What to cook for the intermediate days of Passover

I know many families like to prepare traditional recipes they’ve grown up on, and tend to serve the same familiar dishes year after year.

By PASCALE PEREZ-RUBIN
Pascale's Kitchen: What to cook for the intermediate days of Passover (photo credit: PASCALE PEREZ-RUBIN)
Pascale's Kitchen: What to cook for the intermediate days of Passover
(photo credit: PASCALE PEREZ-RUBIN)
Most festive holiday meals are shared with close friends and loved ones. Of all the Jewish festival meals, Erev Rosh Hashanah and Seder night are two of the most cherished evenings among Jews worldwide. Many of us begin preparations weeks before the holiday, shopping and chopping, so that the meals will turn out extra special.
I know many families like to prepare traditional recipes they’ve grown up on, and tend to serve the same familiar dishes year after year.
Below, I’ve included three recipes that are perfect for serving on Shabbat Hol Hamoed, the intermediate Shabbat of Passover. The first one is a tasty layered potato and matzah quiche, which hails from Turkish cuisine and has layers of beef and potato. This dish is really impressive and fun to slice right at the table in front of everyone.
The second dish is artichoke hearts stuffed with spicy meatballs and covered with a green broad bean sauce. This North African delicacy has a wonderful cinnamon aroma and is traditionally eaten with matzah on Passover.
The third recipe I’ve included is for sea bream in a pickled lemon sauce. This easy-to-prepare dish is best prepared just before sitting down to eat.
Wishing everyone a Happy Passover!
LAYERED POTATO AND MATZAH QUICHE
This delicacy comes from Turkish cuisine and can be prepared as a dairy or meat dish. Use a 22-cm. or 24-cm. springform pan.
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. oil
300 g. beef
4 large potatoes
5 eggs
1 tsp. salt
¾ tsp. black pepper
8-10 pieces of matzah
Directions:
Cut the beef into cubes and transfer to a large pot.
Peel and rinse the potatoes, then add them to the pot. Fill the pot with water to cover. Cook over a medium flame for 30-45 minutes, until the meat and potatoes have softened.
Drain and let cool, keeping the liquid for later use.
Mash the potatoes and set aside ¼ of the mixture.
In a separate bowl, pull the strands of the beef apart or grind the beef in a food processor.
Add ¾ of the potatoes to a large bowl and then add the pulled meat. Next, pour on the beaten eggs and half of the salt and pepper. Mix well.
Wet all the matzah pieces and then remove any excess water with a towel. Pour the oil into a pan and put it in the oven to heat up.
Place 2 or 3 pieces of matzah in the pan and then cover with ⅓ of the beef-potato mixture. Flatten. Add another layer of matzah, and then another ⅓ of the beef-potato mixture. Flatten and add one more layer of matza and then mixture. Cover with a last layer of matza.
In a separate bowl, mix the leftover potato mixture with the rest of the spices. Add the egg, mix it well and then add it on top of the quiche.
Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 180ºC for 20-30 minutes. When the top has turned golden brown, pour ½ -¾  cup from the liquid that you put aside on top and continue baking for another 20 minutes. Serve hot.
Level of difficulty: Medium-difficult.
Time: 30 minutes.
Status: Meat.
STUFFED ARTICHOKE HEARTS IN BEAN SAUCE
This recipe is from North African cuisine.
Makes 6-8 servings.
Ingredients:
6 medium artichokes
200 g. ground beef
2 eggs
1 large onion
2 potatoes
10 parsley sprigs
5 eggs
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. turmeric
Sauce:
4 Tbsp. oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, cut into 2-3 cm. pieces
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. turmeric
½ tsp. pepper
1 stick of cinnamon
1½ cups water
¼ tsp. salt
½ kg. green broad beans, frozen or fresh
Directions:
Remove all of the outer leaves by hand, then remove the inner leaves with a knife. Remove all of the hairs and clean the artichoke heart well so that only the bowl-shaped part is left.
Rinse two eggs and the potatoes well.
In a separate pot, cook the meat, potatoes and two eggs in water to cover for 30 minutes, until the eggs harden and the meat and potatoes soften.
Chop the onion and parsley finely. Cut the eggs, potatoes and meat into cubes. Add the onion, parsley, eggs, potatoes and meat to a bowl. Add the salt, pepper and turmeric and mix well. Add the five raw eggs and mix well. Scoop up a bit of the mixture with a spoon and place inside the artichoke heart. Press down to fill the space. Do the same with all the rest of the artichokes.
To prepare the sauce, heat the oil in a large flat pot. Add the onion and sauté until it turns translucent. Add the celery, lemon juice, turmeric, pepper and cinnamon. Mix and add the water and salt. Bring to a boil and then add the beans. Mix and bring back to a boil.
Arrange the stuffed artichokes in the bottom of a pot. Pour the sauce on top. Shake the pot gently so that the sauce can fill in all the empty areas. Bring the pot to a boil over a high flame and then lower the flame and cook for 30-40 minutes until the meat has softened. Shake the pot every once in a while, and check that there’s enough liquid. If needed, add up to ¾ cup water.
TiPascale:
If you're short on time, you can use frozen artichoke hearts and frozen green broad beans.
 
Level of difficulty: Medium-difficult.
Time: 2 hours.
Status: Meat.
SEA BREAM IN PICKLED LEMON SAUCE
Makes 6-8 servings.
Ingredients:
6-8 sea bream filets, cleaned
6 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cloves garlic, halved
2 sprigs of thyme
3 slices of lemon
3 small pickled lemons
1 spicy green pepper, thinly sliced rings
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. sweet paprika
¼ tsp. turmeric
½-1 cup water
Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped finely
Directions:
Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and add the chopped garlic. Place a few filets in the pan with the skin side facing down, without any overlap. Fry for 2 or 3 minutes and then gently flip them over and fry the other side for a minute or two. Remove and place on a serving plate.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and then add the garlic halves. Sauté for a minute and then add the thyme, lemon and pepper. Stir.
Add the tomatoes, all of the spices and the water. Mix well and bring to a boil. Lower the flame. Taste and adjust seasoning. Put the filets back in the pan and then shake the pan so that the sauce covers the fish. Cover and cook over a low flame for 10-15 minutes. Turn off the flame, sprinkle with the fresh cilantro and serve.
Level of difficulty: Easy.
Time: 30 minutes.
Status: Pareve.
Translated by Hannah Hochner.
Learn more here.


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