T-6 days until the (first) seder. Are you ready?
My kitchen has officially reached that “it gets worse before it gets better” phase and I’m a bit despairing. I just keep reminding myself I feel this way every year and somehow it all gets done! Perhaps I need to reread the intro to my Guide to a Stress-Free Passover!
As I like to do every year, I’m sharing my menu plan for all of Pesach with you. If you’re looking for fancy, gourmet plans, I’m afraid you’ll be sadly disappointed!
But if you want some real life, heavy on the dips and desserts menu plan, you came to the right place! And hey, if I’m sharing mine, that means you’ve gotta share yours — so please do in the comments!
As you may remember from years past, I like to plan out each meal of Pesach, because that’s the only way I can make sure I get the right groceries in advance! (All of this is subject to change, but it’s good to have a plan even if I end up mixing and matching some of my entries.)
Last note: We eat gebrochts and all manner of vegetables (with and without peels), so I know some of our choices won’t work for everyone. And perhaps most importantly, we live in Israel, so I’ve got one less seder to cook for and one less day of yom tov at the end.
Leil HaSeder ~ Wednesday, April 5
- Seder Plate: Charoset, Baby Potatoes/Parsley, Romaine Lettuce, Chrain, Matzah, Roasted Egg (use the checklist in your Guide to a Stress-Free Passover to make sure you don’t forget anything)
- HB eggs / “egg soup” (it’s a tradition in my husband’s family – basically it’s just diced hard-boiled eggs with a looooot of salt water)
- Gefilte fish w/ horseradish mayo
- Chicken soup with matzah balls & “noodles”
- Brisket (I’m thinking about trying a new recipe this year – if you have one you love, please drop it in the comments!)
- Mashed potatoes (Usually I make kugel, but my nephew loves my mashed potatoes, so I promised him I’d make them)
- Roasted vegetables with chimichurri sauce (I use the one in this recipe)
- Strawberry lemon sorbet, Meringues, Fresh Fruit, Chocolate Frogs (I use this mold with melted chocolate)
Thursday, April 6 Yom Tov
Kiddush/breakfast: sleep-in, nosh, FFYS (aka Fend For Yourself)
I’ll definitely make one of Susie Fishbein’s OG crumb cakes in Passover by Design
Lunch:
- Sweet v Savory Matzah Brei “Bar” – I have this vision in my head of a buffet with all sorts of mix-ins and toppings… I’ll let you know how this goes!
- Leftover desserts and fresh fruit
Dinner: Matzah pizza on the stove-top (I’m going to try to cook most of the Shabbat food after yomtov ends, so we can go to the beach on Friday, which is why I don’t want to make my oven dairy)
Friday, April 7
Breakfast: Smoothies
Lunch: Picnic foods for the beach
Dinner:
- Leftover chicken soup (or I’ll make a fresh pot if we ate it all at the seder)
- Easy Sweet & Sour meatballs (3 ingredients!) ~ recipe is on p. 30 of the Guide to a Stress-Free Passover
- Roasted cabbage & onions
- Sweet potato kugel
- Meringues
Saturday, April 8
Kiddush: Probably more Crumb cake
Lunch
- Steamed Artichokes with garlic mayonnaise (just smash some garlic confit and add to my homemade mayo)
- Dips & Salads: roasted red pepper dip, sauteed onions, homemade pickles, garlic confit
- Grilled chicken
- Chopped Israeli salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, parsley)
- Cole slaw
- Roasted potatoes & sweet potatoes
- Frozen lemon meringue pie
- Chocolate chip cookies
Suedah Shlishit: FFYS???
Sunday, April 9
Breakfast: Homemade Passover pancakes
Lunch: Probably picnic foods, as I think we’re going on a hike – I’ll def bring a batch of these Easy Almond Cookies
Dinner: Creamy cauliflower soup, Greek salad
Monday, April 10
Breakfast: Smoothies
Lunch: ?? (Leftovers?) I’m not sure what our plans are yet for this day, so our lunch may be on the go
Dinner: Eat out in Jerusalem (one of the luxuries of living in Israel!)
Tuesday, April 11
Erev Chag Sheni
Brunch: Scrambled eggs, matzah & cream cheese, yogurts, fruit
Dinner
- Dips / spreads – Baba Ganoush w/o techina, chimichurri, roasted red pepper, sauteed onion dip, pickles, garlic confit, Peas, Love and Carrots cauliflower salad, Moroccan carrot salad
- Grilled pargiot, grilled green chicken
- Smashed potatoes
- Roasted Asparagus
- Roasted Fennel
- Crembo Cake, Flourless chocolate cookies, Cranberry & Almond bark
Wednesday, April 12
Chag Sheni
Lunch (I’m making dairy, so that I can make matzah crack with butter instead of margarine – yes, that is the honest-to-G-d reason we’re eating dairy… for the matzah crack!):
- Matzah lasagna
- Salmon
- Caesar salad with garlic matzah “croutons”
- Steamed broccoli with lemon
- Matzah crack + any other Pesadik desserts that are left
Dinner: CHAMETZ
What’s on your menu plan? Any traditional favorites that make the list year in and year out? Please share below – I know we all need more inspiration!
I love it thank you
Yay, thank you for all the ideas!
How do you make special mashed potatoes, roasted cabbage, and roasted fennel
I’m just rushing to light candles here in Israel, but I’ll update motzei Shabbat (bli neder!).
I use the sweet and sour brisket from the Joy of Cooking cookbook. I use Baron Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon Jeuness wine, Blanchard and Blanchard chili sauce, and make my own beef broth. (Other ingredients include brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and black pepper, bay leaves, And sauteed onions.)
If you don’t have the cookbook, I’ve gotten good results with a 1:1 ratio of the wet ingredients and brown sugar, and a clove of garlic and a bay leaf per 9×13 pan, light sprinkling of pepper to cover brisket. Bake raw brisket 350F until about 140-165 degrees internal temp, or 15 min per lb of you don’t have a thermometer. Let rest. Slice against the grain. Place in a pan an cover with juices. Rub with crushed garlic and pepper. Add bay leaf to pan. Mix wet ingredients and brown sugar together and pour over brisket. Sautee sliced onions with salt until soft. Bake at 350 for 45 min to an hour an turn temp down to 200-250 and cook until tender. Can be cooked longer or multiple times as long as there is sauce. You can also sear in a pan and cook in a crockpot prior to slicing, if you don’t have a oven, or do the second cooking in a crockpot in lieu of a cholent for Shabbos day. Add extra sauce if cooking for Shabbos day. Freezes well. Can be frozen before or after 2nd cooking.
Oooh, that sounds wonderful, thank you!