Roasted Fruit Cocktail

Roasted Fruit Cocktail

After a huge Passover Seder meal (or any big dinner), Roasted Fruit Cocktail is an excellent choice for dessert. Roasting brings out the fruit sugars in a tantalizing way with hints of rum and molasses. The chopped mint adds color and a really fresh, perky finish.

ROASTED FRUIT COCKTAIL

• 1 ripe fresh pineapple

• 2 fresh mangos

• 3/4 cup orange juice

• 1/4 cup honey

• cinnamon

• 18-20 strawberries, hulls removed

• 1 cup seedless red grapes

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

• sorbet or ice cream, optional

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a jelly roll sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.Remove the leaves and hard outer shell of the pineapple. Cut the pineapple lengthwise into 1-inch thick strips. Discard the fibrous core. Place the remaining strips on the parchment-lined jelly roll pan. Peel the mango and cut the flesh into strips. Set aside. Place the orange juice and honey in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat slightly and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the liquid is slightly thickened. Generously brush all surfaces of the pineapple strips with the orange juice mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Roast for 4-5 minutes. Turn the strips over. Add the mango strips, strawberries and grapes to the pan. Brush with the remaining orange juice mixture. Roast for another 6-7 minutes or until fruit is soft and lightly caramelized. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool. Cut the pineapple and mango strips into bite size pieces. Place all the fruit and accumulated pan juices in a bowl, sprinkle with the mint and toss. Place into serving dishes. Serve plain or with sorbet or ice cream.

Makes 8 servings

Khoshaf for Passover

Khoshaf

My grandma always cooked stewed dried fruit and I always associated that particular dish with her generation of Ashkenazi Jewish grandmas.

But, several years ago when Ed and I were in Egypt I noticed what looked like grandma’s “dried fruit compote” on every hotel breakfast buffet.

It wasn’t compote though. It was a dish called Khoshaf and apparently is a specialty served to break the Ramadan fast (and at lots of other times too). It is made with dried fruit, like compote, but it isn’t stewed! The fruit is steeped in a sweet, boiling syrupy liquid so it stays firm and pleasantly chewy. I took one taste and was hooked! I still make stewed fruit compote sometimes but other times I have a yen for khoshaf. It’s a special treat and perfect for Passover.

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KHOSHAF

• 1-1/2 cups water

• 1 cup apricot nectar (or orange juice, peach juice, white grape juice, etc)

• 1/4 cup (or more or less to taste) sugar

• 1 tablespoon orange flower water, rosewater or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 lemon or orange cut into quarters

• 1 cup dried apricots

• 1 cup prunes or dried plums

• 1 cup dried figs, halved or quaretred, depending on size

• 1 cup raisins

• chopped pistachio nuts

Combine the water, apricot nectar and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until slightly syrupy. Remove from the heat and stir in the flavoring. Pour over the fruit and toss ingredients. Let rest for at least one hour, tossing the ingredients occasionally. Sprinkle with nuts and serve.

Makes 6-8 servings

Moroccan Meatballs

Check out this article I wrote for The Nosher. It's about meatballs.

Who doesn't love meatballs?

These are slightly spicy and cloaked in a rich, chunky tomatoey sauce. So good any night of the year. Also a good choice for Passover.

Bonus: you can make them ahead!

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/make-ahead-moroccan-meatballs-recipe/

Quickie Ratatouille

So many people think ratatouille is an elaborate and difficult, time-consuming dish.

It doesn't have to be.

Sure, there are lots of vegetables to prepare. I do it all ahead and save the prepped veggies in containers or plastic bags in the fridge until I am ready to use them. The actual cooking is a cinch and doesn't take long at all.

This is a terrific side dish for Passover (it's parve). But I make this throughout the year. It goes with everything. Everything!

QUICKIE RATATOUILLE

• 1/3 cup olive oil, approximately

• 8 thick scallions, chopped

• 6 large cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 medium fresh chili pepper, deseeded and chopped

• 2 cups diced eggplant

• 1 cup diced red bell pepper

• 2 cups diced zucchini

• 8 large tomatoes, chopped

• 6-8 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

• salt and freshly ground red pepper to taste

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the scallion, garlic and chili pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for one minute. Add the eggplant and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables have softened. Pour in the remaining olive oil and add the zucchini (add more olive oil if the vegetables start to stick to the bottom of the pan). Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes and basil and cook, stirring frequently, for 12-15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and there is little liquid left in the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 8 servings