Passover Recipes

Oftentimes on the final day of Passover I’m writing a list of the foods I can’t wait to eat once Passover ends, but there’s one Passover treat that I crave year-round— Oppenheimer semi-sweet chocolate chips. They’re only sold in the weeks leading up to Passover, but they taste so much better than ordinary chocolate chips, so I load up on enough to last me several months.

Jews, by nature, love to debate, and when it comes to a simple how do you make charoset you won’t get one answer, but three. The Ashkenazi charoset typically consists of chopped walnuts, apples and sweet wine tossed together, while the Sephardic version is spicier and uses a variety of dried fruits and nuts. Then there’s Moroccan-truffle charoset, a version of the Sephardic charoset shaped into neat, little cinnamon-coated balls.  So, if you’re looking to spice up your charoset, Tori Avey’s blog, Shiksa in the Kitchen, has the solution.

Due to all the many food Thou Shalt Nots on Pesach, baking (for a baker like yours truly) is the hardest part of preparing for the holiday. Because, of course, without the key ingredient of flour, cookies, cakes and pies are virtually impossible to make.

Many cooks get by substituting matzah meal, basically ground-up matzah. But every year, when Passover rolls around, I set about creating and testing recipes that don’t call for one drop of it. I understand that we’re supposed to eat matzah at the seder, and I can even get behind the occasional slice slathered in butter, but matzah-flavored cake? Count me out.

So if you can’t have flour, and you can’t have its matzah-flavored substitute, you need something to give desserts body and texture: Chocolate!

Here are three recipes that are completely flour-free, and chocolate-filled. The chocolate cookies are incredibly simple and tasty, like a richer, chewier chocolate meringue. The almond chocolate cookies are buttery with just a hint of sweet, while the classic chocolate mousse is rich and creamy — the perfect end to any meal. They are also great for any gluten-free baking you want to do year round.

When it comes to hosting a knockout Passover seder, the best person to turn to for home entertaining inspiration is Martha Stewart. She has 22 delicious, elegant, and creative Passover recipes to serve at your seders and to get you through the other six days of Passover. Her tzimmes, braised brisket, and Passover popovers look scrumptious, but our favorite recipe is her potato kugel gratin, a French take on bubbe’s original.