Pesach (Passover) is here, time to get cooking!

In preparation for our coming Seder meal when friends and family descend upon our house to celebrate Pesach (and bemoan my cooking), I decided to scour our collection here at State Library of Queensland for something to liven up my (admittedly predictable) Pesach cooking.

In doing so, I discovered a real jewel: - “Favourite Pesach recipes” from the National Council of Jewish Women Brisbane Section published in 1991.

A bit of background before we get to the yummy (or potentially disastrous) part!

Pesach, the Hebrew word for Passover in Judaism, is arguably the most important Jewish holiday, celebrating the Jewish people’s freedom from slavery in Egypt.

The word Passover comes from the plagues which G-d sent to afflict the Egyptians which “passed over” the Israelites homes. "Passover." Encyclopedia Britannica Online 2020

Christians may (or may not) be surprised to hear that three of the four canonical Gospels agree that The Last Supper occurred on Pesach during the seder meal. (Seder is the term for the actual meal (or “ritual feast” if you prefer) – an example can be found here Book: The Passover Seder : afikoman in exile / Ruth Gruber Fredman, Book: The Passover Haggadah / With a new English transl. by Isidora Fishman)

During the eight days of Pesach, only unleavened bread can be eaten, commonly known as Matzo (or Matzah).

This means no beer or grain alcohol, any foods including wheat, barley, spelt, oats and rye baking powder, baking soda or yeast (so no bread, cakes, or baked goods)!!

Don’t panic though, the substitute is Matzo!

Matzo can be bought in selected stores in Brisbane, but you may need to hunt for it.

Although little more than a booklet, “Favourite Pesach Recipes” by the National Council of Jewish Women: Brisbane Section has some delicious treasures inside.

Though, in truth I am not the best cook in town, or even close, over the weekend I tried out two recipes in preparation for Pesach.

The first I tried was the Vegetable Casserole by Rose Tuch on page 15. This was a resounding success! More like a quiche without the pastry than a casserole, but still yummy enough for my children to ask for seconds.

I then tried Pesach Rolls, which I although photograph well, turned into rocks. I must admit this is not the first time I have managed to cook rocks, so somebody more skilled than I would probably do better.

My husband then took to the kitchen and made Matzo Brei by Isabel Gottheiner, which he said was great – though he then proceeded to sprinkle sugar over it “just like grandma’s used to”! Predictably our children loved it too.

Unfortunately, he forgot to take a picture! But he assures me they look scrumptious a bit like scrambled eggs with Matzo mixed in.

We are now looking forward to Pesach to try out some more culinary adventures!

Time for me to start eating and for you to start your explorations into our OneSearch catalogue to discover new tantalizing recipes to impress friends and family.