New York Metro Restaurants - Passover Recipes
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Freeing the Seder
The familiar smells of matzo-ball soup, braised brisket, and sizzling tsimmes welcome family and friends to a Seder meal as old as tradition but sparked with a few surprises: salmon in the gefilte fish? Don't plotz.
 

BY GILLIAN DUFFY
PHOTOS BY ANNA WILLIAMS
Surely there are nearly as many "traditional" New York Seders as there are New York Jews. Here, four of the city's best chefs honor the past while conjuring a divine Passover meal, combining the Eastern European Ashkenazi and Spanish-influenced Sephardic styles. Peter Hoffman's chicken simmered with dates, honey, and lemon, for example, is a perfect companion to Mark Strausman's heady, slow-cooked, fork-tender brisket. And while we have nothing against macaroons, our trio of desserts — Anne Rosenzweig's almond Pavlova with lemon curd and strawberries, Hoffman's orange flan, and Jo-Ann Makovitzky's chocolate cake (flourless, to be sure) — gives you three new ways to make this night different from all other nights.
 
 
THE RECIPES: A MENU FOR 8
 
•  Salmon Gefilte Fish With Carrot    •  Asparagus-and-Caramelized-Spring-Onion Farfel
         
 •   The Best Chicken Soup With Matzo Balls    •   Almond Pavlova With Lemon Curd and Strawberries
         
 •  Chicken With Dates    •  Orange Flan
         
   •  Italian-Jewish-Style Brisket  •  Passover Flourless Chocolate Cake
         
  •  Tsimmes      
 
     
 


The Wines
Sherry-Lehmann wine master Michael Aaron paired these kosher wines with our Seder dishes:

First Courses
• Macon-Peronne "Les Plaisrs" Cave de Lugny 2000, $9
• Gamia Sauvignon Blanc 1999, $8

Main Courses
• Barons de Rothschild Bordeaux (Haut-Medoc) 1998, $25

• Barkan Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 19998, $17.50

Desserts
Baron Herzog Johannisberg Riesling Late Harvest 1999, $8.50 (half bottle)

 
 
 

 

From the March 25, 2002 issue of New York Magazine.

 
Photo by Anna Williams.