Ashkenazi Peasant Food

Sweet and Sour Fish

Copped Goose Liver

Pickled Meat

Kugel

Braided Challah Bread

Cholent

Gefilte Fish

Holishkes

Knishes

Matzo Balls

Tzimmes
Potato Latkes

Matzo Balls - Yield: 17 - 20 matzo balls.
Matzo is the classic accompaniment to a Passover meal. Many cooks swear that the secret to good matzo balls is to keep the pot covered until they are almost done.

•                1 cup matzo meal

•                1/2 cup seltzer

•                4 eggs, at room temperature

•                2 tablespoons shortening, at room temperature see note

•                Salt and black pepper to taste

METHOD - In a medium bowl, beat eggs with a fork. Stir in seltzer, shortening, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add matzo meal and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

When ready to use, wet hands and form into 1 inch balls.

Drop into chicken soup. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until done.

Sweet Carrot Tzimmes 

1 large onion

1.5 kilo boneless silverside of beef

2 B vegetable oil

6 large carrots

1 lemon

5 medium sweet potatoes

16 dried prunes

Boiling water

Zest and juice of one orange

3 TB runny honey

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1½ tablespoons brown sugar

1½ TB plain flour

2 cm fresh ginger

Himalayan salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350°

Stage One

Slice the onion finely.

Brown the onion gently and seal the meat on all sides in a heavy frying pan on top of the stove.

Transfer the onions and meat into an oven dish with lid.

Stage Two

Wash the carrots. Either scrape off any blemishes or peel if preferred and slice into thick coins.

The lemon must be thinly sliced.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into chunks.

The prunes must be quartered.

Peel the ginger and chop into very small pieces.

Place the sliced carrots, lemon, sweet potatoes, ginger and prunes around the beef in the oven dish. Add salt and pepper if required.

Stage Three

Mix 475 ml of boiling water with the orange juice and honey.

Add the brown sugar to the flour.

Add the sugar/flour mixture to the orange juice and honey.

Add enough plain boiling water to this mixture. Stir well to make a syrupy

mixture. Pour over the carrots and add sufficient boiling water to cover all ingredients.

Cover and cook for four hours, then remove the lid and cook for a further 30

minutes. The meat should be well browned and the carrots cooked thoroughly.

Variations: Substitute either chicken pieces or a whole chicken instead of the beef. Lamb is another favorite. In some homes the Tzimmes is cooked without any meat or fried onions and served as an accompaniment to fish. Try mopping up the gravy with home baked bagels.