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Get rid of ‘tunnel vision’ for Passover foods – meal-making need not be restrictive
By Linda L. Esterson
Spring 2007 Edition of TRADITION MAGAZINE
At Passover, there are always plenty of matzo balls, matzo meal, and matzo farfel and matzo rolls. In other words, plenty of dense matzo, and that leads to heavy foods.Many Passover recipes are laden with matzo meal because Jews feel they must use matzo. After all, the holiday commemorates the Jews fleeing from Egypt without time to wait for the bread to rise.
Chef Diane Bukatman, owner of For the Love of Food, a “unique boutique (cooking class) and catering company in Reisterstown, said, “people get tunnel vision when it comes to Passover.” She added, “they need to remember they can use just about anything except for flour and bread crumbs, especially the spices that they use the rest of the year.”
Bukatman suggests using matzo cake meal to lighten up many dishes, from entrees to desserts.
Mazo cake meal, unlike thick matzo meal, is ground finely to the consistency of flour. Bukatman said matzo cake meal can be substituted for flour in recipe, replacing 1 cup of flour with about ¼ cup of cake meal and ¾ cup of potato starch.
Many recipe ingredients are kosher for Passover, so cooking favorite dishes shouldn’t change that much. Condiments like white wine, and balsamic and red wine vinegars are kosher for Passover, as are most nuts and olive oil.
Desserts are a little more challenging, Bukatman said, but they don’t need to be boring. It’s not just about sponge cake and macaroons.
She loves her triple chocolate roulade, filled with whipped chocolate ganache and topped with a chocolate glaze. For dessert recipes, Bukatman suggests starting with the flour conversion. If the mixture is too wet, add more cake meal, and if it is too dry, add an egg…
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Diane Bukatman has worked as a chef and pastry chef for almost 20 years in some of the most critically acclaimed restaurants in New York City, New Jersey and Martha’s Vineyard.
For the Love of Food is offering hands-on Passover baking classes in Reisterstown on March 15 and 22 beginning at 7 p.m. The classes seat up to 12. Registration is required. Call 443-865-0630 or go to www.fortheloveoffood.com.
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