From his kitchen at the Five Star Carlton Tel Aviv hotel on the beautiful Mediterranean coast, Head Chef Eran Nachshon has led the preparations for the coming festival of Passover. And while the hotel staff put the finishing touches to the arrangements, Chef Nachshon is sharing two of his special Passover recipes.
“Pesach is a unique time to cook,” says Chef Nachshon. “With the added Kosher requirements for the festival, this is a great time to explore new ways to cook vegetables, fish, and – for those who eat Kitniyot – legumes, which are found in every pantry and can be made into kosher-for-Passover gourmet appetizers.
Here are two of Chef Nachshon’s special Pesach recipes:
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Date Syrup, Black Sesame, Walnuts, and Scallions
Ingredients:
3 medium sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons date syrup
Kosher salt
2 scallions
A pinch of black sesame seeds
A handful of roasted walnuts
Instructions:
- Heat the oven to 180°C.
- Peel and thinly slice 3 medium sweet potatoes.
- Place the potatoes in a pan, mix 3 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons of honey syrup, and brush over the sweet potatoes.
- Add a pinch of kosher salt and roast in the oven until soft.
- Cut the scallions lengthwise and place them in ice water for 10 minutes.
- Lightly roast the walnuts and the black sesame seeds in a Teflon frying pan, without oil.
- Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and arrange them on a platter.
- Sprinkle with black sesame and walnuts.
- Add a handful of scallions to the center and serve.
Crispy Spinach-Filled Red Drum Fish
Ingredients:
The fish and the filling
6 red drum fillets, 150-200 grams each
500 gr. washed fresh spinach leaves
1 medium purple onion, chopped
3 crushed garlic cloves
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and black pepper
For the crust:
200 grams of ground almonds
1 tablespoon chopped coriander
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 tablespoon chopped basil
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 170°C.
- Blanch the spinach in a pot of boiling water for 10 seconds, remove, strain, and transfer to a bowl of ice water.
- Strain the spinach from the ice water, strain well, remove all the water, and chop.
- Add the olive oil to a Teflon frying pan and fry the onions until golden. Add the garlic and then the chopped spinach.
- Season with salt and black pepper, remove from the frying pan set aside to cool.
With a sharp knife, slice a “pocket” in the center of each fish and fill it with the cooled spinach filling. - Mix all the crust ingredients except for the mayonnaise in a shallow bowl (add salt and pepper, taking into account the quantity of salt and pepper in the filling).
- Put the mayonnaise on a plate and dip the fillets in the mayonnaise, covering on all sides. Dip the fillets in the crust mixture and press on firmly, covering all sides.
- Place the fillets on a lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for approximately 13 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fillets).
