Kosher Blog

New York Times Passover Cookbook

A month before Pesach, Sarah and I picked up The New York Times Passover Cookbook at the Brookline Booksmith (clearance priced at $10, given its February 1999 publication date). Since we now “own” the Jewish holidays in our family, we had an opportunity to spice things up at the seder table — this book was a big help.

Many prominent chefs from the treyf world contribute Passover-sensitive recipes — i.e. Charlie Trotter’s carrot consomme, Paul Prudhomme’s veal roast, Wolfgang Puck’s nouveau gefilte fish. While many of the chef-inspired offerings are complicated, they resoundly put to rest complaints that there’s nothing “good” to eat on Pesach.

A big hit among our family and friends was the “Margarten Family’s Apple Kugel”: sliced apples layered with a whole-wheat matzah batter featuring ground walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon. Hands down the closest we’ve come to the taste of apple pie on Passover, and a side dish/dessert I’d feel comfortable serving year-round.

Another interesting dish we tried was an herb polenta made with matzo meal instead of corn meal. It was tasty and inventive, and given the leniences of yom tov cooking, we could serve it freshly fried at dinner.

The book also has many traditional recipes for Passover standards like charoset, chicken soup, and matzo balls. So, while I wouldn’t recommend packing your Molly Goldberg Jewish Cookbook away with the chametz next year, this cookbook can stand on its own as a comprehensive holiday source.