Issue Date: April 13, 2003
A holiday Feast -- One meal, two traditions
This elegant menu works for Passover, Easter or any time this season.
Although they represent two very different events and two different traditions, Passover and Easter are historically inseparable. Because of their close connection, I decided to devise a menu that can be served for either feast -- or any special dinner this spring.
We start with a smoked salmon-watercress salad. For those who prefer not to use vinegar and mustard in the salad, try kosher vinegar and Dijon mustard made expressly for Passover, suggests my friend Marlene Sorosky, the author of "Fast and Festive Meals for the Jewish Holidays". Or increase the lemon juice to 1/4 cup and omit the mustard for an equally fine dressing. Capers come bottled in a vinegar-based brine or packed in salt. If vinegar is a concern, buy the salted capers, then rinse thoroughly and pat dry.
Because Cornish game hens are festive and readily available, I've made them the centerpiece. To help the birds color an appetizing brown, I brush them with a mix of apricot jam and balsamic vinegar. Kosher vinegar can be substituted here as well.
Dessert is individual molten chocolate cakes -- they're simple and elegant, and they bake in under 10 minutes. Ground matzo meal stands in beautifully for the small amount of flour needed to make the cakes. If substituting margarine for the butter, use the unsalted variety. Otherwise, the cakes will be too salty.
Most important, these recipes are so simple that whether you're doing a Seder or cooking up an Easter feast, you have time to spend with the people who've gathered to celebrate.
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Smoked Salmon & Watercress Salad With Red Onion-Caper Vinaigrette
3 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tb. rice wine vinegar
1 Tb. Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup drained capers
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 cups watercress (preferably the kind that's already trimmed, rinsed, bagged)
6 ounces (about 8 thin slices) smoked salmon, torn or cut into bite-size pieces
(Note: If you can't find bagged watercress, feel free to substitute any prewashed salad greens -- mesclun, baby spinach, arugula.)
Mix lemon juice, vinegar, mustard and a big pinch of salt and pepper to taste in a 1-quart Pyrex measuring cup. Add capers and onion; toss to coat. Slowly add oil, pushing onion aside and beating with a small whisk or fork to form a thick dressing. Mix watercress and half the salmon in a large bowl. When ready to serve, pour dressing over watercress and salmon; toss to coat. Arrange on salad plates, garnishing each with remaining smoked salmon.
Serves: 8.
Per serving: 158 calories, 5g protein, 2g carbohydrates, 15g fat (2g saturated), 1g fiber, 699mg sodium.
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Glazed Cornish Game Hens With Apricot Pistachio "Dressing"
4 Cornish game hens (about 1 1/2 pounds each), cut down the backbone with heavy-duty scissors and spread open 2 cups kosher salt
Apricot Pistachio Dressing:
3 Tbs. olive oil
2 medium-large onions, cut into medium dice
1 cup dried apricots, cut into medium dice
1/2 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Brining the hens before roasting improves their flavor: Dissolve 2 cups of kosher salt in a clean bucket filled with 5 quarts of water. Add prepared hens and soak for 2 hours. Rinse thoroughly; pat dry.
Adjust oven rack to upper middle (for the hens) and lowest position (for potatoes; see recipe that follows), and heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat oil in a large skillet. Sauté onions until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in apricots, then spread mixture onto a large (about 18-by-12-inch) lipped cookie sheet. Lay hens over the mixture. Mix jam and vinegar, and brush all but a few tablespoons over hens.
Bake hens, brushing 2 or 3 times with remaining jam mixture and accumulated pan juices, until hens are golden brown and juices run clear, about 45 minutes. Turn heat from bake to broil, then cook until hens are spotty brown, watching carefully so they don't burn, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer hens to a large platter with tongs, then cut in half at the breastbone to create individual servings. Return apricot dressing to the oven and broil to evaporate some of the excess liquid, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in pistachios and parsley. Spoon in a mound next to hens.
Serves: 8.
Per serving: 599 calories, 39g protein, 30g carbohydrates, 36g fat (9g saturated), 3g fiber. (Sodium can't be determined accurately.)
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Roasted New Red Potatoes
3 pounds small red new potatoes, halved
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt and freshly ground black pepper
Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Toss potatoes with oil, salt and pepper. Arrange, cut side down, on a large lipped cookie sheet or jellyroll pan. About 15 minutes into roasting the hens, set potatoes on lowest rack, and roast until tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes (check after 20 minutes). Potatoes should be done as the Cornish hens are ready to broil. Transfer to a serving dish and keep warm while finishing off the hens under the broiler.
Serves: 8.
Per serving: 107 calories, 3g protein, 10g carbohydrates, 7g fat (1g saturated), 5g fiber, 300mg sodium.
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Orange-Glazed Asparagus
3 bunches (about 3 pounds) medium-thick asparagus, tough ends snapped off
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup orange juice
Zest of a large orange, optional
Toss asparagus with salt. Arrange in a large (12-inch) skillet with a lid. Add oil and juice to skillet and cover. (The asparagus can be set up a few hours ahead.)
About 10 minutes before serving time, turn burner on high. When asparagus starts to steam, set timer for 4 minutes. Cook until tender, checking at 4 minutes with the tip of a sharp knife. Transfer cooked asparagus to a serving dish. Add optional zest to skillet and continue to cook until pan juices reduce to a glaze consistency, 2-3 minutes longer. Pour over asparagus and serve.
Serves: 8.
Per serving: 67 calories, 4g protein, 7g carbohydrates, 3g fat (0g saturated), 1g fiber, 147mg sodium.
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Molten Chocolate Cakes With Sugar-Coated Raspberries
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter or unsalted margarine*
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, or bars, cut into bite-size chunks
5 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
4 tsps. flour (or matzo meal, ground in a blender to a fine powder)
8 extra-large paper muffin cups (or use regular paper muffin cups, which will make 12 cakes)
Garnish: 1 6-ounce container raspberries, barely moistened and rolled in about 1/2 cup sugar right before serving
*Make sure you use unsalted margarine; otherwise, the cakes will be too salty. (You can use salted butter, if you like, but remember to omit the pinch of salt.) Because they bake for only 8 to 10 minutes, pop these little cakes into the oven as you're clearing the main course dishes and making coffee.
Melt butter and chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; remove from heat. Beat eggs, sugar and salt with a hand mixer in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Beat egg mixture into chocolate until smooth. Beat in flour or matzo meal until just combined. (Batter can be made a day ahead; return to room temperature an hour or so before baking.) Before serving dinner, adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a standard-size muffin tin
(1/2 cup capacity) with 8 extra-large muffin papers (papers should extend above cups to facilitate removal). Spray muffin papers with vegetable cooking spray. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until batter puffs but center is not set, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully lift cakes from tin and set on a work surface. Pull papers away from cakes and transfer cakes to dessert plates.
Top each with sugared raspberries and serve immediately.
Serves: 8.
Per serving: 501 calories, 5g protein, 46g carbohydrates, 35g fat (20g saturated), 3g fiber, 63mg sodium.
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