passover Menu
2023-2026
Scroll down to discover a Fun and Yummy craft for kids, grown-ups, and grown-up kids
Passover 5786
I’ve said it before, almost like a mantra. Menu planning affords us so many opportunities to express our creativity, but in my opinion, this meal is not one of them. Like the Seder itself, many elements of the Seder menu are predictable, and there’s a certain comfort in watching the parade of dishes, dishes that we’ve been looking forward to all year, arrive at the table.
But the past generations—my parents, aunts, and uncles, and my grandparents and their siblings—have passed. We—myself and my remaining cousins—are the old ones now. No doubt we take comfort and joy in the menu we’ve enjoyed since we were children. But we’re a bit more flexible, and more open to adventurous deviations to tradition. Our children and grandchildren are even more so.
In recent years past I’ve begun to modernize some of the recipes and incorporate ingredients and techniques that were foreign to my forbears. I’ll continue to do that this year.
But there will be other changes this year. I’m facing some health issues that are seriously zapping my energy and endurance, and so I’m making it easier on myself. My guest list is being trimmed way down. And, for the first time, I’m taking shortcuts. Many of you may also be looking for shortcuts, and although I’m hoping it’s not for health-related issues, you might like to take advantage of these as well.
Do feel free to scroll down and explore menus from years gone past. Mix and match to create the menu that’s perfect for your Seder.
Instead of making gefilte fish from scratch, I’m buying a couple of logs of frozen (my favorite brand is A & B) and doctoring them up a bit. I’m also going to use horseradish from a jar, instead of grinding the roots. I’m going to do as many things in advance and freeze them as it practical.
In addition to the fish, I need a second appetizer, for the vegetarians. Hence, the beets. The black radish will complement both.
I’m going to add an assortment of sautéed fancy mushrooms to both the regular and vegetarian soups. the soups will be made in advance and frozen. The matzo balls will be fresh. Either they’ll all be made with oil, or I’ll find the energy to make a batch with schmaltz. We will see…
The Brisket is so easy, a classic example of 1960s cooking. And it loses nothing by being frozen in advance. In fact, it’s better when it’s made in advance.
Roasted squash? I’m sure my grandmother never thought of a roasted squash. And I’m quite sure she never heard of quinoa.
I know this still looks like a lot for someone who should be sipping tea with my feet on a settée.
I just can’t help it…
Gefilte Fish
(Defrosted log with added dill, formed and poached in fish stock,or in saved broth from previously used and saved jars of Yehudah gefilte fish.) I’ve done this before, and struggled with fish portions that were a bit waterlogged. So I checked the ingredients. There was no matzo meal in them. Grandma always used a bit of matzo meal. So this year, I added some. I used 1 tablespoon matzo meal for 1 package of frozen fish mix and it made all the difference. The texture was more like Grandma’s and they held together perfectly while cooking.
Optional: MatzoConfit made without the borscht, using the broth from jarred fish, with saffron added to the broth)
Prepared horseradish
roasted and glazed beets with pistachio Pesto
Black radish salad
Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls / Vegetarian Soup with Matzo Balls
Orange and za’atar roasted chicken thighs with sweet dried orange slices
Marilyn’s Brisket
Twice Roasted acorn squash with quinoa pilaf stuffing
or
Matzo farfel FRITTATA with caramelized onions, granny smith apples, shiitake, za’atar, Fresh herbs, and spinach; smoky sumac hollandaise
crispy potato kugel
cauliflower kugel
honey and ginger carrots with glazed chestnuts
Roasted Asparagus With lemon
desserts
Pistachio Rosewater Cake
Chocolate Sponge Cake
Macaroons—Coconut and Almond
Matzo Toffee Crunch
Chocolate Frogs
see below
Assorted Traditional Holiday Sweets
Passover seder 5784
Menu planning affords us so many opportunities to express our creativity, but in my opinion, this meal is not one of them. Like the Seder itself, many elements of the Seder menu are predictable, and there’s a certain comfort in watching the parade of dishes, dishes that we’ve been looking forward to all year, arrive at the table. Still, I do like to change it up a bit, just to keep everyone on their toes.
There’s always matzo ball soup and gefilte fish. We always have Marilyn’s brisket and any of dozen or so chicken dishes. There’s always at least one kugel and a couple of vegetable dishes. Last year, the vegetarian entrée got stellar reviews, so I’ll be making that again. I’m currently obsessed with my cauliflower kugel, so that will be making its Pesach debut. All in all, we’ll have …
A Fabulous Meal!
Gefilte Fish
Prepared horseradish
beet tian with pistachio and dill
Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls / Vegetarian Soup with Matzo Balls
Marilyn’s Brisket
eggplant Bourguignon
crispy potato kugel
cauliflower kugel
honey and ginger carrots
Roasted Asparagus with glazed chestnuts
desserts
Pistachio Rosewater Cake
Chocolate Sponge Cake
Macaroons, Coconut and Almond
Matzo Toffee Crunch
Chocolate Frogs
see below
Assorted Traditional Holiday Sweets
chocolate frogs
A fun and yummy activity
Chocolate Frogs are fun and easy to make, and kids can help.
You’ll need—a frog candy mold, food-safe paint brushes, chocolate chips (dark or milk), white melting wafers, (not the famous brand that starts with W; they’re not fabulous…) (this brand makes K for P wafers), greenoil-based food color.
(Caution: Ordinary food colors are water based, and if you try to mix them with chocolate, the chocolate will seize up.)
Melt your white chocolate wafers according to the package directions. Add a drop of green food color—a little goes a long way, so stir it in drop by drop until you achieve a color that you like.
Grab your paint brush, dip it into your green chocolate, and paint the interior of the molds so that the surface has a nice coating. Don’t worry about it being even, because that won’t show in the finished product.
Melt your milk or dark chocolate and, using a squeeze bottle, piping bag, or a spoon, fill the molds (but not quite all the way to the top of the mold) with the melted chocolate. For a professional look, don’t overfill the molds.
Tap the molds gently, but squarely, on the counter a few times. The chocolate will find its way into the edges, release any air bubbles, and even out the surface.
Pop them into the freezer for about 10 minutes, or until they’re completely hard.
Turn your molds upside down over a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Your frogs should pop right out.
Optional: Add eyes to your frogs. One way is to pipe a dot of icing or melted chocolate where the eyes should be. To achieve popped-out froggy eyes, pick up a dragée with tweezers, dip it lightly in icing or melted chocolate, and gently place it where the eyes should be.
Wrapped, these treats will last for weeks.