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A Healthy &
Delicious Passover
2 large ripe yellow peaches,
unpeeled, pitted and cut into
1½-inch cubes, about 4 cups
1 English cucumber, unpeeled,
and cut into chunks
¹⁄³ cup fresh mint leaves
¹⁄³ cup chopped red onions
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
Juice of ½ lime
1 Tbsp. honey
½ tsp. black pepper
3 scallions, ends trimmed,
sliced, for garnish (optional)
1 ripe avocado, cubed, for gar-
nish (optional)
Separate 1 heaping cup of
cubed watermelon from the
8 cups total and chop it into
¼-inch cubes. Set them aside in
a small bowl and chill until ready
to serve.
In batches, place the peaches,
cucumbers, remaining 7 cups
watermelon, mint leaves, red
onions and ginger into a blender
or food processor and purée
until smooth. Transfer the mix-
ture to a large bowl or container.
Add the lime juice, honey and
pepper and stir. Chill the gaz-
pacho for 4 hours or overnight.
Garnish with the reserved cup
of watermelon cubes, scallions
and avocados. You could also
add sliced peaches, small-cubed
cucumbers and diced red onion
in whatever combination you
prefer.
LYNNE KONSTANTIN ARTS & LIFE EDITOR
Cookbook author
Paula Shoyer shows us the way.
44
March 22 • 2018
jn
I
f there were a crown offered
for Passover Cooking
Queen, Paula Shoyer would
surely reign. Passover is the big-
gest Jewish holiday for enter-
taining, but it is also limited by
stringent food restrictions. Like
Moses in Egypt, Shoyer has let
the Passover-food oppressed
free.
The author of three bestsell-
ing cookbooks on eating kosher
and healthy devoted her last
book — The New Passover Menu
— solely to Passover, and to
date, has published more than
100 kosher-for-Passover dessert
recipes. Not only inventive and
delicious, her Passover reci-
pes cut all the fat, salt, sugar
and processed heavy foods
usually associated with this
holiday.
Shoyer, a former attor-
ney, graduate of the Ritz
Escoffier pastry program
in Paris and teacher of French
and Jewish baking in the
Washington, D.C., area, has
filled her newest book, The
Healthy Jewish Kitchen: Fresh,
Contemporary Recipes for Every
Occasion (Sterling Epicure),
with more than 80 recipes,
including both Sephardic and
Ashkenazic Jewish classics as
well as trends from America
and around the world. It’s
Jewish soul food made healthy
— and, of course, it includes a
satisfying section on Passover.
Mango Coleslaw, Brisket
Bourguignon, Indian
Barbecued Chicken, Eggplant
with Capers and Mint and
Chocolate Quinoa Cake are just
a few of the mouthwatering
options for Passover.
Read on for a few of Shoyer’s
Passover favorites, excerpted
from The Healthy Jewish
Kitchen.
WATERMELON, PEACH AND
MINT GAZPACHO
Parve, Gluten-free, Passover
• Serves 10
This refreshing summer soup is
best served with a watermelon,
scallion and avocado garnish,
so don’t skimp on that. For
adult guests, I sometimes add
a few teaspoons of ice-cold
vodka or tequila to the soup.
PREP TIME: 8 minutes; 4 hours to
chill • ADVANCE PREP: May be
made 2 days in advance
8 cups watermelon, cubed and
divided
SALMON AND AVOCADO
TARTARE
Parve, Gluten-free, Fish, Passover
• Serves 8 (¹⁄³ cup servings)
Tartare is the French version
of poke, ceviche and sashimi.
I was working on a gefilte
fish recipe when I got a call
from my friend Chana Kaplan,
who runs Friendship Circle at
Chabad in Potomac, Md. I told
her that I was agonizing over
a gefilte fish recipe idea that
just wasn’t panning out. When
Chana said that there were
enough gefilte fish recipes out
there in the world, I mentioned
an idea for salmon tartare as a
lighter alternative. Chana con-
vinced me to abandon my plan
to include a gefilte fish recipe
in this book. This tartare is
infinitely easier to prepare and
can be doubled and tripled for
a crowd.