'The Chosen Food' Video: White House Cooking Lessons For Passover

Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses and chef Joan Nathan demonstrate two Seder favorites: Matzo Chremsel and Haroset; with recipes...
President Obama has made celebrating the Jewish holiday of Passover a tradition at the White House, hosting a private Seder for family and friends each year. Next week on the first night of Passover, Friday, April 6, the President will again host a Seder. On Wednesday, Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses and acclaimed cookbook author and Jewish food authority Joan Nathan demonstrated two Passover recipes to a crowd gathered at the White House for a livestream event about Jewish food and Passover traditions, "The Chosen Food." (Above: Nathan, l, and Yosses make Haroset)

Yosses and Nathan cooked Nathan's Matzo Chremsel, a fried fruit and Matzo cake that is typically dusted with powdered sugar, and Arkansas Pear Haroset, a regional take on the tart dish that is a centerpiece of the Seder meal. The recipes are below.



The livestream event was in conjunction with an exhibit of the same name, 'The Chosen Food,' at the Jewish Museum of Maryland, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The chefs were joined by curators from the museum, and the cooking demos come almost an hour into the video, after a discussion of Jewish food culture and Passover traditions.

More Passover recipes: In 2011, the White House gathered regional Passover recipes from Nathan and other well-know chefs, and posted the collection, which ranges from meat dishes to treats. CLICK HERE to download.

The recipes Yosses and Nathan demonstrated:

My Matzo Chremsel

Adapted from "Jewish Cooking in America" by Joan Nathan

Ingredients
3 matzos, broken in bite size pieces, soaked in cold water very briefly, and gently squeezed dry

2 tablespoons currants

2 tablespoons almonds, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons dried apricots or prunes, coarsely chopped

3 large eggs, separated

¼ teaspoon of salt

1/4 cup matzo meal

1/3 cup sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Kosher-for-Passover vegetable oil, for frying

Sugar or Kosher for Passover confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

Method
1. Lightly mix the matzos, currants, almonds, dried apricots or prunes, the egg yolks, the matzo meal, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and the grated zest and juice of a lemon in a medium bowl.

2. Mix the egg whites until stiff in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Fold the beaten egg whites into the matzo mixture. Refrigerate for about a half hour.

3. Line a plate with paper towels and heat 2 inches of kosher for Passover vegetable oil to 375 degrees in a wok or other low-sided medium stockpot. Carefully spoon the batter, 1 heaping tablespoon at a time, into the hot oil without crowding the pan. Fry until golden and crisp, about 1 minute on each side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the paper towels to drain.

Serve warm, if possible, sprinkled with the sugar or confectioners’ sugar. Leftovers can be reheated in a 350 degree oven just before serving.

Yield: 12 to 15 Chremsel

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Arkansas Pear Haroset

Adapted from Michael Selig of Little Rock, AR

Ingredients
1 Cup toasted pecans

1 Cup dried figs

1 ½ just-ripe finely chopped pears, about 2 cups

1/2 medium Arkansas Black apple or other crisp, slightly tart variety, peeled and finely chopped, about ½ cup

1 Tsp ground cinnamon

3 Tblsp honey

3 Tblsp Passover sweet wine

The grated zest and juice from 1/2 lemon

Method
1. Finely chop the pecans and the figs with a hand chopper or knife in a wooden bowl.

2. Stir them in with the pears and apple. Add the cinnamon, honey, sweet wine, and the grated lemon zest and juice. Toss together and store in a glass or ceramic bowl.

3. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to mesh flavors.

Yield: 4 cups Haroset

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*Photo by Haaretz. Updated.