You don’t need to be Syrian to enjoy it, but if you are, this charoset is the number one Pesach must-have. Next to matzah itself, there is nothing more necessary on Pesach than this charoset. In Pesachs past, I’ve packed it in suitcases and brought it with me wherever I went. It’s the reason Korech…
basics
Basics: How to Make Charoses
Learn how to make charoses for your Pesach seder. If you’re making Pesach for the first time this year, you’re going to need to make charoses yourself. This is our favorite version. Use hazelnuts without the peel. If you cannot find peeled hazelnuts, simply toast whole hazelnuts. Rub the nuts between your palms or in…
Basics: How to Make Perfect Meringues
If I don’t make any other sweet thing on Pesach, I will make meringues…the melt-in-your-mouth perfect little sweet treat. Let’s get a few things straight. I don’t leave my meringues in the oven overnight. We like them crisp on the outside, and chewy on the inside. And you can accomplish that simply by baking for…
Basics: Cheese Sauce (with Nachos, Of Course)
It starts with butter. Then goes the milk and cheese. A spicy kick is optional. It’s hot, oozing cheese sauce and it’s perfect for right now. What says comfort food more than gooey, creamy cheese sauce? Nachos, loaded baked potatoes, French fries—all of these move to the next level with cheese sauce. So now let’s…
Basics: One Bowl No Mixer Cupcakes
There is one basic every family needs. Why cupcakes? Because cupcakes are always a last minute thing. Need to send something to school party? Forgot someone’s birthday is coming up? Kids bored on Sunday? Cupcakes always come to the rescue. When we decided we needed a cupcake recipe for BCP I didn’t have to go…
Basics: How to Make Syrian Lehme B’agine
This is one Syrian staple than even the Ashkenazim go for. A few years ago, when we published a version of this recipe in Starters and Sides Made Easy featuring a homemade dough. Well, life changes and gets busier, and homemade dough that needs to be rolled out and cut into circles is naturally ones…
Basics: Easy, Cheesy, Buttery Syrian Calsones
The ingredients couldn’t be simpler. A simply cheesy buttery pasta that couldn’t be more well-loved. So why haven’t you made it yet? I admit, when Leah and Renee suggested that we include “Calsones” as one of our basics, I thought it was a bit too simplistic. After all, there’s nothing to it, any Syrian girl…
Basics: Do You Call It Tehini, Tehina or Techina?
However you say it or spell it, chances are this dip is a basic that you’d like to master. Of all those foods that are just so much better when homemade, techina is one of the easiest to make. The flavor and proportions of ingredients are very subjective and personal. But the basic components are…
Basics: How To Make Chrein (Prepared Horseradish)
Eat a lot of chrain on Pesach? Prep it fresh and prep a lot. Each Pesach, we consume copious amounts of chrein in our house. It just goes so well with matzah. And all Pesach foods, as a matter or fact. And mayonnaise, obviously. (Click here to learn how to prep the best mayo ever.)…
Basics: How to Prepare Marror (Horseradish/Bitter Herbs)
Marror. You might need to prepare it once a year only, but you still need to know how to do it. Right? Here’s how. And here’s a disclaimer: it’s easier than you imagined. Peel the maror with a regular peeler, wherever possible (mostly the straight, long edges). Just as you would peel a carrot. …