This week is the Jewish holiday of Passover. The holiday is a remembrance of the Jewish people’s journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom over 3,000 years ago.

This year, Passover (Pesach) is celebrated April 1 to April 9. During Passover, a special Seder meal is shared with family and friends – There is room for everybody at the Passover table.”

A friend describes three favorite dishes she makes for Seder dinner – charoset, matzo ball soup, tzimmes.

“Charoset is the mixture of grated apples, almonds, honey and Manischewitz wine that represents the mortar Hebrew slaves used to make the tombs of the Pharaohs. It is eaten with matzoh and also with matzoh and fresh horseradish to symbolize the bitterness of slavery and the sweetness of freedom.

Chicken soup with matzo balls of course.

Tzimmes which is a mixture of sweet potatoes or yams with carrots, dried apricots, peaches and pears and some orange juice cooked on the stove with just enough water to barely cover it.”

After watching the matzo ball soup (made with love) episode of Tiny Chef, we wanted to cook this soup – a traditional dish at Passover, but also enjoyed year round.

 

Matzo Ball Soup Recipe

4 large eggs
¼ cup vegetable oil, coconut oil or schmaltz (rendered chicken fat)
¼ cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 cup matzo meal
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, dill and chives
½ tsp baking powder (optional)
1 teaspoon salt, more for cooking
Fresh ground pepper

Chicken stock for the soup (4 – 6 cups, or more)

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil, stock, matzo meal, nutmeg, ginger and herbs.
Season with 1 tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper. Gently mix with a whisk or spoon. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours or overnight.

To cook the matzo balls, fill a wide, deep pan with lightly salted water or chicken stock and bring to a boil. Tip: Cooking matzo balls in chicken stock does add extra flavor.

To shape and cook the matzo balls, use an ice cream scoop to measure out equal size balls. We used small one tablespoon ice cream scoop, recipe made 24 balls. Wet your hands and roll dough into perfect balls. Tip: Kids can be the experts making the balls.

Gently drop each ball into the boiling stock or water.

Cover the pan, reduce heat to a lively simmer and cook matzo balls about 40 minutes.

Matzo balls can be transferred into chicken or vegetable soup, and served immediately.

Tip: If making matzo balls days in advance, cooked matzo balls can placed on a baking sheet to freeze, then transferred to a freezer bag and kept frozen until a few hours before serving. Reheat reheat in chicken or vegetable soup or broth.

Recipe adapted from Joan Nathan, NY Times Cooking

Note: Matzo, matzoh, matzah are three spellings for the same thing. Matzo is typical for food recipes, for seder meals, matzoh is Ashkenazi pronunciation, matzah is Sephardic and modern Hebrew pronunciation.

 

Children’s books

It’s Passover, Grover (Sesame Street) by Jodie Shepard, Joe Mathieu

Grover likes Passover for different reasons – it’s warm in spring and flowers are blooming, he gets to eat lots of matzah, he likes the hike and seek game for afikomen, a special piece of matzah.

What he likes best of all – “There is room for everybody at the table.”

During the Seder meal, Grover, his family and guests hear the story long ago in Egypt, blessings are said, songs are sung, and there are special foods to taste, and then it’s time to search for afikomen before dessert. (Picture book)

The Matzah Day by Charlotte Offsay, Jason Kirschner

Matzah is an important food at the Passover table.

Made of just water, salt and flour, matzah has no leavening, symbol of escaping from Egypt without time to bake rising bread. During Passover Jews do not eat foods that contain yeast, such as bread or pasta. Plus recipes for making matzah from scratch, pizza, and matzah buttercrunch. (Picture book)

Celebrate Passover by Deborah Heiligman

Passover is the most celebrated Jewish holiday. Learn about preparing for Passover by emptying cupboards of risen bread, pasta, pretzels, giving food and money to those in need, for the Seder, cooking lots of food – sweets include kugels, matzah pies, macaroons, Haggadah book for the service, symbols of the Seder plate, youngest child sings the four questions, beginning with “Why is this night different from all over nights?” Recipe for Passover toffee, photos of families celebrating all over the world. (Picture book)

Pout-Pout Fish Passover Treasure by Deborah Diesen, Dan Hanna

Mr. Fish will be a guest at Miss Shimmer’s Passover Seder. The day before he goes to visit to find out more about the holiday.

To prepare, the Shimmer family cleans the house and searches for crumbs of bread still in the house, they bring out special dishes and cook delicious food.

At the Seder, there are blessings and prayers, on the Seder plate are bitter foods as a reminder of difficult times in slavery, sweet foods are a reminder of new beginnings, songs are sung about thankfulness. Just as feast begins, a surprise guest arrives – “Everyone one is welcome at the Passover table.” (Picture book)

Lotsa Matzah by Tilda Balsley. Akemi Guitierrez

Introduction to Passover for toddlers – after Moses said to Pharaoh “Let my people go,” the Israelites were free, and in modern life how Passover is celebrated – families at the Seder dinner, what foods are eaten, hiding the matzah, and more about ways to have fun with matzah. (Board book)

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