Clementine Cake or Meyer Lemon Torte - Kosher for Passover, Gluten Free

10" bake, 2018

This recipe was in the New York Times, not for Passover.  A little research gleans it is a Nigella Lawson recipe.  There are many reviews and versions around on line. [subsequent update: Nigella Lawson is friends with Claudia Roden, and she has an earlier verysion of this cake: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/3251-claudia-rodens-orange-and-almond-cake].

I modified it by omitting the baking powder and separating the eggs, and beating the egg whites. Very similar to Grandma Bunny's famous Carrot Torte which was a Seder staple in Salt Lake City.  (just boiled carrots rather then clementines.)

Preamble: you must boil the clementines for 1 hour. Then they need to cool.
Don't make this at the end of a busy day!! And it improves with a day's mellowing - good to make it in advance. I prefer it chilled.

*Almond flour is very fine. I run some whole almonds through the food processor and then added enough almond flour for 2 cups, to add some texture.

Preheat oven to 350.

5 medium clementines ( 1 lb.)
spray oil or margarine (or butter if it's dairy)
6 eggs [separated if it's a cake for Passover]
[2 t. baking powder - if it's not Passover, you can skip the egg separating and beating and use the baking powder]
1 c. sugar
1 t. salt
2 cups ground almonds or almond flour - *a mixture would be nice

Spray a 8", 9" or 10" spring form pan with oil. A smaller diameter makes for a deeper cake, which - all things being equal - I think is better. 8" works really nicely, and it's easier to plate and transport.

Place unpeeled clementines in water and boil for 1 hour. Watch them, especially if you aren't familiar with the stove. I burned the whole batch in Chestertown 2021, our first Pesach there, as the gas burner's lowest setting was still quite high. All the water boiled off. [Fixed that with the 70th Birthday Induction Stove!]

Cool clementines, slice, take out the seeds. Run through the food processor or blender in one or two batches, and it becomes a pulp.  Set aside.

[Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a large bowl and the yolks in another LARGE mixing bowl.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.]

Beat the eggs (or yolks, if you're separating) and add the sugar, salt, clementines, and almonds. If you're not separating, just put all the eggs right in the blender.

[Carefully fold in the egg whites until the batter is uniform.]

Pour into the greased spring form and bake for an hour.  Check after about 40 minutes and cover the top with a tin if it is over-browning. The sides might burn first.  The cake is very dense, so it does need the hour.

This year, 2026 (when the 412ers have headed to Maine to be with Avrum) Jo brought Israeli chocolate spread. It's pareve. I used it to frost this cake. If you do it while the cake is still warm, it is easier to spread.

I spoke up for this large duck plate on Buy Nothing Group. It's perfect for one whole Passover cake. When you take it out of the springform pan (a tricky maneuver) and slide it onto this serving tray, it will go a little concave. This makes a perfect depression to add berries. This year (2020 - year of the plague) we filled it with blackberries. It was both beautiful and delicious.

This can be baked in the Breville oven.

Serves at least 12.

This cake is really good chilled. Yummy breakfast, too.

Meyer Lemon variation:
This recipe is the same, but with Meyer Lemons. Same idea, and same way to convert it for Passover by beating the egg whites and eliminating the baking powder.

   5 meyer lemons (approx. 500g total, or 1.1 lbs)
   1 to 1.5 c. sugar (meyer lemons are less sweet than         clementines)
   2 cups almond flour finely ground
   5 large eggs
   1 tsp baking powder

Here are measurements for 2/3 of the recipe above.

2 to 3 meyer lemons (10.5 oz)

3/4 to 1 1/8 c sugar

1 1/3 c almond flour

4 eggs

3/4 t baking powder.

An easy chocolate glaze:

1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 c. cocoa powder, sifted

Gradually add water, a few drops at a time, until you can spread it. This isn't stiff enough to frost the sides but makes a nice chocolately top.

I have collected smaller pans. This is one recipe divided between a 7" and a 5" pan.
Grease/spray the pan, and bake it for ~50 minutes at 350. In the Breville.
This is becoming my favorite cake, and I've baked them to give as gifts for people.

Jane Brody's Lentil Paté

The trick to this easy, delicious dish is carmelizing the onions.  It makes a large quantity, enough for an appetizer for 8-10 people, plated.  (Good opportunity to use pretty salad plates.)  I like to serve it with a variety of crudites, like hearts of palm, radishes, whole mushrooms, and baby carrots.  Like carpas, but not Pesadik [though it is now that we eat kitniot].

1 c. lentils
3 c. water
1 large or two medium onions, diced
1 egg
oil (or butter)
chopped walnuts (about 5 - optional)
salt, pepper, and seasonings you like  (dill would be good)

In a 2 quart pot, boil the lentils in the water for about 35 minutes. Put an egg in for the last 20 minutes or so, to hard boil.

Fry the onions in a fry pan in the oil.  Do this at medium heat for about 15 minutes or more, stirring frequently so the onions carmelize but don't burn.  Easy to do this while the lentils are boiling.

Drain the lentils, peel the egg and mash it.  Then add the onions and mashed egg to the lentils, mashing with a potato masher.  No need to use a food processor, but pulsing with an immersion blender saves time. A masher gives it a little more texture.  It isn't the prettiest color, so -  hello, Parsley!!

You could leave out the egg and make this vegan.  

It is similar to the mushroom paté I make at Pesach, with dill.  In fact, dill would be great in this.

Pasta with Salmon, Spinach and Capers

What to do with leftover smoked salmon?  I threw this together and it is really easy, low fat but creamy and delicious, and super healthy.
This is for 2 people.

6 oz pasta, cooked
2 T butter
one onion, chopped
1 to 2 T flour
¼ to ½ c. skim milk (or any milk)
¼ to ½ c. white wine
½ package frozen spinach
3. oz (or so) smoked salmon (mine was smoked sockeye salmon from Costco)
1 T. grated parmesan cheese
1 T. capers

While the pasta is boiling:

In a large deep frying pan over medium to high heat, melt 2 T. butter.
Add the sliced onion, sauteing until it softens.
Add the flour and incorporate.
Gently add milk, stir, and let boil.  It will quickly thicken.
Add the wine and stir.
Add the chopped spinach and the smoked salmon, breaking it up into small pieces
Add capers and parmesan.
Add grated pepper to taste.

Jane Brody's Cranberry Apple Crisp

This has always been a favorite recipe of mine, and Abba doesn't touch the stuff.  It is a one bowl recipe, you don't need to peel the apples, it is beautiful and very nutritious.  What more could you want?  In Abba's case, "chocolate".  It is vegan, a nice benefit.*

Found this online - it has a double amount
of the oatmeal crumble topping.  You can
also add extra sugar to the basic recipe.

Try to buy a few bags of cranberries when they are in season and just throw them in the freezer.  It is fun to have them for Passover, if they are there that long.

3 cups cranberries (1 12-ounce bag)
2 large apples, unpeeled, cored and chopped thin
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup flour, divided
¾ cup rolled oats (regular or quick)
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Grease a 2 quart shallow baking dish well.

In a large bowl, combine the cranberries, apples, sugar, cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon of flour. 

Transfer the mixture into the greased  baking dish. 

In the same bowl (no need to wash it), combine the remaining flour, brown sugar, oats, and nuts. 

Stir in the melted butter or margarine and mix the ingredients well (the mixture should be crumbly). Sprinkle the oat mixture over the fruit mixture. 

Bake the crisp in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the crisp is lightly browned. 

*for a gluten free version, I omitted the flour and used ground oats.  It was much runnier but still tastes great.

Quesadillas

This is a new dish for us, inspired by Wendy Smith, who once brought both vegan and cheese quesadillas and we loved them.  Of course "vegan quesadilla" is goofy, like vegetarian meatballs, since quesadilla means cheese sandwich.
The recipe is, like many of mine, just a technique.  Getting the fixings in place is the recipe.  The process of making them is kind of awkward, you just get more coordinated at it with practice.
whole wheat tortillas  (3 or 4 for two people)
grated cheddar cheese (or white Mexican cheese)
chopped onion
other vegetables you like, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach [peppers]
sliced olives, optional
vegie refried beans  (one can is too much for us, so I freeze what is unused, like half a can) OR my new favorite alternative, a boiled sweet potato, mashed.
sour cream
salsa
guacamole
olive oil for frying

Start with 2 frying pans that each fit one flat tortilla.  Saute the onion +  other vegetables you are including until soft. Move to another dish and add the beans or sweet potato.

In the fry pan, spread some oil over medium to high heat and place a tortilla flat.  Once it browns and inflates, turn down the burner.  Spread 1/3 of the filling on the tortilla.  Sprinkle very generously with cheese, and place another tortilla on top. When the bottom is browned, gently flip. Repeat the same process with a 2nd fry pan.
Slip the finished quesadilla onto a plate/platter. When it cools a bit, I slice it in sixths with a pizza wheel.

Obviously you can change the ingredients if some people don't like something, like - say - green peppers.

Set out all the accompaniments - sour cream, salsa, guacamole.  In a restaurant, they use the sour cream to make attractive designs.

Pete Schwager's Pear Pies

I've not tasted these, but when I headed out to Salt Lake City for Aunt Ruth's funeral, Judy Rose and I were at Pete's several times.  There were still pears on his tree in the backyard, and he reported he had baked 24 pear pies earlier in the month.
These have no sugar added, so they are basically baked fruit in a pastry shell.  He pies pie dough and rolls it out and puts it in aluminum tins (which I presume he has collected from store-bought pies over the years) but you could also just use ready-made pie shells.

pie crusts (quantity depends on how many pears.  Presume you could use other fruits, like apples)
tapioca to coat the pie crust
peeled, pared, sliced ripe pears
cinnamon
raisins and/or craisins for color

Roll out dough, line pans.  Sprinkle a layer of tapioca on the crust, to absorb liquid.
Fill the crust with sliced fruit
Sprinkle with cinnamon and raisins and/or craisins to add texture and color

Bake open face for about a half hour at 350°

Yellow Split Pea Soup

I found this online, trying to figure out how to cook yellow split 
Not hard, quick, beautiful, very filling and delicious.

Egyptian Yellow Lentil Soup (adapted from Dinner With Julie)
Yield: 4 – 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2 cups yellow lentils, rinsed and picked over - this is a 16 oz bag (1 lb)
• 6-7 cups stock
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• optional: one c. shredded cabbage
• 3 – 4 sprigs fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. In a large pot heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat, then sauté 1 onion, diced until translucent and starting to caramelize, about 10 minutes.
2. Add 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced, 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp turmeric, and 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper, if using. Sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
3. Add 2 cups yellow lentils, rinsed and picked over, 6 cups stock, 1 carrot, diced, and 1 tomato, diced, and bring to a boil, then lower heat, and let simmer until the lentils are cooked and nearly falling apart, about 20 – 30 minutes.
4. Stir in 3 – 4 sprigs fresh parsley, roughly chopped.
5. If desired, using a blender or immersion blender, puree the soup to desired consistency. I like it to retain some of the chopped vegetables.
6. Add salt and pepper, to taste.