drisha

« Heard it Through the Grapevine
My Minhag Avot – My Charoset »

A Vegetarian Passover: Not so Scary After All

by Liz Lawler · March 30th, 2009
Cooking, Dinner Parties, Holidays, Pesach/Passover, Vegetarian

amaranth

The task seems simple enough: compose a vegetarian Passover seder. At the risk of sounding dismissive, going the Sephardic route is relatively easy. When you have a wide variety of grains and beans at your disposal, how hard can it be to compose a healthy and (more importantly) tasty holiday meal? But putting together an Ashkenazi vegetarian seder is a test of one’s mettle. The exercise brings to mind the work of writers like George Perec, who wrote La disparition, an entire novel without the letter e. The constraint may seem arbitrary and tyrannical, but there it is, work with it.

[And we’ll leave aside question of vegan seders to the pros, way too complicated. See Cecily Marbach Oberstein’s post for some tips.]

Begin at the beginning: note the resources at your disposal. Rather than obsess over what you cannot cook, celebrate what you can. You have root vegetables for starch, cruciferous veggies for bulk, and mushrooms for some hearty texture. Add fruits (fresh and dried), greens, nuts (though not peanuts), bright and spicy sauces to titillate and satisfy the palate. Ultimately, the same principle applies to vegetarian cooking as to Passover eating: Offer a wide range of textures and flavors so that people don’t feel that anything is “missing.” Mix the raw, the cooked, the baked and offer mountains of it all.

Shift your perspective. Rather than building the meal around grains and beans, rethink the role of the starches and the more mutable veggies. Then find some good eggs to bump up the protein. Roasted or baked potatoes aren’t a side, instead they are the canvas upon which your guests may lavish any number of toppings and fixings (baked potato bar = FUN!). Pureed cauliflower is filling and inexpensive. Add a dollop of ghee and some garlic, you may even convert some cauliphobes. Eggs are easy enough to bake into a frittata, which becomes the foil for a variety of veggies, spices and cheeses. Speaking of which, consider the charming addition of a cheese plate: instead of crackers or toast, offer matzo and sliced fruits or crudités to compliment whatever kosher cheeses you’ve tracked down.

And of course, there is the never ending Pesach Quest for Fiber. [Side note: when I first converted to Judaism it wasn’t until half way through my first chametz free week that I understood this joke: “At our seder, we had whole wheat and bran matzo, fortified with Metamucil. The brand name, of course, is ‘Let My People Go.’” Indeed, indeed.]

Quinoa, though a controversial addition to the Passover table, provides both fiber and protein. The seed lends itself nimbly to pilafs and croquettes. Amaranth can play a similar role, though its anise-y flavor can be a bit of an acquired taste. On their own, these seeds pack a healthy punch of fiber, but add some dried fruit and a handful of almonds and they should, ahem, “help.”

As usual, with most things Jewish, all of these elements are up for debate and should draw ire from at least a couple of your guests. (I mean really, don’t even get me started on soy….). My own seder table will be heavy on the veggies and fruits, light on the matzo concoctions, and I fully expect to hear about it from the in-laws.

There are a couple of excellent resources online: http://www.vrg.org/recipes/passover.htm

http://www.jewishveg.com/recipes.html

Both sites suggest options for further reading (including Molly Katzen’s Still Life with Menu, And Roberta Kalechofsky’s various works).

Print This Post Print This Post

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “A Vegetarian Passover: Not so Scary After All”

  1. Adam Jackson, Editor-in-Chief Says:
    March 30th, 2009 at 10:54 am

    I’m feeling really inspired by these suggestions: they also sound great for people who do eat meat but who would tire of a mainly carnivorous diet during Passover.

    Readers might also be interested in this: Fairway market in New York sells kosher for Passover Harissa: the hot, thick, chili condiment from North Africa. Note that it doesn’t say on the website that this brand is kosher for Passover, but we buy it year round and it always has a sticker covering the jar lid noting that it *is* kosher for Passover.

    It’s excellent for adding to soups, sauces, savoury dishes and for spooning on top of otherwise bland foods to pep them up.

    It’s called “Riche Harissa North African Hotter Condiment – (230 gr)” on their website, but a search for harissa alone will bring it up.

    It’s also available in store, at least on 74th street. But ordering online means you can stock up and make sure you have it to hand. (Minimum online order of $20.) I’d expect, but I’m not sure if, they deliver outside NYC — call and ask.

    http://www.fairwaymarket.com

  2. Liz Lawler Says:
    March 30th, 2009 at 11:08 am

    Thanks Adam! I love Harissa with an unholy passion. It’s great with eggs, and dilutes nicely with things like mayo or sour cream. I’ll definitely track that brand down.

  3. Susan Bodnar Says:
    March 30th, 2009 at 1:35 pm

    Cooking vegetarian always poses challenges but especially so at holiday time. I really like the suggestion of using side dishes as a canvas! Its a very vivid image of how to conceive of vegetarian meals outside the structure of meat,starch and vegetables. Question: why is quinoa controversial?

  4. Liz Lawler Says:
    March 30th, 2009 at 3:38 pm

    Hi Susan,
    Well, some people think that eating quinao is a bit of a cheat, though it really is technically on the up and up. Also, there is a risk of other “grains” being accidentally mixed in with the package of quinoa. So make sure to buy only the stuff that is certified Kosher for Passover. I’m sticking by it, since I can only eat so many potatoes….

  5. Eli Says:
    March 30th, 2009 at 6:52 pm

    is amaranth kosher for passover? that would make me very happy…

  6. Liz Lawler Says:
    March 30th, 2009 at 8:16 pm

    Hi Eli!
    Yes, indeed: http://www.kashrut.com/Passover/Quinoa/
    enjoy.

  7. Jessica Says:
    April 2nd, 2009 at 6:19 pm

    I’m not a vegetarian, but I try to stay away from meat and poultry as much as possible and your post will help to make my Passover a little less tasteless. Thanks!

  8. Arthur Says:
    April 2nd, 2009 at 10:01 pm

    As a vegetarian for several decades, my Seders have been “veg” for a long time. We have no problem finding enough dishes to serve, more like what do we cut out so we don’t have too much to offer. And there’s very little potato (one dish this year–potato knish w/ grilled fennel, shallot, and 5spokes Cheddar filling, with a fresh chestnut gravy). We concentrate on veggies–roasted, grilled w/ a homemade avocado mayonnaise; roasted tomato slices topped w/ spinach/cheese topping; broccoli pie; salad of fresh local greens; veggie matzoh ball soup; and at least four desserts. Add in some nice Kosher wine and about 16 guests (many non Jewish people) and we have a full, well fed, happy houseful. That’s what’s it’s all about!

  9. Liz Lawler Says:
    April 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 pm

    Four different deserts! That does make for a happy, well fed household. Thanks for the suggestions, the knish sounds really great!

Leave a Reply

hartman

harvest



Advertise on The Jew & The Carrot