Saturday, March 24, 2007

a nice passover appetizer

passover is a holiday which is traditionally heavily centered around meat, with many families only having one separate set of dishes for the holiday instead of the typical three as during the rest of the year [dairy, meat & neutral/parve].

this spring holiday is probably one of the only times when my diet consists of lots of meat so i guess this will be my opportunity to fill up my blog with all those meat dishes that are good for anytime of the year, not just passover.

the following recipe is an appetizer i have long loved and look forward to eating at the seder meal. it is typically served with a zesty tomato sauce called salade cuite.


les croquettes de pomme de terre pour pessah
passover meat stuffed potato croquettes

makes 18

ingredients:

potato casing:

4 to 5 large potatoes [idaho]
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
chopped parsley, optional

filling:

4 tsp oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp each of: cumin, cinnamon, coriander*
pinch nutmeg, optional
salt, pepper to taste
1 lb ground beef
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 c red wine vinegar (KLP)
1/4 c chopped parsley

*these are sefardi spice combinations; you can use whatever spices you enjoy.

matzo meal or potato starch
1 egg, beaten

method:

in skillet, heat oil and fry onion and garlic until softened. add spices and fry a minute longer.

add beef and break up as while frying. cook until it is no longer pink. drain off all fat.

stir in vinegar and sugar. cook until liquid evaporates.

transfer to a food processor and process until you get a paste [la "miga"]. shape these into 18 ovals which measure 2" x 1 1/2". chill them to make them firm up. do not skip this part or they won't hold together properly.

for potato casing:

boil potatoes with skin on in salted water until soft. rinse and peel while still warm. mash them well.

add the salt and pepper and only 1 egg. mix well. divide into 18 equal portions.

to make the croquettes:

using matzo meal or potato starch, flour your hands well. take a portion of the potatoes and form it around a portion of the meat. make sure it is well closed. you can freeze these at this point, too.

dip each croquette into the egg which you have beaten well in a bowl. fry these in oil until golden. only fry about 6 at a time.

when golden brown, drain on paper towel.

serve warm or room temperature with a tomato sauce [salade cuite].

enjoy!

11 comments:

Ruth Daniels said...

That was my favorite Passover dish growing up. I'm not sure who did it better - my mother or HER mother. Fried in tons of crispy thinly slice onions - I'm drooling.

Thanks for the memories. And Happy Pesach.

Emily DeVoto, Ph.D., said...

hmm... sorry but I have to start a dialogue here about whether Pesach is really "meat-centered." In my family it wasn't, and we sure did like meat ... For seder maybe we had a brisket occasionally, but more often turkey, and I remember more fish, and dairy.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing such a great passover recipe. Sounds delish.

Ari (Baking and Books)

Coffee said...

where have all your pics gone????

Anonymous said...

Hey this time of the year when you jewish people have this traditions. I could not be disappointed by you BB. Keep the wood in the oven and the gas full for that stove and if its posible send me some(I mean food, save me time!). Hope spring is taking some of the cold shoulders burden out of you. ;)

Beenzzz said...

What a lovely sounding dish!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Oh, lucky you eating all that meat during Passover!
Those "croquettes" sound scrummy. I'd have to try them once...
Have a nice time!

Linda said...

Hope you have a joyous passover celebration.

Unknown said...

Love the chocolate cake recipe below. If you wanted, you could replace the diary altogether with soy milk and a little lemon juice (similar to soured milk although not quite the same as buttermilk).

Apparently, a lot of Duncan Hines products are/can be prepared without eggs and dairy as well (if you're good with baking out of the box), but I don't know how strictly kosher they are.

I, too, am a food-obsessed Canadian who loves burekas. Good luck with your 'illness'!

eljo said...

Hello,

Just chanced by your blog today. You have great recipes here. Keep up the good work :-)

burekaboy — said...

ruth - i didn't realize these were also ashkenazi fare. i bet they must be amazing with the fried onions. a big part of passover is food memories, isn't it.

hiya em - surprised to hear that .... all my friends' families are strictly carnivores at pessah. LOL. i guess i am thinking back years ago, maybe??

hey ari - thanks my dear :D are you having meat at your seder??

coffee - hehe!! i wrote earlier that i'd post the pix later on cause my kitchen was not ready to cook in yet. they are soon to come! seems strange with no pictures, huh?

hi roberto - yep, we are very busy at this time of year getting ready for passover; it's a big holiday for us. happy spring to you, too :D back to adding wood to the oven! thanks for stopping by. our holiday always coincides with your easter one.

beeeeeeeeeeeenzzzz!! - you are back, darling!! :D so happy to see you. sorry i missed you before you ran off to india. my head was in a million places at that time. check ur email; will be sending u something.

rosa - will be very, very busy the next few days making these and other things i will post later. so much to take care of now, so little time to do it! speak to u soon.

linda - thank you for your nice wishes. much appreciated. good holiday wishes to you, too.

hi vincent - thanks for dropping by and your comment. i think i mentioned your suggestion of using soymilk with a souring agent (i said vinegar but i like yours better with lemon juice).

i think the duncun hines ones are actually kosher, if i'm not mistaken. i am not vegan but i do like to experiment so i have a repertoire for those of my friends who are.

glad you like burekas, too (the dough is actually totally vegan btw if you are interested in experimenting). as for the 'illness', i feel i shall never be cured of it! oh well, there are worse afflictions one could potentially suffer :D

eljo - hi there :D thanks for the very nice comment and dropping in/happening onto my blog. glad you liked what you saw. hope to see you again.