Text by Jade Singer, recipes by Sharon Newfield
Pesach in the Newfield household is no ordinary one! The buzz of people is constant (because it’s a meal you can get nowhere else), and the food…well the food can only be described as mind-altering; it’s hard to believe that any of it is pesadik. Whether it’s all Sharon’s homemade jams and chutneys , pesadik rolls, her meat dishes that are just beyond Juicy and delicious, or her scrumptious dessert filled with love from her Bobba’s recipes, one has to admit that this woman has knocked the ball out of the park with her pesadik food that just tastes, well…so not pesadik!
Avocado Salad
Salad
2 tomatoes, cut into small cubes
1 cucumber, cut into small cubes
½ red onions, finely chopped
5 avocados, peeled and cut into half and half again lengthways
Salad Dressing:
5 Tbl oil
1 ½ Tbl vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp salt and a pinch of pepper
Mix together the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and salad dressing then pour over avocados. Serve.
Pickled Cucumbers
24 baby cucumbers
3 cups water
1 cup vinegar
1 Tbl salt
6 Tbl sugar
10 peppercorns
6 bay leaves
Wash cucumbers. Place in jar. Boil together water, vinegar, salt, sugar, peppercorns, and bay leaves. While hot, add cucumbers. Bring back to a boil. Remove from heat. Bottle while hot.
Optional things to add:
Sliced onions
Peeled garlic cloves
Gefilte Fish
Makes +/- 36 balls
Fill a very large pot (10-12 litre) half full with water. Add 2 onions sliced, 3 carrots cleaned, 2 Tbl sugar, 2 Tbl salt, and 2 tsp pepper. (If you do not have a very large pot, use 2 big pots (6-8 litre).) Check seasoning. Boil.
Prepare fish mixture:
2kg minced fish (with carrots, if no carrots add +/- 1/2 cup carrots finely grated)
2 onions, finely chopped
6 to 8 Tbl oil
4 eggs
2 Tbl sugar
1 Tbl salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 Tbl matzo meal
Fry onions in oil until golden. Allow to cool. Mix together all the ingredients including the onions and the oil they were fried in. Adjust seasoning. Form into balls about 6cm in diameter. Put balls into boiling water all at once, bring water back to a boil and turn down to a medium heat and cook for 1 hour. (If you want the fish yellow in colour add some yellow food colouring to the boiled water.) Place the fish balls into a dish together with strained stock. Cut carrots into slices and place one slice on each ball.
Mexican Gefilte Fish
2 Tbl sunflower oil
1 large chopped onion
2 carrots, peeled and cut in slices
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp paprika
½ to 1 small chili pepper, seeds removed and minced or finely chopped (optional – be sure to check for taste and don’t make it too strong)
1 bottle tomato sauce
3 Tbl sugar
¼ cup water
1 tsp salt
Preheat oven to180C.
In a frying pan, heat oil. Add the onions and fry until shiny. Add the carrots, garlic, and chili pepper. Fry for 3 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside. Place 18 Gefilte fish balls only – no water – in a Pyrex dish. Pour over sauce and bake covered for 1 hour. Allow to cool. Keep in the fridge. Best served the next day.
Beef Ribs
6 racks beef ribs
Boil ribs in water with salt and pepper until soft (+/- 1-1½ hours).
Marinade with the following sauce:
1 bottle grape jam
1 cup tomato sauce
1½ cups chutney
1/3 cup oil
¾ cup white vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbl fresh ginger grated
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
Mix all ingredients together, dip ribs into sauce, and marinade for 2 days. Bake 180°C for 45-60 minutes. Baste during cooking.
Roast Potato & Macon Goodness
1 bag of baby potatoes
4 large onions
6 tablespoons oil
2 packets of Macon
Wash the potatoes and cut them in half. Cut the onions in half and slice, then fry the onions with oil until translucent and soft. Chop Macon up and add to the onions. Add the onion and Macon mixture to the baby potatoes, bake covered at 200°C for 1 hour, and then bake for 45 minutes uncovered until golden and crispy.
Date Macaroons
30g dates thinly sliced
250g slithered almonds
2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
Beat the egg whites till stiff then slowly add sugar till you get a thick meringue. Fold in dates and nuts. Drop small portions on a tray lined with a cooking bag and bake at 160C for 30 minutes.
Icy Pineapple
3 Pineapples
10 Granadillas
½ cup orange juice
½ to 1 cup castor sugar
Grate pineapple, scoop granadilla pips and juice out of the skin, mix together with orange juice and sugar. Stir till sugar is dissolved. Pour into mould and freeze. Take ice out of the freezer 30-45minutes before serving so that it can soften slightly. Unmould and serve. Decorate with fresh pineapple pieces and some mint.
Chocochino Ice Cream
500ml Orley Whip
6 eggs separated
1 cup sugar
200g cooking chocolate
1½ Tbls coffee diluted with 2 Tbls hot water
Melt chocolate. Beat egg yolks with sugar till light and fluffy. Whip Orley Whip till stiff and fold into egg yolks. Add melted chocolate and coffee and mix well together. Beat egg whites stiffly and fold in. Pour into a glass bowl. Freeze.
Beat together 3 egg yolks, ½ cup sugar, and 1 box Orley Whip. Pour onto ice cream and freeze till needed. Just before serving sift a little chocolate powder on top.
Neapolitan Sauce
This is a large quantity. I freeze it in containers and whenever I need Neapolitan sauce, I have it. It is delicious when used to cook with.
4 chopped onions
3 cloves garlic
8 large grated carrots
3 stalks celery
30 tomatoes skinned and chopped
1/3 cup oil
Heat oil and fry garlic and onions until soft. Add chopped carrots and celery and fry for 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, season with salt, and freshly ground black pepper and cook for 1 to 2 hours. Check seasoning and liquidise.
Options
(I would only add these to small quantities of sauce, not the whole pot)
Add some fresh chopped chillies
Add some fresh chopped basil
Add some dried mixed herbs or Italian herbs
Mini Matzah Pizzas
Line your baking tray with Matzah crackers.
Put a Tablespoons of Neapolitan sauce on each cracker and spread.
Sprinkle over some grated cheese, season, and bake until the cheese is melted.
You can add whatever pizza toppings you like, for example, mushrooms, peppers, olives, etc.
