Keeping Kosher
Cook has 'kitchen help' when making Passover meals
By Stephanie Fosnight
When Sharon Glickman of Skokie was growing up, she went to public school and didn't get vacation during Pesach, or Passover.
So in order to keep her food from coming into contact with anything leavened, like flour and yeast, she would spread her lunch out on her bag or a paper towel.
"You have to be separate," Glickman said.
Now that Glickman has her own kosher kitchen, keeping Passover is simpler, but she still has to be creative in the kitchen when planning Passover meals without any leavening.
"Passover is about commemorating the Jewish people's freedom from slavery in Egypt," Glickman said. "The reason we make such a big deal of changing the dishes and cleaning the house to get rid of flour is because since (the Israelites) left in such a hurry, they weren't allowed to let their bread rise."
The eight days of Passover start April 24 this year. The first two nights, Glickman and her family will observe the Seder ceremony and have a large meal, and the remaining six days they will eat family favorites like turkey pot pie made using potato starch and matzo.
"This is a great way to use up your leftover turkey and produce," she said.
Glickman's turkey pot pie recipe comes from one of her favorite cookbooks, "Family Fixins," compiled by her aunt and given to Glickman as a wedding present more than 20 years ago. Glickman likes that the recipes call for fresh fruits and vegetables.
"In the last 100 years, the products (for Passover) have improved. In the '50s, they made everything from scratch," she said. "I like to toy with the recipes instead of buying everything ready made."
Glickman's four children, ranging from a 12-year-old to a college freshman, also like to experiment with creating Passover food like muffins, matzo lasagna, and even matzo pizza.
"If you can't use flour and you can't use yeast, how do you make a cake?" asks Glickman. "A lot of egg whites. We eat a lot of eggs."
The Glickman children have all gone to Hebrew schools and are home during the holidays, so they don't have to worry about lunchtime, as their mother did. Sharon Glickman enjoys the kosher kitchen created by her husband Rick Glickman, president of Dream Kitchens in Skokie, especially when she hosts her extended family for seder meals.
"If you have a big family, you get together, you follow the booklet, you eat the symbolic foods," she said. "We spend a lot of time preparing for the holiday. After preparing for Passover and doing the religious part, then it's a festival."
Glickman, who is a nurse studying to be a nurse practitioner, admits that sometimes meal planning during Passover can be daunting, but says it's worth it to instill a sense of tradition and family celebration in her children.
"It's satisfying," she said. "And I feel they're eating healthier food."
Turkey Pot Pie
- 1 large chopped onion
- 1 large chopped green pepper
- 1 stalk celery, sliced
- 8 oz. sliced mushrooms
- 2 T potato starch
- 1/4 C cake meal
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 C clear chicken broth
- 2 1/2 C cooked turkey
- 4 plain pieces matzo
- 2 eggs
For the Filling: Fry together the onion, green pepper and celery. Add mushrooms and potato starch mixed with cake meal. Salt and pepper, to taste. (Remember, broth may be salty.)
Add clear chicken broth (enough to be thick and still juicy) and cooked turkey; simmer until bubbly.
For the crust: Wet, do not soak matzo. Place on paper towel to press out excess moisture.
In large rectangular dish, beat 2 eggs, season with salt and pepper, then coat each matzo one piece at a time. Place matzo on bottom and sides of greased 2-quart casserole, pour in filling and top with a layer of egg-dipped matzo.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until light brown and bubbly.
Pesach (Passover) Muffins
- 4 eggs, separated
- 2 T sugar
- 2 T water
- 3/4 C potato starch
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Beat 4 egg yolks. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons water, continue beating until creamy. Add 3/4 cup potato starch.
Separately beat 4 egg whites and 1/4 teaspoon salt until stiff but not dry. Fold this mixture into yolk mixture.
Bake in greased muffin pans at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until light brown.
Stephanie Fosnight can be reached at sfosnight@pioneerlocal.com
