Tag: charoset

Seder Salad With Charoset Clusters

For my second Passover (Pesach) Seder recipe I wanted to make a salad that borrows from the ninth step in the Seder, Maror (מָרוֹר).  The term maror literally translates to bitter.  In  this step we eat a bitter herb or vegetable dipped in a paste of fruits and nuts mixed with sweet red wine called Charoset to temper the bitterness. (Or is it haroset,  charoises, or חֲרֽוֹסֶת(

Maror Seder Salad

We eat maror at the Seder to remind us of the bitterness of the slavery in Egypt. In Ashkenazic circles the most common things to use for maror are romaine lettuce and horseradish.  Others have the custom to use other bitter greens such as dandelions, endive, or radicchio. Using onion is not unheard of either.  The great thing about all of these, is they make excellent salad greens.  If you can’t (or don’t feel like) finding all these greens, bagged spring mix will do in a pinch. I also borrowed from the Karpas step of the Seder (where we eat vegetables dipped in salt water) for this recipe, by including celery and radishes.

Charoset Clusters

The charoset reminds us of the bricks and mortar we were forced to make and build with when we toiled in the hot Egyptian sun. As standard croutons are prohibited for those of us who don’t eat  leavened bread on Passover, I needed to find a suitable substitution.  The crunchy nuts of the charoset was a great option. Also, the sweetness of the apples do a great job balancing out all the bitterness in the salad.

Dressing

For the dressing I call for red wine vinegar, as a play on the four cups of wine traditionally drunk at the seder, but apple cider vinegar will work as a substitute. I mixed that with a little bit of horseradish and parsley to bring everything back to maror and karpas.

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Seder Salad
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Seder Salad With Charoset Clusters
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
 

A salad for your seder that borrows from marror, charoset, and karpas. The bitter greens are balanced by the crunchy apple and nut clusters.

Course: Salad, Side
Cuisine: Jewish, Kosher, Passover, Pesach, vegan, vegetarian
Keyword: Passover, pesach, salad, seder
Servings: 10
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
Salad
  • 2 Cups Romain Lettuce Roughly Chopped
  • 2 Cups Endive Roughly Chopped
  • 2 Cups Dandelion Greens Roughly Chopped
  • 2 Cups Radicchio Roughly Chopped
  • 3 Radishes Sliced into rounds
  • 3 Stalks Celery with their Leaves Slice the stalks thinly on a bias and reserve the leaves to add to the salad
  • 1 Small Red Onion Sliced thin
Candied Charoset Clusters
  • 1 Small Apple Pealed, cored, and diced small
  • 1 Cup Walnuts Roughly copped
  • 1 Cup Sugar
Dressing
  • ⅓ Cup Red Wine Vinegar
  • ⅔ Cup Olive Oil
  • ¼ tsp Grated Horseradish
  • 1 tsp Chopped Garlic Garlic powder will work in a pinch
  • 1 tsp Chopped Parsley
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • Salt and Pepper To taste
Instructions
Apple and Walnut Clusters

  1. Add the sugar to the sauce pan and place on the stove over medium heat.

  2. Cook sugar stirring constantly. Once the sugar melts add the walnuts and apples. Stir thoroughly to coat.

  3. Cook the apple, nut, and sugar mixture until the sugar begins to caramelize.

  4. Once the sugar is a light brown spread the mixture in a thin layer on to the parchment lined sheet pan to cool.

  5. Once the mixture is cool, cover it with another sheet of parchment paper and break it up into small pieces with a heavy pan or a meat mallet.

Dressing

  1. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, honey, horseradish, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Note you may not need to use all the dressing.

Salad Assembly

  1. Lightly dress the greens and vegetables, and top with the charoset clusters.

Don’t forget to check out some of our other Passover recipes:

Passover Potatoes

Passover Basics: Honey Roasted Chicken

Kumquat Mango Chutney Charoset Chicken

Kumquat Mango Chutney Charoset Chicken

Kumquat Mango Chutney Charoset Chicken

The holiday of Pesach (AKA Passover) is upon us. This year I decided to take on the seder classic, charoset.  I know I am a little late for a seder recipe, but this will work great for the second days of Passover or really any time during the year. Charoset is a paste traditionally made from grated apples, sweet red wine, and nuts. It is designed to take the bite out of your maror (AKA bitter herb/horseradish). Every family has its own traditions when comes to the addition of spices, sweeteners, and other fruits such as dates or raisins.  For my traditional charoset, I add honey, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

A Twist on Tradition

For this recipe I wanted to put a twist on traditional charoset, and at the same time expand its function. I was perusing the produce at my provisions provider, and I came across two tropical tastes that I could not pass up.  Mangos are one of my favorite fruits and the produce store had a sale on them if you bought a case. I also came across kumquats, the tiny little citrus that I just cannot resist. This lead me down a path to chutney.  According Merriam-Webster.com chutney is defined as a thick sauce of Indian origin that contains fruits, vinegar, sugar, and spices and is used as a condiment. Many chutneys contain, apples, mangos, and nuts.  The leap from charoset to chutney is but a small step.

The great thing about this recipe is you can use the charoset/chutney to dip your maror in or use it as a condiment or a sauce.  In this recipe I use it as a sauce for my seder night chicken. Many hav e the custom that meat or fowl served at the seder must be served in a liquid. The reason for this is so that it should not appear that we are trying to fulfill the commandment of eating the korban Pesach (Paschal lamb sacrifice) in the absence of the Temple. The korban Pesach was served dry roasted. The chutney would also make a great addition to your holiday brisket or even spread on matzo.

What is your favorite Passover dish? Let us know in the comments. And don’t forget to check out some of our other Passover recipes:

Passover Basics: Quick Carrots With a Little Something Extra

Cabbage Pancakes (for Passover!)

Passover Sweet Potato Knishes

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Kumquat Mango Chutney Charoset Chicken
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Kumquat Mango Chutney Charoset Chicken
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 45 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Jewish, Kosher, Passover
Keyword: Charoset
Servings: 4
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
  • 1 Large Yellow Onion Peeled and sliced
  • 3 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tbsp Salt
  • 3 Large Mangos Peeled and diced
  • 3 Large Apples Peeled, cored, and diced
  • 12 Kumquats Divided
  • 1 tbsp Nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp Ground Ginger
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper or Red Pepper Flake (if you like it spicy)
  • 1½ Cup Orange Juice Reserve ½ cup for cooking the chicken
  • 1 Cup Sweet White Wine
  • ¼ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • ¼ Cup Honey
  • ¼ Cup Ground Nuts
  • 1 Package 4 Chicken Leg Quarters or 8-Peice Cut Up
Instructions
Charoset/Chutney

  1. Add the oil, onions, and salt to large sauce pot and place over medium heat. Sautee until the onion starts to brown.

  2. Slice half the kumquats into thin slices. In a mixing bowl combine the apples, mango, and kumquats. Add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and black (or red) pepper and stir to combine.

  3. Add the mango, apple, kumquat mixture to the pot with the onions. Add 1 cup of the orange juice, all of the wine, apple cider vinegar, and honey and stir to combine.

  4. Turn the heat down to low and reduce the mixture to a chunky, jam-like consistency is achieved. Stir in the ground nuts. If you are using this as your charoset, you can stop here.

Chicken

  1. Pour the sauce into a baking dish and add the chicken. Slice the remainder of the kumquats and top the chicken with them. If the chutney looks dry add a ½ cup of orange juice to the pan.

  2. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake the chicken at 350°F for an hour. Then turn the oven up to 425°F and uncover the chicken. Continue cooking until the the chicken skin begins to brown and serve.