Charoset
This is traditionally a mixture of chopped nuts, apples, honey, spices, and wine. Check out our delicious, honey-free version.
Zeroa
Red beet is permitted on the Seder plate in lieu of a lamb shank.
Maror
The Torah commands that “bitter herbs” be eaten. Romaine lettuce, horseradish, and celery all suffice as bitter herbs.
Beitzah
You can substitute an egg with an avocado, a flower, or a white eggplant (without the stem).
Karpas
Any green will do, but spring parsley is a popular choice. Dip the green in saltwater or vinegar (depending on your tradition) before consuming.
Matzo Ball Soup
Calories 146 - Serves 6-8 Ingredients Matzo Balls:
1/4 cup ground flaxseeds or egg replacer
1 cup seltzer water or water
1 cup matzo meal
1/4 cup quinoa flour (you can create it yourself by grinding quinoa in a strong blender)
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried dill (optional)
Soup:
1 tablespoon coconut or other oil
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onion
1 cup sliced celery (1/4 inch slices)
4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
7 cups vegetable stock or water
1 1/4 cups sliced carrot (1/2 inch slices)
1 cup sliced mushrooms (try cremini or button)
2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh dill
Preparation
Prepare the matzo balls: Place water in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, place the ground flaxseeds in a bowl with 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the seltzer water and stir well. Add the remaining matzo ball ingredients and mix well. Form into a loaf. Add a small amount of additional seltzer water, if necessary, to hold the loaf together. You are looking for a slightly moist consistency, just enough to have all the ingredients come together. Transfer to a clean, dry cutting board. Pinch off twelve equal portions to form balls about 1 inch in diameter.
Place the matzo balls in the boiling water. Lower the heat to medium-high. After a few minutes, the matzo balls will rise to the top. Cook for an additional 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the soup: Place the oil in a 3-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently and adding small amounts of water, if necessary, to prevent sticking.
Lower the heat to medium, add the vegetable stock, carrot, mushrooms, salt, and pepper, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
When the matzo balls are done cooking, transfer them to the pot of soup, add the dill, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve one or two matzo balls per serving of soup.
Mark Reinfeld - See My Recipes Mark Reinfeld is the 2017 Inductee into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame. He is a multi-award winning chef and author of seven books, including the best selling 30 Minute Vegan series and his latest book, Healing the Vegan Way, selected as the #1 book for Vegans in 2016 by Philly.com. Mark has over 20 years of experience preparing creative vegan and raw cuisine. Since 2012, he has served as the Executive Chef for the North American Vegetarian Society’s Summerfest. He has offered consulting services for clients such as Google, Whole Foods, Bon Appetit Management, and more. Mark was the founding chef of The Blossoming Lotus Restaurant, voted "Best Restaurant on Kaua’i." Check out his website: Vegan Fusion
Gefilte ‘Fish’
Calories 194 - Serves 4 Ingredients
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
½ small onion, chopped
2 small or 1 large celery stalk, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped (save some for garnish)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 ½ tsp. dulce flakes
1 tsp. kelp flakes
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
Zest and juice of one lemon
Red cabbage, shredded
Prepared horseradish, if desired
Preparation
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and let the sweat for about 3-4 minutes. You don’t want them to brown or change color. The veggies should just get softer. Add the chickpeas to the skillet and toss with the veggies. Mix in the seasonings. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Transfer the chickpeas and veggie mixture to a food processor. Add the lemon zest and juice of half the lemon. Pulse the mixture and then process until smooth. Taste for any seasoning adjustments. Using a measuring cup, scoop 1/3 cup of the mixture and mold it into a gefilte fish shape. The shape is like a small football or a lemon. Lay the molded gefilte “fish” on a small baking sheet or plate. Repeat with the rest of the mixture. Cover the gefilte fishies with plastic wrap, letting the wrap fit around each piece. Refrigerate for at least an hour or until ready to serve.
Serve each piece of Gefilte “fish” on a small bed of red cabbage and garnished with a small slice or a few shreds of carrot. Squeeze the remaining half lemon over the “fish” and cabbage. Serve with horseradish, if desired.
Fried Matzo
Calories 55 - Serves 32 pieces
Ingredients
1 package of silken tofu (or any tofu)
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. dried garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. black salt (or Kosher salt)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup chickpea flour (or any flour)
1 Tbs. arrowroot powder (or corn starch or potato starch)
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/2 – 1 cup water
8 sheets of matzo
2 stalks of scallions, finely chopped (optional)
Cooking spray
Preparation
In a large bowl or food processor, add the silken tofu, turmeric, garlic powder, black salt and olive oil. Mix well.
Add the flour, arrowroot powder and non-dairy milk.
Add water slowly while mixing/processing until you have a very loose batter.
If you are using any other ingredients like scallions, add them into the batter.
Break the matzo into pieces (I broke each sheet into 4 pieces) and soak in a bowl of warm water for about 30 seconds, just to soften it. Set the pieces aside.
Heat a large skillet and spray with the cooking oil (or if you’re not worried about calories, just use oil).
Take the pieces of matzo and dunk them into the tofu batter.
Shake off the excess (it cooks better when the matzo has a thin coating of batter) and put them in the hot pan to fry.
When you see the batter brown, flip the pieces and fry the other side. It should take about 4 minutes on each side, depending on crispy you want the matzo.
Cook in batches until you have fried all the matzo.
Top with the garnish or sauce of your choice.
Jewish Bimuelos: Fried ‘Honey’ Puffs
Ingredients For the Wet Ingredients: 2 tablespoons ground flax seed, plus 6 tablespoons warm water
3/4 cup soymilk
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Dry Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting OR
2 cups all-purpose flour and 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour OR
4 cups gluten-free all purpose flour mix
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Zest of 1/2 an orange
4 cups vegetable oil for frying
For the Topping:
2 cups agave nectar or vegan honey
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegan sprinkles
Preparation
Mix the flax seed with the warm water in a small bowl or cup and let sit for 10 minutes until it is thickened and gelatinous. Mix the flax gel, soy milk, apple sauce, melted butter, and vanilla together in a small bowl.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together into a large mixing bowl. Add the cinnamon and zest. Make a well by pushing the flour mix to the sides of the bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry in the well. Work the flour into the well and mix well until you have a dough that is smooth and evenly blended. Gather it into a ball and transfer the dough onto a floured work surface. Knead the dough for about 4 minutes, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour.
After the hour, remove the dough from the plastic wrap. Pull a plum size piece of dough from the main dough. Roll the piece into a ball and then roll the ball into a long, thin rod, approximately 1/4-inch thick. Cut the long rod into small pieces about 3/4-inch . Roll the small pieces into balls. Repeat until you have used all the dough. Dust the balls with flour.
Heat the oil in a heavy pot until it reaches 350°F or until bubbles form around an inserted wooden spoon. Add the balls using a spider, about 10 at a time, shaking off any excess flour, and let fry until golden, about 3 minutes. Remove from the oil and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
In a large pot, heat the vegan honey or agave, sugar and water together over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. It will foam; it’s supposed to. Let cook about 7 minutes until it thickens a bit and the color darkens. Don’t cook it longer than this or it will turn into caramel. Have a small bowl of cool water nearby.
Remove the honey mixture from the heat and add the balls immediately. Mix until the balls are covered. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the honey balls to a serving platter. Dip your hands into the cool water before touching the balls because they are really, really hot. Arrange the balls in a pile to resemble a tree. Add sprinkles.
When Rhea became vegan, there were no places in her Bronx neighborhood to eat so she had to learn to cook, mostly by watching TV cooking shows, especially Christina Pirello and Rachael Ray. That led to the creation of The "V" Word website which focuses on vegan versions of favorite, familiar foods. Rhea has written several e-cookbooks which are available on her web site. It is Rhea's hope that she can spread the "V" Word to bring more compassion into the world and it is her dream to become the vegan Rachael Ray
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