Passover brunch

[KeriT]

I planned a brunch not realizing it was during passover. Most of my brunch favorites are bread/carb foods (it's what make breakfast so yummy). Now I need to rethink everything I'm serving. I need ideas, these people are not kosher just passover observant (and not sephardic (i.e. no rice or corn)) - hopefully you guys can help. Giada has a mini frittata I was planning on making but I need more. Please help; thanks!

[KeriT]

Just wanted to let everyone know what I ended up making for this. I also should have mentioned that the guests were two couples with toddlers and my husband, me and my toddler (so poached eggs weren't going to be good for this).

I made a mini frittata (regular frittata ingredients but cooked in a mini muffin pan - so pretty and easy) with ham and asparagus (yes, they keep passover but are not at all kosher)

also made this amazing matzah apple kugel:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_10640,00.html?rsrc=search

and a really good spiced quinoa:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/rec...

didn't do appetizers because less people came than originally said.

[RGR]

Despite the many forbidden foods during Passover, one of the good things is that it falls during the asparagus season and when some of the best strawberries start to be available -- at least, that's the case in the northeast, where I live. So my Passover menus always include lots of both.

[weinstein5]

In addition to those we tend to have a lot of Artichokes as well -

[flourless]

My daughter's birthday frequently falls during passover, so we do a lot of this kind of thing. Last year we had a larger group than usual and we did...

Cucumber slices topped with a bit of cream cheese, a sprinkle of de-seeded and finely chopped tomato and smoked salmon. Garnished with some fresh chive
mini sweet potato pancakes with green chili and shallot
Strawberries (DD's request, as always)
a wilted spinach salad (we had non bacon-eaters and used hot olive oil instead of bacon grease with good success) with poached egg (or maybe it was soft boiled, I don't recall, we do both) - you could add blue cheese or parm crackers
broiled fish (we did a mild white fish, just because it's what everyone would eat) with an optional sort of mediterranean salsa/sauce - chunky with zucchini, tomato, peppers, onions, etc
I'm fairly sure that we did grilled potatoes or perhaps home fries as a side with the fish, and there was matzoh for those that wanted it and could eat it.
Dessert was more strawberries, sorbet and apple charoset (large pieces of apple, finely ground walnuts)

[chef chicklet]

Eggplant Lasagne, cabbage or vegetable strudel, matzo balls in tomato sauce and the carrot souffle and oh apple matzah kugel....

[Emme]

I had this issue last year b/c my birthday is near, and I had a small brunch party...

Baked brie

Apple Cinnamon Farfel Kugel

Lox omelette w/ hash browns

fig, blue cheese, and toasted walnut salad, or poached figs

a quinoa salad, like a quinoa based taboulli

vegetable strata

spaghetti squash w/ butter and parmesan

roasted garlic cauliflower

spinach or carrot souffle

stuffed mushrooms

meatloaf (using matzah meal obviously)

Meringues and Pavlova are good desserts/sweets for those tired of macaroons and flourless __________

[KeriT]

the apple cinnamon farfel kugel sounds good, is this a recipe that's easy to find? Pavlova is a great idea as well! Can't imagine getting tired of macaroons though...

[RGR]

Don't know what recipe Emme used, but Googling, I found this one (Talk about an easy recipe!): http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Ci...

[KeriT]

Thanks, I also found this recipe which looks good - don't know if anyone here has tried it

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recip...

[Emme]

Mine is similar to this, but I sometimes use brown sugar as well, which I prefer w/ apples.

Another variation is to include a cream cheese/cheesecake-y layer, or otherwise for a twist, I'll incorporate apples and peaches.

[piccola]

Some kind of potato (or sweet potato) kugel?

Or, since you said rice and corn are ok, you could make rice fritters or polenta (either soft or firm and panfried).

[FlavoursGal]

piccola, I think you misread KeriT's post. She said her guests are NOT Sephardic, hence rice and corn are not okay.

[piccola]

You're right, I completely misread that. What about other grains, like oats and barley?

If oats are ok, I'd suggest baked oatmeal.

[FlavoursGal]

As far as I know, other grains are forbidden. Quinoa, however, is permitted for Sephardim and Ashkenazis.

[piccola]

Thanks for the info. I thought it was only flour that was forbidden. You live and learn. :-)

[nomdeplume]

The Union Square Cookbook has a nice recipe for matzo meal polenta!

[Alice Letseat]

Ah, finally! Someone said "smoked salmon!" My thoughts exactly. Potato blintzes alongside would be nice, too. Or teeny new potatoes with caviar.....

[JudiAU]

Poached eggs on creamed spinach with a side of smoked salmon?

[mglass]

Fried maztoh is a must. It's easy and everyone always loves it - especially for breakfast/brunch. I also recommend matzoh meal pancakes served with a fruity jam and some sugar sprinkled on top. Sounds so good I almost forgot it's Passover food! :)

[RGR]

How about eggplant rolatini? Make a simple tomato sauce. I prefer to lightly oil the eggplant slices, then broil them briefly until the tops are just brown. But you can fry them if you like. I use a mix of farmer cheese, mozzarella and parmesan + egg to bind + minced parsley + freshly ground black pepper. But, again, whatever cheeses you prefer. Put some sauce on the pan bottom, lay out the rolled up eggplant packages and cover with the tomato sauce. Cover the pan with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Delicious!

[seattledebs]

You could do some really nice egg scrambles or omelets. Maybe a scramble with spring onions, spring greens, mushrooms, smoked salmon, avocado, and cream cheese or goat cheese? Serve a side of roasted or pan-fried small potatoes. Fruit salad or any fruit dish works for Passover, or interesting fresh squeezed juices.

I agree about matzoh brei - it's classic.

[FlavoursGal]

The only problem with doing an "eggy" dish is that there are so many eggs in everything else made on Passover that it would be nice to serve something containing little or no eggs.

[pescatarian]

It's amazing how popular the hard boiled eggs are at my family's seder. You'd think we've never seen them before.

[lisaf]

That's because it's the only substantial item on the seder plate and we are usually starving by the time you get to eat dinner at ours. Seriously, we all eat the parsley from hunger.

[pescatarian]

No, it's because we LOVE the hard boiled eggs.

[FlavoursGal]

But they ARE extra-special-delicious, eaten with matzoh. My grandmother used to make a hard-boiled egg muszh (sp?) with salt water, which I didn't like. Just give me a whole egg, a tiny bit of salt water, and a full sheet of matzoh.

[weinstein5]

My family tradition is something along the lines of your grandmother's concoction - we call it egg soup - chopped hard boiled eggs in salted water - do not know exact proportions but the 'broth' is yellow a nd slightly thick with white chunks - served cold - it is delicious

[seattledebs]

That's true; I get pretty sick of eggs during Passover. You could do a potato/vegetable scramble with a little cheese sprinkled in, then. I've actually made a dish for a vegetarian seder like this: roasted potatoes, beets (chiogga or golden), sauteed garlic, leeks, mushrooms, lemon juice, italian kale or rainbow chard, and sprinkle in some cheese like a light feta or stronger goat.

[pescatarian]

I love passover cookies - the thumbprints with jam, mandelbroit, etc. made with matzoh meal instead of flour. An assortment of the these types of cookies could be served with a brunch.
Coleslaw and gefilte fish remind me of passover and could be served at brunch as well.

[pamd]

cabbage pudding is an (odd sounding) favorite of many. Apple crisps are popular, like a cobbler, but using Passover safe ingredients for the topping, actually quite good. I've also made a lemon cheesecake which is tasty, the crust is just made of matzoh, sugar & butter- you could do other flavors/ recipes for the top I guess. Oh, and chopped liver with matzoh.

[AmyH]

Since it's brunch, you can always do tuna salad, whitefish salad, or egg salad (all with k for p mayo, of course). You can also make a very decent lukshen kugel with the k for p noodles. And there are a variety of spinach and cheese casseroles on kosher cooking web sites. You can do blintzes with passover crepes. Oh, and mini potato knishes! This page has a bunch of good recipes: http://www.koshercooking.com/recipes/...

[KeriT]

Thanks, this website is great.

[AmyH]

I actually prefer having people over for brunch during passover. It is less stress than a seder and it frees people up to be with their relatives for the seders. I was just thinking you could also poach some salmon and cook some asparagus. Very spring!

[chicgail]

Try a matoz brei made like French Toast. It's a family tradition with us. We soak it lightly (some people prefer it softer and soak it longer), then mix it in a French Toast mixture of egg, cream, sugar, vanilla and just a bit of salt. Then it gets serveed with maple syrup -- and salt. I think it's the sweet/salty mix that makes it unique.

[KeriT]

this made me wonder if there is anyway to adapt my original idea which was french toast bread pudding (until I realized it was passover), do you think I could soak matzah overnight in the eggs, cream sugar and vanilla and bake it?

I do love a good matzah brei though (with raspberry jam)...

[FlavoursGal]

KeriT, I think the matzoh would likely disintegrate by morning.

[wearybashful]

KeriT, you absolutely can do the above, you're describing matzah kugel.

[KeriT]

thanks, do you think it would be better if I just combined all the ingredients, let sit for 30 min (just long enough not to be too hard) and then bake?

[wearybashful]

I run the matzah boards quickly under water, then stack them up damp under a damp towel for a while, til they get limp. Then I made a noodle kugel recipe. People couldn't tell it was matzah not noodles. I made a rich custard with lots of cottage cheese, sour cream, milk and eggs-- the custard didn't just moisten the starch, the matzah or noodles float around in the custard until it's baked. I think a pretty wide variation in the matzah to custard ratio works, it just goes from mostly custard to firmer.

[FlavoursGal]

You could make Passover cheese blintzes or cheese pie, served with sour cream and homemade blueberry sauce.

Or individual rosti topped with a poached egg (optional; more eggs, we don't need!), smoked salmon and sour cream/creme fraiche, garnished with capers (if they exist for Passover) and minced red onion or chives.

I've also made an eggplant "lasagne" using matzo instead of noodles.

[p.j.]

How about a savory and/or a sweet matzah brie, or matzah meal pancakes?
Some grilled asparagus. (our go-to vegetable for Pesach)
Home fried potatoes, or oven roasted with some herbs and salt and pepper.
There are so many good Pesach desserts, like a fruit compote of dried fruits, and a tasty sponge cake (I have a recipe for carrot spongecake that calls for a melted orange marmalade glaze.)
Good luck. p.j.

[KeriT]

yum, the carrot cake sounds, good, do you mind sharing the recipe?

[p.j.]

KeriT-
I'd be happy to share. I will try to dig it out once I am done with the hamentaschen operation!
p.j.

[Bride of the Juggler]

For appetizers, how about a selection of spreads and dips to go with matza, including quacamole? Thank you.

[rockycat]

Quacamole? LOL! Is that made with shredded duck?

I'm not trying to be mean. This is one of the best food-related typos I've ever seen. Thanks for the smile.