By Tina Wasserman

Remember Passover when you were growing up — lots of preparation and tumult in the house? Perhaps you are old enough to remember a carp swimming in the bathtub waiting unwittingly to be made into Grandma’s special gefilte fish. Maybe you watched as the hockmesser (mezzaluna) and wooden bowl were put on the counter, filled with apples and walnuts to be pounded into submission with the semi-luna blade to create the right consistency of charoset. Mama made it look easy, but when you were old enough to pound the blade into that wobbly bowl, you worked up a sweat and probably quit before the task was done.

If you grew up in a kosher home, you were probably enlisted to schlep the everyday pots and pans into the basement to make room for their Passover counterparts that were stored for 51 weeks of the year near the boiler in the dark recesses of the house. The trip up the stairs with those heavy items was not easy. Remember the smell of chicken soup cooking on the stove in the large enameled pot that greeted you when you came home from school, and the little feather and wooden spoon that you would use to run around the already transformed kitchen in order to find the one piece of bread or other chametz your mother left for you to find during this traditional ritual?

If I have jogged your memories, what memories do your children have?

Let’s find ways to give lasting Passover memories to the next generation — minus the bathtub fish — by involving them in the preparation for the holiday and its cooking.

Now, I can imagine you are shouting, “Has she gone crazy? How am I to prepare the house and cook the food for 16+ people and have the children underfoot? I barely have enough time doing it alone!” If children participate in a few (and here the operative word is few) tasks, they will actually be less intrusive to preparation than you would imagine. Grandparents, these fun activities are a perfect opportunity for you to bond with your grandchildren while helping to alleviate some of the chaos in the kitchen.

The following are some activities that you can do with children that will be fun and will reinforce the meaning of Passover. I have given some guidelines for age-appropriate activities, but you are the best judge of the child’s skills and attention span.

Before the holiday:

Even if you don’t change your utensils for Passover, have the children designate a drawer or shelf for Passover food.

Have them help remove small, lightweight, non-Passover items and put them away in another part of the house. Do not have young children carry anything into a basement.

Children of any age can create a sign to be taped to the cabinet door or drawer that will house your Passover groceries. It doesn’t matter if it is just scribbles; the children will know that the contents behind the sign are special and unique to Passover.

Supermarkets often have little carts for children to push; let their cart contain all matzo meal, cake meal and farfel boxes. They are lightweight and can’t break. You can obtain the rest of the groceries.

Use the supermarket as an opportunity to discuss what does and does not constitute foods for Passover. Keep the explanation age appropriate. Young children need simple concepts to build upon. Just like the question, “Where do babies come from?” the answer should be age appropriate.

If you don’t already do so, create the custom of bedichat chametz. You have cleaned the house, but hide a non-Passover snack like a small bag of crackers and let the child search the kitchen with a spoon and a feather to find it. They love this!

Food preparation:

I am not suggesting that children constantly participate in the cooking. There are many tasks they can do that will not slow you up but will keep them occupied.

Peel the carrots for the chicken soup.

Chop the charoset in the bowl (7 and older) or press the pulse button on the processor to help you make the mixture — this is a perfect time to reinforce counting: pulse 1, pulse 2, etc.

Break off little sprigs of parsley for the Seder — again, counting involved.

Children can help drop spoonfuls of cookie batter onto the pan or make matzo meal bagels, but only if you have time. Remember, you have a week to cook with them after the Seder!

Getting ready for the Seder:

In my home, all foods are pre-set at each place setting to facilitate the flow of the Seder ceremony. This means egg, salt water, parsley, charoset and bitter herbs are pre-plated.

Put water in a large measuring cup and a 7-year-old can pour it into the dish (a little water, if spilled, will dry up fast)

A 3-year-old, given a small saltshaker, can go to each water bowl and shake the salt 1, 2, 3. After all the place settings are done, they should be able to count to three easily. Just don’t give them the box of salt

An older child can walk to each place setting with a bowl of peeled hard-boiled eggs and a simple wire egg slicer

Very young children, if they can reach the table easily, can place the parsley on the plate to the right of the egg bowl (teaching them right from left)

Spooning the charoset can be done teaching cooperation if one child holds the bowl and one spoons a little mixture on the plate

Whether you use ground horseradish from the jar or sliced horseradish for your maror, this task should be reserved for older children

After the Seder:

I distinguish one tablecloth (usually washable polyester) as my Memory Tablecloth. I give a fine-line indelible marker to my guests and have them write their names on my cloth with the year they attended. During the year, I embroider those names permanently onto the cloth. Imagine your guests’ delight to find their name on the cloth. Imagine the progression of your child’s or grandchild’s signature as they get older. Imagine passing that tablecloth on for generations to come.

Involving the youngest members of your family in the process of preparing for Passover will create indelible memories for them that will more than likely be re-created in their own homes when they are adults.

The following recipes are kid-tested and provide a wonderful opportunity for you to create memories and involve children in the creative process of cooking.

May you have a zissen Pesach.

Syrian Haroset

Every Jewish community made their own special haroset to eat during the Passover Seder.  Jews have lived in Syria since biblical times and some of the best cooks came from the city of Aleppo. Today there are less than 30 Jews in the whole country and Allepo is in ruins but this recipe keeps their history alive.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. Medjool dates, pitted
• 6 oz. dried apricots
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1½ cups water
• ½ cup toasted almonds
• ½ cup shelled pistachios, unsalted
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• Zest of ½ orange
• 1½ tsp. cinnamon
• 1½ tsp. orange blossom water
• 2 Tbsp. sweet Passover wine, plus more as needed
• Cinnamon for dusting

Directions:

• Place dates, apricots and raisins in a 2-quart saucepan. Add water and simmer until fruit is soft and liquid is almost absorbed, leaving a little syrup. 
• Transfer to a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. 
• Add nuts, honey, sugar, zest and cinnamon; process until a paste forms. 
• Add orange blossom water and 2 tablespoons of wine; pulse to combine. Add more wine if needed. Refrigerate overnight or several days to develop flavor. 
• Transfer to a bowl and dust with cinnamon before serving. 

Serves 12+

Tina’s tidbits:

• Easy recipe for children — no knife skills required
• Children can pull apart dried fruit and check for pits.
• When using a processor around young children, always keep the plunger in the feed tube. Curious little fingers and hands can fit inside the tube creating a hazard.

Passover Migas

What to do with leftover cut veggies when it is Passover and you still have boxes of matzo farfel?  Make delicious migas for breakfast or for a light dairy dinner! 

Migas are scrambled eggs and veggies sometimes topped with cheese.  In Spain and Portugal, they were originally made with bread and in Mexico and the US the “secret” ingredient is strips of fried tortillas or broken tortilla chips, but during Passover I add matzo farfel for the crunch.  Easy to make but don’t forget to make enough to share!

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. butter
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• ½ bell pepper, sliced
• 8 cherry or plum tomatoes
• ¼ small jalapeño, seeded and sliced (optional)
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup milk
• ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• 3 shakes garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup matzo farfel
• ¼ cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar (optional)
• Tomato salsa (optional)

Directions:

• Heat an 8-inch pan. Add butter and oil, then vegetables; sauté 3–4 minutes over medium-high heat. 
• Whisk egg, milk, cumin, garlic powder and seasoning. Stir in farfel. 
• Add to pan and cook until eggs are set. Stir in cheese if using. 
• Serve plain or with salsa. 

Serves 1

Tina’s tidbits

• This recipe may be doubled or tripled.  Just adjust the size of the pan you are using.
• Any vegetables can be used but no more than ¾ cup total.  This is a good way to introduce new vegetables to a child.
• Cutting fresh bell peppers is much easier if the pepper is laid skin side down on the cutting board and cut from the inside out
• Although this mixture shouldn’t splatter, young children 5 or under should be standing on a step stool a few feet away from the stove when you sauté the vegetables.  Once the egg mixture is added, the step stool can be brought to the stove for the young cook to stir.
• NEVER have a child sit on the counter near the stove to see!

Potato Onion Kugel

Ingredients:

• 1 extra large or 3 medium onions, diced (6 cups)
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, plus 2 Tbsp. for pan
• 2 Tbsp. chicken fat, plus 1½ Tbsp. for topping
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 lbs. potatoes (California white or Yukon gold), washed
• 2½ cups matzo farfel
• 8 large ggs
• 1–1½ Tbsp. kosher salt
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Additional chicken fat or olive oil for greasing pans and top of the kugel

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. 
• Heat a 10- or 12-inch skillet on the stove. Add olive oil and chicken fat and heat until fat is melted
• Add the onion and stir to coat with fat mixture.  Cover pan and cook on medium high for 5 minutes.
• Remove cover and sauté the onions for 5 more minutes until just beginning to turn golden.  Remove from heat and set aside.
• Shred the unpeeled potatoes using the fine shredding disc on your processor or medium shredder, if shredding by hand; immediately put in a colander.
• Run water through the potatoes to remove starch and whiten them.  Drain thoroughly.  Press a paper towel onto the potato to remove any excess water.  Potatoes do not need to be bone dry.  Set aside.
• Place matzo farfel in a bowl. Add warm water, just to cover farfel.  Let mixture rest for 3 minutes or until farfel is soft.  If any water remains, press down on farfel to exude water; drain thoroughly.
• Whisk eggs, salt and pepper; add onions, farfel and potatoes. 
• Heat greased 13-by-9-inch pan or greased 3-quart Pyrex casserole in oven 4 minutes.
• Carefully add mixture, spread evenly, top with remaining schmaltz. Oil will come up the sides of the Kugel; this is good. 
• Bake 50–60 minutes until golden and firm to the touch. If Kugel is done but hasn’t browned, place it under the broiler.  This way the Kugel won’t over bake and become dry.

Serves 12 (or up to 25 if part of a seder meal).

Tina’s tidbits:

• California long white or Yukon Gold potatoes are good to use when cooking with children.  The hard flesh does not discolor as rapidly as a russet, and the skin is so thin that neither variety requires peeling!  No peeling means it’s safer and more nutritious.
• If you do not have a food processor, try to find a plastic, medium-holed grater if grating by hand.  Children are less likely to cut their knuckles using a plastic grater.
• If you prefer, place batter in muffin tins for fun-sized kugels but do not cover and only bake until golden and not raw on the inside, about 25 minutes.

Double Coconut Chocolate Macaroons

Macaroons, cookies generally made from ground almonds, sugar and egg whites, are popular for Passover because the recipe doesn’t use flour. But did you know that coconut macaroons only became popular in the last 100 years? In 1897, Franklin Baker of Philadelphia discovered how to grate coconuts by machine instead of by hand and he started to package the grated coconut which made it much easier to make macaroons with coconut.  

I created this recipe for a reception at Temple when Joan Nathan came to speak.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. almonds
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups coconut
• 9 oz. dark chocolate or 10 oz. chips
• 3 egg whites (about 1/3 cup)
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp. almond extract

Directions:

• Place almonds in a processor workbowl and pulse the machine on and off until the nuts are finely chopped.  Add the sugar and coconut and pulse once or twice to combine.
• Melt chocolate in microwave in stages, 1 minute at 80% and 45 seconds at 50%).   
• In a small glass measuring cup combine the egg whites, coconut milk and the extract. Set aside.
• Add the chocolate to the nut mixture in the processor workbowl.  
• With motor running, add egg mixture; process until combined. 
• Preheat oven to 350°F. 
• Form 1 tablespoon balls and place on parchment-lined sheet. 
• Bake 12–15 minutes. (Convection ovens only need about 12 minutes at 350F.)  Cool completely. 

Yield: about 5 dozen

Tina’s Tidbits:

• Most coconut milk is just coconut and water and comes from Thailand.  There is no Hecksher on the can but may be treated as an unprocessed canned fruit for Passover.  
• Alternatively, combine 1 cup of coconut and ½ cup water in a blender (NOT processor) and blend until coconut is pulverized.  Strain mixture pressing hard on the coconut solids to extract as much flavor as possible.  Discard the solids and use liquid in the recipe.