Need Passover dinner? Pick up the phone
From a culinary standpoint, Passover can be a challenge. The dietary restrictions include anything containing fermenting agents such as yeast, baking powder, and baking soda; grains; and, for Ashkenazi Jews, who trace their ancestors to Western and Eastern Europe and Russia, legumes.
The eight-day holiday, which begins April 5 with two nights of Seders, celebrates the Jews' exodus from Egypt, when there was no time for bread to rise. As a result, foods with leavening (hametz in Hebrew) are forbidden.
For some cooks, however, these dietary prohibitions have led to creativity. Over the years, innovative dishes using potato starch, ground nuts, matzo -- the hard, flat "unleavened bread" -- and matzo meal have appeared on Passover tables.
Preparing the multicourse meal for the Passover Seders, and food for the days that follow, is a cumbersome undertaking. Many cooks today don't have the time their mothers and grandmothers had.
Caterers such as Provender Kosher Catering in Rockland have stepped in with almost-home-cooked Passover meals that require little more than picking up the food and reheating it. "We want to help our clients observe their faith and enjoy their family time, without doing a lot of the work," says Rhonda Elkins, director of catering sales. "People at this holiday look for tradition. We give them that, with a little flair."
The company's executive chef, Israeli-born Eli Alperowicz, incorporates influences from his native country, and some flavors from Europe and the Mediterranean, to showcase both traditional and sophisticated dishes that adhere strictly to kosher laws. In addition to the popular potato latkes (pancakes), gefilte fish (ground fish balls) and the ever-present matzo ball soup that are the hallmarks of the Seder meal, Provender's menu includes honey-apricot glazed chicken breast, vegetarian tzimmes, and toasted matzo farfel with wild mushroom and roasted garlic. Desserts include brownies, flourless chocolate cake, and miniature pastries.
If the most innovative thing you do in the Passover kitchen this year is pick up the phone and order Seder dinner, you might be the most relaxed hostess in town.
