In the months leading up to Pesach, I often look at my Shabbat table and think to myself, “Wow – look at that. This whole meal, minus the challah, could be served on Passover.”
Fish or chicken, a quinoa pilaf, and loads of fresh salads.
And yet come Pesach, I inevitably find myself in a rut. The potato-potato-meat-potato-potato rut.
If you, too, want to break out of your Passover rut, then check out the award-winning cookbook by Aviva Kanoff called No Potato Passover.
Aviva’s recipes are based largely on seasonal produce, fresh herbs, dairy and eggs, or healthy meats, chicken and fish.
The recipes are eye-catching and mouth-watering, such as this recipe for Poached Peach & Chicken Salad, which Aviva’s publishers have graciously allowed me to reproduce here on Kosher on a Budget.
Poached Peach & Chicken Salad for Passover
Ingredients:
¾ cup balsamic vinegar
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Kosher salt & ground black pepper
2 peaches
(12 oz. total), halved & pitted
4½ tsp. olive oil
4 cups baby greens
Chicken:
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 tsp. salt
1½ tsp. paprika
1⁄8 tsp. garlic powder
1⁄8 tsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. rosemary
salt & pepper
Directions
1. Prepare a medium gas or charcoal grill fire. (Note: If you don’t have a grill, you can cook the chicken in a sauté pan in its marinade.)
2. Combine vinegar and thyme in a 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the mixture is thick, syrupy, and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6-9 minutes.
4. Cook peaches in the syrup for 2 minutes until soft. Remove from the heat, discard the thyme sprigs, and season with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
5. Season chicken and grill or sauté in a pan until cooked.
6. In a medium bowl, toss the baby greens with the remaining 2½ tsp. oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange on a platter.
7. Top with the chicken and peaches. Drizzle with about 2 tbsp. of the reduced balsamic, adding more to taste. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and remaining juice from chicken and peaches.
Vegetarian Tip: Substitute chicken with 1/4 cup feta cheese for a dairy meal.
for those of us that only use veggies that can be peeled, this recipe is not too helpful.
I guess its back to the potatoes for us. Luckily I love potatoes. Every meal is a different version.
Rae, this is a great exercise in adaptability. You can easily peel the peaches, and instead of the greens, use some sort of peeled green rabe, like broccoli rabe (discard the florets). My cousin holds chassidishe minhagim on Pesach and also does not eat any produce that can’t be peeled, but she creatively adapts most recipes to fit her restrictions.
Thanks, Mara, for showing us how to deliciously expand our Pesach menus!