Feast on Sephardi Food This Passover
A collection of classic Sephardi Passover recipes for your family to enjoy.
This article has been excerpted from its original location at the Baltimore Jewish Times with permission from the publisher. Click here to view the original article in full.
March 22, 2020
Like many modern women, Michelle Azar Aaron juggles many balls.
She is a singer, actress, and writer of her one-woman show, “From Baghdad to Brooklyn,” which explores her father’s childhood in Iraq and her Brooklyn-born Ashkenazi mother. Azar Aaron has received awards for her work and has appeared in many television shows and musicals.
Add rebbetzin to her list of credits. Her husband is Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills Senior Rabbi Jonathan Aaron. And she is raising two musically talented teenage daughters.
She is now juggling another ball — preparing for Passover. Because she’s drawn to her father’s life in Iraq, Sephardi recipes and customs are integral to her Passovers today.
She makes huevos haminados, hard-boiled eggs, a must at Sephardi holiday celebrations.
“I put eggs and onion skins in the oven all night,” Azar Aaron said. “After they’re cooled and dry, I write everyone’s name on an egg with a Sharpie. At seders, you crack your egg on someone else.” It’s a friendly game beloved at Sephardi Passovers.
“Our seders are interactive and playful,” she said. “They start in the guest house in our backyard.” Scallions are used to symbolize the way Egyptians whipped Hebrew slaves. Everyone hits the person beside him with a scallion.
The seder service and first courses occur in the guest house.
“We then put on the sprinklers, so everyone gets a little wet running into the house,” she said. Just in time for the main course and dessert. She always bakes an orange date almond torte. “There’s lots of oranges in Sephardi cooking,” she says. “We finish by singing a Persian style of ‘Dayenu.’”
“I’ve never touched the ground in Iraq, so it’s odd this attachment I have to my father’s homeland,” she said. But she is keeping the memory of Passover customs alive from a country that most Jews have fled.
Huevos Haminados (Long Cooked Eggs) | Pareve
Yield: 12 eggs
Served at all Sephardi celebrations, these creamy textured eggs are superior in flavor to hard-boiled eggs.
Equipment: a large stainless steel or other stain-resistant pot that can go on the stovetop and inside the oven. It should come with a tight-fitting lid.
Ingredients
1-2 cups of onion skins, gathered from onions on hand, from friends, or from food stores. Red onion skins are advantageous as they turn the eggs a brilliant color.
12 eggs
¼ cup vegetable oil
Directions
Place a shelf on a middle rung of the oven, so that the pot you’ve chosen will be centered and not too close to heating elements. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.
Scatter ⅓ of the onion skins into the pot. Place 6 eggs on top of them. Scatter another third of the onion skins into the pot, followed by the remaining 6 eggs. Place the remaining onion skins on top. Pour in enough water to cover the mixture by 4 inches. Don’t worry if the eggs and onion skins shift. Drizzle on the oil, which will keep the water from evaporating during cooking.
Cover the pot and bring it to a simmering boil. Remove it from the heat for two minutes. Place the pot inside the oven for eight hours. Remove the eggs carefully with a slotted spoon and place them on paper towels to dry. The eggs will be brown or reddish brown, representing Passover’s roasted egg.
Serve the eggs warm, at room temperature, or refrigerate until serving. The whites will be tinged sepia brown. To reheat, boil them for three to five minutes.
Chicken Tagine With Prunes and Almonds | Meat
Yield: 8 servings
This tasty stew is typical of Moroccan Jewish cuisine. Because Sephardim eat rice during Passover, this dish is often served with rice.
Equipment: a Dutch oven
Ingredients
1 cup blanched, slivered almonds
1½ inches of ginger root
1 onion
2 tablespoons olive oil, or more if needed
8 bone-in chicken thighs
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1½ cups chicken broth, or more if needed
1-2 cinnamon sticks
2 cups pitted prunes
1 heaping tablespoon honey
Optional: Rice, prepared according to package directions for 8 servings
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Scatter the almonds on the foil, making sure they don’t overlap. Place the almonds in the oven and bake until golden and fragrant. Watch carefully as almonds burn easily.
Remove the almonds from the oven and bring them to room temperature. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days before preparing the tagine.
Peel the ginger root. Dice it and then chop it fine. Chop the onion into small pieces. Drizzle oil into the Dutch oven. Place it over a medium flame until the oil is warm, about one minute. Saute the ginger and onion, stirring often, until it is fragrant, about two minutes.
With a slotted spoon, remove the ginger and onion and place it temporarily on a plate.
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Move the chicken to the Dutch oven in two batches. Add more oil if needed. Saute until golden brown on all sides. Turn off the flame.
With tongs, move the chicken to a platter. Let the oil and chicken fat cool to room temperature. Pour off as much as possible. Some oil will remain.
Meanwhile, start making the rice, if using.
Return the ginger, onion, and chicken to the Dutch oven. Pour in the chicken broth. Add the cinnamon. Cover the Dutch oven. Over a low flame, simmer the chicken for 30 minutes. Add the prunes and honey, stirring to incorporate. If they are not covered with liquid, add more chicken broth a tablespoon at a time. Cover the Dutch oven again.
Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the prunes are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
Check every few minutes to see if the broth is evaporating. Add more, if needed. This can be made to this point two days ahead, refrigerated, and reheated over a low flame.
Place the rice in a mound in the center of a large deep platter, one with a generous rim. Using tongs, place the chicken thighs around the rice. Spoon the broth and prunes over the chicken. Sprinkle the almonds over the chicken and rice. Serve immediately.
You can find more recipes from this article at its original location at the Baltimore Jewish Times.
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