Israeli chefs share their winning Pesach shortcuts

(Times of Israel) – When Pesach begins Wednesday night, food blogger Ruhama Shitrit’s seder will include matzah, her kids’ favorite Pesach rolls, Iraqi haroset of silan, pecans and walnuts, and a kubbeh pie, the Iraqi version of shepherd’s pie, alongside other dishes.

“My heart will be with my mother and my brothers and my followers in Israel,” said Shitrit, who lives in Newton, Massachusetts. “I want tasty food that’s also simple, and to keep our traditions.”

Shitrit always describes her home as an Israeli household in Newton, Massachusetts, where she and her family have lived for the last 20 years.

This year, she’s digging down into her roots more than ever, following the death of her Iraqi-born father earlier this year.

Shitrit is thinking about the Iraqi macaroons her paternal grandmother would make each year, during a prolonged visit from London. Made from ground almonds with sugar syrup, egg whites, and a little cardamom or cinnamon, the cookies were dried outside in the sun.

“I was always my mother’s and my father’s daughter,” said Shitrit, who FaceTimes with her mother in Haifa, once, even twice a day. “I’m always with them in my heart and mind.”

In fact, Shitrit was visiting Israel on February 28 when the first alert sounded, warning of an incoming Iranian missile attack. At the time, she was having an early morning coffee with her friend, cookbook author Adeena Sussman.

It took more than a week for Shitrit to get a flight home, and she’s still focused on her family, friends, and followers in Israel, hoping that the night of the seder is free of sirens and missiles.

In Tel Aviv, where Sussman has been sheltering with her husband Jay Shofet, and various family members and friends, she keeps thinking about 2020 and the start of the COVID-19 epidemic, when instead of celebrating her husband’s 60th birthday, she made a meatloaf for their seder of two.

“We’re reconsidering our plans and being fluid and spontaneous,” said Sussman. “I’m thinking about the concepts of Passover and how to incorporate them, renewal, freshness, and simplicity. Spring cleaning can mean a lot of things, both metaphorical and actual.”

As Sussman and her family have been navigating the realities of running to shelters amid the Iranian missile barrages, she gifted an online Passover book to readers who pre-ordered Zariz, Sussman’s latest cookbook, which is being launched in April.

“I wanted to gift my community for being so supportive,” she said. “Really, I had simplicity in mind when I created the booklet.”

It includes Sussman’s latest Passover recipes like Matzo Brei Brûlée, Pink Horseradish & Dill Salmon and Meringue-Topped Chocolate Pudding Cake, to mention some of her particular favourites.

“It’s inventive twists on things just to give a little lift,” said Sussman.

Chef Shalom Simcha Elbert, an entrepreneur on food waste and content creator who was the former head of R&D at award-winning Tel Aviv restaurant OCD, is thinking about forging forward with the spring spirit using stalks of purple-and-white garlic bulbs.

It’s the only time of the year when the Israeli market has its own garlic, and not the bulbs imported from China.

“You can use all the parts, leaves, stalks, and bulbs, and it has a stronger smell, but it’s less sharp, less pungent,” said Elbert, who makes jars of pesto with all parts of the garlic, and uses it in different dishes, including potatoes, lamb, fish and salad dressings.

“You just brush it on anything, including matzah,” he said. “You can use it across the meal.”

Elbert, who lives in Tel Aviv, is also rethinking his holiday plans, but even in the midst of frequent runs to the bomb shelter, he feels thankful that at least one thing has changed this year: the knowledge that all the living hostages have been released from Gaza captivity, and all deceased hostages have been properly buried in Israel.

“There’s a bright side to everything, ” said Elbert. “Last year, we sat around the seder and couldn’t really be free. We’re at war again, but I’ll take a hostage-free seder over anything.”

Ruhama’s Pesach rolls

Adeena’s green goddess egg salad with homemade garlicky mayo