Here’s the thing. Pesach is all about the proteins. Fine, potatoes also but this post os just about the proteins. We’re talking everything from beef, lamb, veal, chicken, turkey duck and eggs! It’s all good and all delicious. For some reason though, because we are limited in the products we can use on Pesach we have this idea in our head that all the food is “simple”. In reality that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
How many of us actually use products to cook our proteins with anyway? Maybe the occasional quick recipe will use an already bottled sauce or an ethic recipe will call for an ingredient that although could totally be kosher for Pesach just doesn’t have certification. Really though, with a little bit of research into those flavors you can reproduce so much of them using the limited ingredients we have access to on Pesach.
But wait.
There is another option.
We. can take our proteins and go in another direction completely. An all together easier, but equally delicious directions. We can leave the proteins very lightly seasoned with basic staples like salt, pepper and garlic. Then we can create a variety of our own condiments to serve along side our proteins. Beside for how awesome it is to have a fridge stocked with the right sauces, salads, dips and jams it is also super convenient if you have to feed lots of people with different food preferences. Like I said in my last blog post, keeping a well stocked fridge on Pesach is half the battle when you need to feed people every single meal for more than a week!
I like to serve huge platters of proteins every night. Then I switch up the accouterments each night so things don’t get boring. I try to have the proteins stick to a theme. Every night I serve one tip of chicken, think chicken legs, cutlets, pargiyot or wings. Then I add in a meat. Somenights its veal ribs and veal chops. Other nights ill go the lamb route and serve baby lamb chops and keftas. If I could find kosher for Pesach sausages I by a variety of those and serve them on a huge platter with the jams. It keeps the dinners interesting but still super easy and quick to create!
Here’s all the added advantages to this style of Pesach cooking:
and last but not least…
My last suggestions, which is really more of a strongly advised statement is make all your accoutrement parve. After you turn over your kitchen, make sure to do these first. Double and triple the recipes you love so that they last the whole yuntiv because you are going to want to eat them with every single meal!
Happy Cleaning Everyone!
*NOTE: These recipes call for already sautéed onions. I start off all my Pesach cooking with 40 onions that I cook on low heat for 5-6 hours until they are golden and practically melted. I wrote up about how I do it in my last blog post!