As I mentioned in my earlier Passover post, there are certain rituals or customs of the holiday that become essential to the sense of true celebration. The Passover seder (festive fifteen-step meal) includes several food that are themselves part of the dinner rituals. Examples of foods that are always part of every seder: parsley, salt water, hard boiled eggs, bitter herbs (horseradish), and charoset.
Charoset is a food that is intended to symbolize the mortar that Israelite slaves used to build bricks in Egypt. The food itself, however, tastes nothing like mortar. It is a sweet fruit dish intended to be spread on matzah or (if you’re me!) eating completely plain by the spoonful. Different regions of the world have different traditional ways to make the dish. For example, Sephardic Jews typically make the dish more like a spreadable paste with a date base. Ashkenazi Jews, on the other hand, more traditionlly make a charoset with an apple base that is served chunky. There are too many wonderful and delicious kinds of charoset to try to make them all, so I settled on making a Sephardic style on this year.
I followed this charoset recipe pretty much step by step.
After preparing the three essential food groups (nuts, dried fruit, and binder), I gradually mixed the ingredients in the food processor.
The binder in this recipe was applesauce and orange juice, and I thought it gave the dish a great flavor! After a few minutes in the food processor, the charoset thickened into an even paste. I put the whole delicious mess into a tupperware to keep for the week and shmear on everything eat respectfully at meal times.
