4 Cups of Wine? Let the festivities begin: Spicy Carrot Salad
Passover is here and I couldn't be happier. It's time for religious carb counting, and requisite inebriation. Thanksgiving and Passover are vying for my favoritest holiday, and Passover is quickly taking the lead. Unlike Thanksgiving, Passover has no expectations for the main dish, and with Passover, there's even a party game built into the meal. If more religions got on the fun train, and built games into the traditions, wouldn't more of us find religion? I'd be first in line if we concluded a baptism with pin the tail on the donkey; and who wouldn't want to meditate for 8 hours if we could play twister at the end. Imagine Yom Kippur concluding with a swift bat to the pinata? Amen!
4 cups of wine would be received differently in different cultures. Only recently have good kosher wines been coming to the table; for the most part Jews aren't big drinkers. If G-d asked us to be booze free for 8 days, no one would change behavior. But no noshing? There's a hardship.
Sweet teeth need to be appeased, and without cake, the Semites start dunking everything in chocolate. Macaroons! Matzoh! Gefilte fish! Funny faux fruit slices! To heck with that, give me a feedbag of chips; I'll tie it to my jaw and inhale for a week.
The lack of a requisite main dish (ie. turkey) let's a meal planner wander like the Jews; we can travel to Spain, Morocco, Syria, Turkey, Greece, or India, and Sephardic up the joint with Tagines and Curries, or we can go traditional Ashkenazi with our Briskets, Stuffed Breasts of Veal and Capons.
For me, the fun is in the unexpected; dazzling simple sides. The mains are standards, inherited things that everyone is going to love. Let's face it; how hard is it to cook an expensive piece of kosher meat? Purchase smart and cook simply.
Here's a dish I came up with during the Indian-food frenzy I've been in for the last two weeks. There's something delicious about fresh grated ginger -- you can't go wrong with it's vivid, happy heat. This is a simple dish is bright, colorful, and can be served warm or room temperature. For the vegetarians in the bunch, try it with some lentils and a dollop of yogurt for a satisfying lunch.
Spicy Ginger Carrot Salad
Serves 6 to 8
1 1/2 tablespoons mustard seeds (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 jalapeno, roughly chopped (seeds or not, your choice -- seeds=heat)
3 inches fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 pound carrots, coarsely grated
1/3 cup cilantro leaves
1. Place mustard seeds in a small dry skillet and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Remove and reserve.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium high, add jalapeno and ginger, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrots, and cook, until carrots have turned a brighter shade of orange, and the "rawness" has cooked out, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and toss with cilantro leaves. Serve warm or room temperature.
4 cups of wine would be received differently in different cultures. Only recently have good kosher wines been coming to the table; for the most part Jews aren't big drinkers. If G-d asked us to be booze free for 8 days, no one would change behavior. But no noshing? There's a hardship.
Sweet teeth need to be appeased, and without cake, the Semites start dunking everything in chocolate. Macaroons! Matzoh! Gefilte fish! Funny faux fruit slices! To heck with that, give me a feedbag of chips; I'll tie it to my jaw and inhale for a week.
The lack of a requisite main dish (ie. turkey) let's a meal planner wander like the Jews; we can travel to Spain, Morocco, Syria, Turkey, Greece, or India, and Sephardic up the joint with Tagines and Curries, or we can go traditional Ashkenazi with our Briskets, Stuffed Breasts of Veal and Capons.
For me, the fun is in the unexpected; dazzling simple sides. The mains are standards, inherited things that everyone is going to love. Let's face it; how hard is it to cook an expensive piece of kosher meat? Purchase smart and cook simply.
Here's a dish I came up with during the Indian-food frenzy I've been in for the last two weeks. There's something delicious about fresh grated ginger -- you can't go wrong with it's vivid, happy heat. This is a simple dish is bright, colorful, and can be served warm or room temperature. For the vegetarians in the bunch, try it with some lentils and a dollop of yogurt for a satisfying lunch.
Spicy Ginger Carrot Salad
Serves 6 to 8
1 1/2 tablespoons mustard seeds (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 jalapeno, roughly chopped (seeds or not, your choice -- seeds=heat)
3 inches fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 pound carrots, coarsely grated
1/3 cup cilantro leaves
1. Place mustard seeds in a small dry skillet and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Remove and reserve.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium high, add jalapeno and ginger, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrots, and cook, until carrots have turned a brighter shade of orange, and the "rawness" has cooked out, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and toss with cilantro leaves. Serve warm or room temperature.
posted by Allison Fishman Task at 11:38 AM
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