Reich - Vegan Start Passover Cookbook: Eat Well on Pesach!

Vegan Start Passover Cookbook

By Rena Reich

Table of Contents

Index

Zman Heruteinu A Time for Freedom

Passover has always been one of my favorite holidays. We didnt get to sit in the dining room and eat together very often, so that alone made it special.

I didnt grow up religious. My family only became religious when I was about ten. When I was becoming religious, I always thought it was so odd that Passover was supposed to be about freedom but seemed to be all about rules. Not until I was a bit older did I truly understand that no one can really be free without having limits.

The framework for compassion is set up in Judaism from the start. We are commanded to give a percentage of our earnings to charity. We are supposed to remember the widow and the orphan. We are not supposed to work an ox and a donkey together for fear that it might cause injury to one of the animals. Rules like these are the basis or a just and fair society. Only in a society like that, can freedom blossom.

I love that Passover is in the start of spring. Everything is new and full of hope. I hope that this Passover gives people the strength to hope for better and to make those dreams come true.

Seder

Our Seder is pretty normal. We go through the Haggadah, taking turns reading, and we sing all the songs. The only things that are a bit different about our Seder are some of the things we use on our Seder plate.

Maror : Bitter herbs. We use romaine lettuce, but you can use horseradish. It is meant to symbolize the bitterness that we endured when we were slaves in Egypt.

Charoset : Nut and fruit paste. This symbolizes the bricks and mortar that we were forced to use when we were slaves. It reminds us of the hard labor.

Chazeret : More bitter herbs. We use romaine lettuce here too. Its used to make the sandwich for the Korech part of the Seder.

Karpas : Dipping vegetable. We use parsley or celery for this. You are supposed to dip it in salt water. This represents the tears that we cried when we were slaves.

Zeroah : Shank bone. This is where things start getting a bit tricky to be vegan. We use roasted beets. There is actually a source for using beets: Pesachim 114b. Its supposed to symbolize the Paschal Lamb that was sacrificed before we left Egypt.

Beitzah : Roasted boiled egg. We usually just leave it out. It is supposed to symbolize the sacrifices that we offered during the second temple. Its also a circle, which symbolizes life. Ive asked around what other people do for this. Some people use an avocado pit. Others use a white eggplant. The most inventive one that Ive heard to date is using a plastic egg. I actually really like that one. We may be doing it this year if I can find a plastic egg.

The thing to remember about the Seder plate is that it is there to represent things to us. The beitzah and the zeroah dont even get eaten. There are traditional things that we use, but whats important is what they represent to us.

Our Seder Meal

Every year I look for new and interesting things to make for Passover, but the main Seder meal stays more or less the same.

• Mock Chopped Liver
• Vegetable Soup with Matzo Balls
• Mushroom Steaks
• Potato Kugel
• Tzimmes
• Spinach Salad
• Chocolate Torte

I try to keep Seder night pretty simple. After eating all that Matzo, its practically a sin to eat this much. Somehow we do it.

Sauces and Spreads

Before we get into the real food, let's start with sauces and spreads. These are things that I make at the beginning, before the holiday starts and we have throughout the week.

I put my charoset recipe here too. We eat it on Seder night and we keep on enjoying it. I hope you enjoy it too.

Charoset

Charoset represents the mortar that held together the brick the Jewish people used to create great cities for Pharaoh and the Egyptians. When my mother makes charoset, it always comes out chunky style. I prefer creamy. I think the symbolism works better that way.

We make charoset for Seder night, but we like to eat it after the Seder as well. Its a really sweet, yummy paste. Its more like a dessert than a sandwich filler. The amount that you need for Seder is really minimal. That means that there is a decent amount left over for lunch the next day. Yum!

The charoset that I grew up with was chunky and didn't have dates. The dates don't only add to the sweetness, they also make the charoset more mortar like.

Ingredients:

• walnuts - 1 cup
• dates - 8, pitted
• apple - 1 peeled
• cinnamon - 1 teaspoon
• sweet red wine - 1/2 cup

Instructions:

1. Peel and core apple
2. Place all the ingredients in a blender
3. Blend

Almond Milk

I dont make almond milk that often. Its usually a once a year, Pesach thing, but there is really no reason not to make it more often. One of the things that I love about making almond milk is that you dont just get milk. You get finely grated almonds that you can use in a ton of different things. After I dry out the leftover almonds, I can grind them again. That makes it fine enough to use as a flour, or I can just use them as is.

You can use regular raw almonds or blanched. It's not a huge deal to use regular, but it does take time to remove the skins.

Ingredients:

• raw almonds - 1 cup
• dates - 3
• water - 2 1/2 cups
• vanilla - 1/2 teaspoon

Instructions:

If you are using blanched almonds:

1. Soak almonds overnight

If you use unblanched almonds:

1. Soak almonds in hot water for 2 hours
2. Skin will be loose - remove from almonds. If is they don't come off easy, soak a bit more.

For everyone:

1. Put ingredients in a blender and blend well
2. Pour through cheese cloth

After the almond milk is made, take the leftover almonds and dry them out in the oven on low heat until it is completely dried out. Store in the freezer until you are ready to use it.

Mayonnaise

I used to love visiting the US to eat the really amazing vegan food that you can buy in most supermarkets. Israel has a higher percentage of vegans than the US, but there are still a bunch of things missing. Good mayonnaise is one of those things. Soy mayonnaise is sold in Israel, but it is not like the vegenaise that you can buy in the US. It's also really expensive.

Now there is no reason to go to the US anymore, because I now make mayonnaise at home. It is crazy easy, and it comes out really yummy.

You can use different types of milk for this recipe. For Passover, I make my own almond milk, and it works well. If you are using Israeli soy milk, it's a bit sweet, so leave out the extra agave syrup.

Ingredients:

• unsweetened vegan milk - 1/2 cup
• oil - 1 cup
• vinegar - 1 tablespoon
• agave syrup - 1 tablespoon
• lemon juice - 1 teaspoon
• salt - to taste

Instructions:

1. Blend milk, oil, agave and vinegar together until thick
2. Mix in lemon juice and salt
3. That's it!

Almond Butter