A highlight of my culinary year is my friend Matt's Seder. Over the years, he has asked me to contribute. I've whipped up kosher-for-Passover spreads and pates, and have come to relish the challenge of adapting my recipes to fit the dietary restrictions of the holiday.
You see, I'm not Jewish, and the first time I cooked without bacon, butter or breadcrumbs, it took some research.
By now, I've perfected my chicken liver pate and baba ghanoush. This year, I was ready for a new challenge.
"Let me bring a dessert," I told Matt. "Then you can forget about a whole course and focus on your delicious brisket."
"Please do," he said. "But everyone here is tired of sponge cake."
Sponge cake can be made with matzo flour and leavened only with egg whites, so it's a Passover standby.
But why not push the envelope? I recalled a party I'd thrown for a vegan friend for which I made a pear tart with a shortening crust so as to avoid butter. Dairy isn't allowed as part of a Seder where meat will be served, so my dairy-free recipe was already close to kosher.
But perhaps the biggest no-no is anything related to bread. If I could only find a way to do away with the flour in the crust.
I considered substituting matzo meal in the same proportion, but here's the thing about matzo meal: it tastes like matzo.
Then it hit me: nuts. I would grind almonds, mix them with sugar, kosher margarine and, yes, a tiny scoop of matzo meal as a binder.
Then I'd press the crumb mixture into a tart pan and bake. It would be like the graham cracker crust of a cheesecake, but unlike graham cracker crumbs, it would obey the laws of kashrut.
I don't have a food processor in my little Brooklyn kitchen, so I dusted out the coffee grinder and set about grinding sliced almonds a couple spoonfuls at a time. I worked in the other ingredients, and used the bottom of a measuring cup to tamp down my crust in the pan. Toasting it until golden brought out the flavor of the almonds — and concealed the taste of the margarine.
Without any custard or lemon curd to juice up the filling, I chose nice pears and used six of them. In a trial run, I glazed the tart too early, and the crust got soggy. Not to worry — a new batch of almond crumbs, six new pears, and I was on my way to the Seder. The verdict: success. Sweet crumbly crust. Unfussy fruit filling. Light enough to enjoy after a feast.
Still, just in case, I made some macaroons. You can never underestimate the importance of a backup dessert.
1? cups finely ground almonds
3/4? cup brown sugar
? cup matzo meal
? cup margarine, melted
6 Bartlett pears
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon white sugar, plus ? cup for syrup glaze
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine ground almonds, brown sugar, matzo meal and melted margarine and work well with hands (or in food processor) until the mixture forms moist crumbs. Press into a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.
2. Decrease oven heat to 350 degrees. Peel, core and thinly slice the pears, dropping them into a bowl with the lemon juice and tablespoon of sugar.
3. Stir the pear slices to coat, and let sit for 10 minutes. Arrange pear slices in the crust in concentric, overlapping layers.
4. Bake 55 minutes, until pears are tender. Just before serving, simmer remaining sugar with ? cup water to dissolve. Brush syrup on pears.
