Easy Fun Tasty

OWN CORRESPONDENT

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• Half a teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup ground almonds
• 1 cup coconut

Beat egg yolks, sugar, and extract together. Add the almonds and coconut. Chill for half an hour. Roll into balls. Place on a lightly oiled baking tray, and top with a slice of flaked almond. Makes about 35.

Matzah Meal Muffins

• 2 eggs
• Half a teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1.5 cups matzah meal
• 4 tablespoons schmaltz

Beat eggs. Add salt and water. Stir in matzah meal to make a smooth batter. Heat the fat, grease muffin pans, and stir in remaining hot fat into batter. Fill muffin pan two thirds full, and bake at 180°C for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with clear soup, roast chicken, or meat. Yields eight large or 16 small muffins.

Variation 1: For sweet muffins, use butter instead of fat, and milk instead of water. Add sugar and cinnamon, grated rind of lemon. Bake in same manner.

Variation 2: For a more delicate muffin, omit water and use matzah cake flour. Add half a cup of apple sauce or drained and chopped canned peaches. A dash of nutmeg or cinnamon gives added flavour. Serve with canned sliced peaches or with apple sauce.

Variation 3: Use 1 cup of soaked and pitted prunes, sliced or cut finely.

Variation 4: Finely cut dates, raisins, chopped nuts, or a mixture of all three make delicious fruit muffins. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with frosting.

Apple Kugel Muffins

Filling

• 5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Topping

• Half a cup ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• A quarter of a cup sugar

Batter

• 5 eggs
• Pinch of salt
• Half a cup matzah meal
• Three quarters of a cup oil
• 1 cup potato starch
• Three quarters of a cup sugar

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease or line muffin pans; set aside.

Prepare the filling: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Prepare the batter: Combine all ingredients in a second medium bowl. Whisk until smooth. Set aside.

Prepare the topping: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir to combine. Set aside.

Fill muffin cups with apple filling until they are two-thirds full, then pour batter over apples until cups are full. Sprinkle with almond topping.

Bake muffins for 30 minutes, until the tops are set and lightly browned.

Nut Tart

• 165g butter, softened
• 250ml (1 cup) sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 420ml (1²/₃ cups) fine matzah meal
• 80ml (one third of a cup) cake meal
• Approximately 60ml (5 tablespoons) water

Topping

• 190ml (190g) butter
• 300g flaked almonds
• 60ml (quarter of a cup) cream
• 190ml (three quarters of a cup) sugar

Combine all ingredients in mixer. Press into 26cm springform tin. Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes. Topping: Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to the boil. Pour over base. Bake at 190° for 20-25 minutes. This tart freezes well.

Chocolate Swiss Roll

• 4 eggs, separated
• Half a cup castor sugar
• Quarter of a cup cocoa
• Quarter of a cup sifted matzah meal
• Jam and beaten cream (Orley Whip)

Line swiss roll tin with greased paper. Beat egg yolks with sugar until white. Add cocoa and sifted matzah meal and mix well. Fold in beaten egg whites. Spread mixture in pan – right into corners. Bake at 180°C for 10 to 15 minutes.

While cake is baking, dampen a tea towel and sprinkle well with sugar. As soon as cake is ready, invert onto towel. Carefully remove paper and roll up. When cool, unroll, spread thinly with jam and thickly with cream. Roll up again and place on serving platter.

Scrumptious Peanut Butter Biscuits

• Three quarters of a cup sugar
• Three quarters of a cup syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla essence
• 250g peanut butter
• 5 cups farfel or Passover cereal
• 2 slabs dark chocolate
• Coconut

Boil sugar and syrup together. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla essence. Mix in the farfel or cereal. Press onto baking tin. Pour over melted chocolate and sprinkle with coconut. (Peanut butter can be substituted with chocolate spread.)

Pesach Lasagne

• Matzah sheets (as many as needed)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 500g mince
• 1 large onion
• 3-4 tomatoes
• Quarter of a cup oil
• 2 Bay leaves
• Half a cup water

Tomato sauce: chop and brown the onion and garlic in oil. Add the mince and brown. Use a fork to separate the mince meat. Skin and chop the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients to the mince meat. Simmer for about 25 minutes.

White sauce: fry one finely chopped onion in four tablespoons of oil. Add three tablespoons of cake meal. Add two cups vegetable stock slowly. Cook over low heat until sauce is thickened. Add two lightly beaten egg yolks very slowly to the sauce. Add salt.

To assemble: soften the matzah sheets by quickly passing them under running cold water. Grease a casserole dish. Make layers, starting with matzah, then the sauce, end with the sauce. Bake for about 20 minutes in a 180°C oven.

Chicken in Liquifruit

• 1 packet of chicken breasts
• 1 packet Telma chicken soup
• 1 large apricot Liquifruit

Sprinkle half the chicken soup in a roasting dish. Put in chicken breasts. Sprinkle over the rest of the chicken soup powder. Pour Liquifruit over chicken. Bake in oven for two hours at 180°C.