Traditional
foods
yes,
even the
chicken fat
make a
comeback at
the seder
table.

RUTH MOSSOK JOHNSTON

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

PHOTOS BY

DANIEL LIPPITT

ost seder foods are
traditional for each
family, and tradi-
tional in either
Ashkenazi or
Sephardic roots.
Askenazi foods
from Eastern Eu-
rope have translat-
ed to what most
eat for the holidays
— gefilte fish with
chrain (horserad-
, ish), chicken soup
with kneidlach, chopped chicken
liver, brisket or chicken (some-
times both), tsimmes, roasted
potatoes or potato pudding, cooked
vegetables, kugel and sweets.
The liturgy is vital to the seder,
the only departure in tradition
should come with the food —
some traditions just need a little
spicing up!
Thank God that fickle food
pendulum has swung back to
what is good and delicious: real
cheese and even real butter are
back (for Pesach,. this includes
chicken fat). Author Irena
Chalmers said it best: "Pritikin
is dead, and Julia Child is still
going strong."
We can all live with modera-
tion, but let's have intensely de-
licious tastes, even if just for the
holidays. We understand and re-
spect those loyal to the health-
food trend, but just add a bissel
schmaltz to the matzah balls and
chopped liver.
Big flavors are big news. Tons
of cookbooks are devoted to herbs
and spices — some reducing salt
and fat with the use of flavoring,
others filled with trendy spices
and herbs. Transform your tra-
ditional seder dinner with some
new flavors.
Bonsai (miniature) vegetables
also are big (not in size, just in
popularity). Miniature eggplant,

tiny red potatoes, green zucchi-
ni and yellow patty-pan squash
are readily available — they look
like a fabulous garnish, but dou-
ble for your vegetable. The egg-
plant should be oven roasted
until tender, the potatoes can be
boiled and then quickly sauteed,
the squash is delicious just
steamed for a few minutes.

SCHMALTZ

3-4 chickens (to make a cup full
of fat)
34 oz. chicken skin (from the
neck, sliced into strips)
1 large Spanish onion, peeled
and thinly sliced

Ruth Mossok Johnston is the

author of The Buffalo
Cookbook. A freelance food
writer who has columns locally
and in the Chicago Tribune and
the Christian Science Monitor,
she is a faculty member at
Macomb Community College-
Culinary Program.

Remove the chicken fat from
the neck and area closest to the
rear cavity of the chickens. Cut
the skin away from the neck and
slice-into thin strips:
In a medium-sized heavy skil-
let, place the chicken fat, skin
strips and thinly sliced onion.
Cook the mixture over medium
high heat until the fat is in liquid
form and the skin and onion
slices are nicely browned (about
30-40 minutes).
Remove the skillet from the
heat source. Place an oven-proof
Container on the kitchen counter,
with a cheesecloth-lined sieve.
Pour rendered chicken fat
through the sieve and into the
oven-proof container.

the flavorful or spicy vegetables.

LEMON-MINT MATZAH
BALLS
Yield: 10 matzah balls

(Lemon and mint "many well"
with chicken soup — add some
wonderful flavors to your tradi-
tional matzah balls for a new
taste sensation. The kneidlach
are perfect for Passover or deli-
cious any time of the year. These
matzah balls are unusually light
in taste and texture. If you pre-
fer a dense matzah ball, reduce
the amount of egg by half.)

4 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup plain seltzer
3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon
juice

tablespoons of matzah ball mix-
ture in the palms of your hands.
Roll into a ball and drop in the
boiling water. Repeat the process
until all of the matzah mixture is
in ball form and placed in the wa-
ter.
Lid the pot, reduce heat to
medium-low, and cook matzah

balls lidded for 30 minutes —no
peeking! The lidding of the pot,
throughout the cooking process,
prevents the matzah balls from
falling apart.
Gently remove the minty knei-
dlach from the pot and place one
or two, per soup bowl (depending
on the size of the bowl) then add
chicken soup. Garnish each bowl
with a fresh mint leaf or two.

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Let the rendered fat cool, lid
the container and place in the re-
frigerator for several days, or
freeze until needed.
The remaining fried chicken
skin (the cracklings) are what
used to be called gribenes, the
original snack food.
Chicken fat also can be pur-
chased in packages in the frozen-
food section of the grocery store.
Everyone has his recipe for
chicken soup; use yours, but add
some parsnips, garlic cloves, seed-
ed and deveined hot peppers
(jalapenos are great), and fresh
peeled sliced ginger root. Add as
much or as little as your palate
desires.
If making plain matzah balls,
you can go heavy on the non-
chicken flavors. If making fla-
vored matzah balls, make your
chicken stock a rich broth of
chicken flavor and lighten up on

6 Tbsp. chicken fat (melted)
3-4 Tbsp. fresh mint leaves,
minced — additional leaves for
garnish
Salt
White pepper
1 cup matzah meal

In a large glass bowl, lightly
beat eggs until they are just com-
bined. Stir in seltzer, fresh lemon
juice, melted chicken fat, minced
fresh mint, salt and pepper.
Gradually add matzah meal, stir-
ring until well mixed.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap
and refrigerate for two hours or
more.
Place a large French oven or
stock pot almost filled with wa-
ter over medium high heat.
When the water comes to a boil,
you are ready to start dropping
in the matzah balls.
With wet hands, place about 2

GINGER-DILL GEFILTE
FISH
Yield: approximately 20 pieces of
fish
(A new flavor twist to an old
favorite, the mild combination of
ginger and dill gives this gefilte
fish a springtime taste. Perfect

for any luncheon or first course,
not just a must for the seder din-
ner. Serve with or without horse-
radish, or create a sauce of your
own to accompany the fish.)

FOR THE STOCK:

2 Spanish onions, peeled and
sliced
9 carrots (the small, tender ones
with the green tops attached),
cleaned, tops removed, and cut
on the diagonal
4 stalks of celery, washed, leaves
removed and cut on the
diagonal
fish heads, and bones (those that
come with your ground fish, or
any extras your fishmonger