1. Syrian Charoset
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole Turkish dried apricots
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¾ cup hot water
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or unrefined whole cane sugar
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 to 3 teaspoons orange blossom water
- ¼ cup shelled, unsalted pistachios or whole blanched almonds, coarsely chopped
- For serving: 2 tablespoons shelled, unsalted pistachios, or whole blanched almonds, finely ground in the food processor
Directions: Combine apricots, orange juice, water, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until apricots are very soft and mushy, 30 to 40 minutes. (Make sure to stir every 5 to 10 minutes to prevent burning.) Pour hot apricot mixture into a food processor and add the lemon juice and orange blossom water. Pulse 1 to 2 minutes until a smooth paste. Scoop out into a medium sized bowl and mix in the chopped nuts by hand. Cool to room temperature.
2. Italian Charoset
Ingredients:
- 2 granny smith apples
- 1 pear
- 7 dried figs (or 7 pitted prunes or a handful of raisins)
- 1 ½ cup shelled walnuts
- 8 pitted dates
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 orange, the juice and the zest
-
1 bottle of good Moscato (yes it will be a bit bubbly) There are many options for Kosher Moscato. Click here for a list
Directions: Cut apples and pears into equal size large chunks. “Pulse” in food processor until finely chopped, being careful not to overdo it so they don’t become mushy. Put in a large bowl. (If you don’t have a food processor, this recipe can be a reminder of the times when we were slaves in Egypt. The good news is, hand chopped food tasted better.) In your food processor now “pulse” the figs, prunes or raisins until they are finely chopped and add them to the apples. Pulse the walnuts until they are finely chopped and add them to the fruit. Zest the orange using a microplane grater, a zester or the small holes of a regular grater. Add to mixture. Juice the orange into the food processor, along with the dates, cinnamon and cup of the moscato. Pulse until fully pureed. Add to the fruit and nut mixture. Stir. Add another cup of moscato to mixture and stir. Put mixture into a cooking pot over medium heat until it reaches a boil. Then turn heat to low and let simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Put back into bowl and let cool. Cover and put in fridge until ready for use. Right before serving, add another “glug” of moscato to the charoset for a little freshen up and there you go! Dayenu.
3. Morocco Charoset
Ingredients
- ½ c pecans or walnuts
- 3-4 T sugar
- 2 apples
- 2-3 T lemon juice
- 1 t cinnamon
- ½ t ginger
- ½ c almonds
- 12 dates, chopped
- ¼ c pinenuts
Directions: Grind nuts with sugar in food processor until fine. Core, Peel & Grate apples separately, add lemon juice. Stir in ground nuts, cinnamon, ginger, almonds & dates. Taste & add more sugar or lemon juice if desired
4. Persian Charoset
Ingredients:
-
½ c dates
- ½ c pistachios
- ¼ c almonds
- ¼ c raises
- 1 apple
- 1 orange
- 1 banana
- 1 pomegranate - seeds
- ⅓ c sweet wine
- 2 T vinegar
- ½ t ground cloves
- ½ t cardamom
- 1 t cinnamon
- ½ t black pepper
Directions: Grind dates, pistachios, almonds and raisins in a chopper/blender into a paste. Add apple, orange, banana, pomegranate seeds and blend until ingredients are incorporated but still chunky.Gently stir in remaining ingredients.
