Around the Passover Table (30 page)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, well trimmed of fat and sinews

1 cup peeled young turnips and/or 1 cup peeled parsnips, diced or cut into bite-size chunks

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus additional for garnish

Optional accompaniments: for the soup, matzoh balls; cooked egg noodles, rice, kasha, kreplach; or red new potatoes, boiled until tender; for the chicken, coarse salt, horseradish, sour pickles

CHOOSE
a lidded, deep skillet large enough to accommodate all the chicken in one layer. Add about 5 cups of the broth, the parsley and/or celery leaves, onion, and chopped carrot and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to blend the flavors. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

ARRANGE
the chicken in a single layer in the broth; if necessary, add more broth so that the chicken is completely immersed. Simmer gently, covered, for about 5 minutes. Turn off the flame, but don't remove the lid or move the pot. Let the chicken rest for about 15 minutes, then check to see that it is just cooked through. If not, leave the chicken in the pot for a few more minutes, covered, without the heat on.

TRANSFER
the chicken breasts to a deep dish, spoon some of the broth over to keep them moist, and tent with foil.

STRAIN
the poaching liquid into a large saucepan and add the remaining broth. Bring to a boil, then stir in the remaining carrots, turnips, and parsnips, if using. Reduce the heat and cook until the vegetables are tender.

CUT
the chicken into bite-size pieces and add to the soup, together with the dill and any starchy accompaniments you choose to serve, and warm until everything is heated through. Serve the soup in warmed bowls, sprinkled with more dill.

OR
present the chicken separately, either as another course, along with coarse salt, horseradish, and pickles, if using, or at another meal.

Fresh Borscht with Dilled Onion-Butter Matzoh Balls

yield:
About 6 servings

The lovely caterer Arlette Lustyk shared the recipe for this simple, delicious soup with me in her Paris office while my husband and daughter entertained themselves poring over photographs of the giant challahs that lined the tables at her fabulous weddings and bar mitzvahs.

Madame Lustyk and her husband, Claude, recommend serving the borscht hot in winter, accompanied by
klops
, Polish-Jewish meatballs bursting with onions; for the summer, they combine it with crème fraîche and offer it chilled, ladled over a hot boiled potato. But it was spring when I was playing around in my kitchen and I decided to compromise. I enriched the broth with sour cream and served it warm, a supernal hot pink complement to my buttery matzoh balls.

To draw out all the fresh beet essence for the soup, the raw beets are soaked first in cold water overnight, then slow-simmered in the liquid. The resulting borscht (the catchall Yiddish name for soups containing the ubiquitous beet) is more deeply flavorful than most meatless beet broths. I find that the plain borscht, without eggs or cream, also doubles quite successfully as an easily-prepared rosl, a fermented beet juice, to be used for braising (see
Beet-Braised Pot Roast
).

FOR THE BORSCHT

About 2
¹
⁄
₂
pounds fresh beets (weight without leaves)

7 cups cold water (quality is important here, so if you use bottled water for coffee or tea, use it here)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

About 1 teaspoon sour salt (available in specialty stores and those that cater to European and Middle Eastern clientele)

About 2 tablespoons brown or white sugar

2 large egg yolks

FOR THE MATZOH BALLS

1 cup finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 large eggs

¹
⁄
₂
cup matzoh meal

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons finely snipped fresh dill

Optional accompaniments:
sour cream, yogurt cream
, or crème fraîche; snipped fresh dill, for garnish

A
day before you plan to serve the borscht, peel the beets and slice them thinly (wear rubber gloves to avoid staining your fingers). Place them in a nonreactive stockpot and add the water. Cover the pot tightly and let it sit at room temperature overnight or up to 24 hours. Don't peek.

START
the matzoh balls: in a medium skillet, sauté the onion in the butter over moderate heat until soft and golden, about 7 minutes. Salt and pepper lightly and let cool. Beat the eggs in a bowl until foamy. Add the sautéed onions (and any butter from the pan) and beat again. Whisk in the matzoh meal, baking powder, salt (about
³
⁄
₄
teaspoon, or to taste), and some pepper. Stir in the dill. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the mixture to absorb the seasonings and liquids.

WHEN
ready to cook the borscht, remove the pot lid and carefully skim away all foam that has risen to the top. Add 2 teaspoons salt and pepper to taste, and cook over moderate heat for 1
¹
⁄
₂
hours, vigilantly skimming off any foam and scum as it accumulates.

ABOUT
10 minutes before the borscht has finished cooking, stir in the sour salt and sugar. Season generously with salt and pepper. Adjust sour salt and sugar to a happy balance between tart and sweet.

MEANWHILE,
poach the matzoh balls. In a large, wide, lidded pot, bring 3 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a furious boil. Form the batter into balls the size of large walnuts. (You can also make them smaller, as you prefer.) Slip them in one at a time, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cover the pot tightly, and don't lift the lid at all until you are ready to test them. Begin testing after 35 to 40 minutes of cooking. To test, remove a matzoh ball and cut it in half: the interior should have no raw or dark spots. They should be light, fluffy, and completely cooked through. If necessary, continue cooking until the matzoh balls test done. Remove them gently with a large slotted spoon or skimmer.

STRAIN
the borscht, reserving the liquid and returning it to the pot. (If the beet slices still retain their shape and flavor, toss them with a walnut oil vinaigrette and top with goat cheese—and serve at another meal. If all the flavor has cooked out, discard the beets.)

IN
a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until light and foamy. Ladle in about a cup of hot soup, stirring to prevent curdling. (This is “tempering” the egg yolks—adding them all at once to the hot soup would result in curdling.) Gradually stir this mixture into the soup pot, and cook, stirring over low heat, just until the ingredients are well incorporated and soup is hot and slightly thickened.

WHEN
ready to serve, if the matzoh balls are no longer hot, place them in the hot soup to reheat. If needed, warm the soup gently, but do not allow it to boil or it will curdle. Put a few matzoh balls in each soup bowl and ladle the hot soup over them. If desired, add a dollop of sour cream, yogurt cream, or crème fraîche to each bowl and garnish with dill. Or pass these accompaniments separately so that guests can add their own.

Spinach Cheese Squares

yield:
6 to 8 servings

Mediterranean Jews so adore fresh spinach that little mountains of the leftover emerald “tails” are a hallmark of their holiday cooking. Called
ravikos
by Sephardim and
testine di spinaci
by Italian Jews, these stems are slow-braised until they turn almost red. They are usually served Thursday nights, when it is customary to eat lightly in preparation for the next day's feasting, and a large stockpile of them has accumulated from the Sabbath preparations.

The leaves often end up in light, eggy vegetable gratins, a Sephardi specialty, especially popular at the
desayuno
, a festive brunch served after morning services on Sabbath and holidays.

Notwithstanding spinach's bad rap, even kids seem to love these crustless, cheesy squares, here freshened up with plenty of green herbs. Good hot, warm, or at room temperature, they make a fine lunch, brunch, or light supper. Or cut them into bite-size pieces for a marvelous hors d'oeuvre. They freeze beautifully.

2 pounds fresh spinach or two 10-ounce packages frozen leaf spinach, thawed

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus additional butter (or oil) for greasing the pan

¹
⁄
₂
cup chopped shallots or 1 cup chopped onion

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces cream cheese (
¹
⁄
₂
cup), softened

4 ounces of crumbled feta (1 cup; break it up well using your fingers)

¹
⁄
₂
pound farmer cheese (7.5 ounce package is fine)

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons dried oregano or mint

³
⁄
₄
cup finely chopped fresh dill

¹
⁄
₂
cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

3 tablespoons matzoh meal

3 tablespoons shredded Cheddar or grated Parmesan cheese

3 to 4 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted (optional)

IF
using fresh spinach, wash it thoroughly to remove all traces of sand. Cut off any tough stems and discard them. Place the spinach with just the water that clings to its leaves in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 8 minutes.

PLACE
the cooked fresh or the thawed frozen spinach in a colander and, with your hands or the back of a spoon, press out as much liquid as possible. It should be rather dry. Chop the spinach fine.

MELT
the butter in a large skillet. Add the shallots or onion and sauté until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until the spinach is tender and the butter is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt (just a bit—remember that the cheeses can be rather salty) and pepper. Set aside to cool.

PREHEAT
the oven to 350°F.

COMBINE
the cream cheese, feta, and farmer cheese in a food processor and blend well. Break the eggs into a glass measuring cup with a pouring spout. With the machine running, add the eggs, one at a time, through the feed tube, and process until smooth. Crumble in the oregano or mint. Add the spinach mixture, dill, and parsley, and pulse about 15 seconds to combine well; do not puree.

GREASE
a 13 by 9-inch baking pan and sprinkle the bottom and sides with the matzoh meal. Pour the spinach batter into the pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the Cheddar or Parmesan, scatter the pine nuts over evenly, if using, and bake for about 40 minutes, until lightly golden and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. It should feel slightly firm, but it will not set until it has cooled for at least 20 minutes. Serve warm (reheat if necessary) or at room temperature, cut into squares.