d'oeuvre in my house, even though it was never intended as such.  In fact, this started out as a Passover recipe for my Seder plate and evolved into something that I enjoy year-round.

I was raised in the Ashkanazi (of Eastern European descent) Jewish tradition, where Charoset, a traditional Passover food, is always made with apples, walnuts and wine.  I always enjoyed eating Charoset this way and never thought of making it any other way until I met my husband Brad, who has some Sephardic Jewish relatives on both sides of his family (Sephardic Jews include those from various Middle Eastern countries, as well as Greece, Spain and Morocco).  I learned that making Charoset with dates is actually a pretty common Sephardic tradition.

It happens to also be a delicious recipe.  After making it for my family this past spring when we hosted a Passover seder, I decided to make the recipe again (after Passover had ended) and served it on crackers with Humboldt Fog goat cheese, that we purchased at nearby Bierkraft.  This wound up being my husband's favorite snack!  The combination of the Humboldt Fog with the dates is a dynamic duo.  Another note here: if you like goat cheese, you must try Humboldt Fog - it is absolutely my favorite cheese, and is a thousand times better than any ordinary goat cheese. 

Here's the recipe for the spread, which is quite simple, thanks to my mother-in-law, Lynne.

1 lb pitted dates, chopped finely
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups warm water
6 to 8 T sweet wine (depending on how you like it, so make to taste)
1 tsp cinnamon

Soak the dates and raisins in the water for about half of an hour.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat in a saucepan.  Simmer for 30-60 minutes, stirring often.  Keep simmering until this gets to the consistency of a chutney.  When it is done, allow it to cool to room temperature.  Then add the wine and cinnamon and puree in a food processor.

Serve with Humboldt fog, on a water cracker.  The leftovers store well in tupperware.

Note:  All photos are my original photographs, except for the photo of the cheese from the public domain, available at http://www.pdphoto.org/.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the spread served with the cheese and crackers, but below is a photo of it on my Seder Plate.

Cheese

Sasha's Kitchen: Date Spread With Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese