Local chefs give traditional Passover dishes a contemporary twist

It’s among the most sacred observances of the Jewish religion, and one with the clearest dietary precepts.

Passover, which runs from Monday through April 18, commemorates the liberation of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. Because they had to flee quickly and didn’t have time to allow bread to rise, leavened foods are forbidden during the eight-day observance. And at the Seder on the first night, the traditional plate holds six items that represent aspects of the Jews’ enslavement, accompanied by wine and matzo, the unleavened bread that’s ubiquitous during Passover for everything from sandwich substitutes to the stuffing for a roast chicken.

But since a man (or woman) cannot live by matzo alone, chefs have divined novel ways to honor tradition.

Sarit Bitton, chef/owner of Anise Tapas & Grill at 3100 S. Durango Drive, suggests incorporating some updated tapas into your meals, such as the restaurant’s Great Ball of Fire.

“We dip it in breadcrumbs, but you could do it with matzo meal,” Bitton said.

Start with a large matzo ball.

“You dip it in egg and matzo meal and deep-fry it, and then you zigzag over it sriracha mayo, which is mayonnaise and Sriracha,” she said. They serve it on a bed of Asian slaw, made with red and white cabbage, red bell peppers and cilantro.

Or, she said, you could make matzo shawarma fajitas.

“You take chicken breasts or chicken thighs and julienne it like for a stir-fry. Mix it with bell peppers and onions and saute it. And use any type of a Mediterranean spice; a really good one is a shawarma spice. On the side, saute some onions, tomatoes, garlic and peppers until the tomatoes melt down a bit, and then a dab of saffron,” she said.

Mix that with the chicken and serve it with matzos on the side. If you dip matzo in water, she said, it can be folded or rolled.

Nasser Abou-Nasr, food and beverage director at the Suncoast, said he makes roasted chicken and stuffs it not with bread or matzo but with saffron rice (although rice isn’t kosher for Passover for those of Eastern European background).

“You clean the hen and you open it up and you stuff it with the rice and you stuff the outside with a little bit of the rice and you cook it,” Abou-Nasr said. “You can use similar to what you use stuffing a turkey; add some of the spices in it. It all comes back to what kind of spices you like. I personally use allspice or Seven Spice.”

At Table 34, which chef Wes Kendrick said has a sizable Jewish clientele, lamb is popular during Passover.

“I bring in some Colorado lamb chops,” he said. “I do a fresh herb crust, with sage, rosemary and thyme. I crust the chops, salt and pepper and then grill them.”

Kendrick said he usually serves lamb with a cognac-peppercorn sauce, but had been getting requests for more of a fruity element during Passover, so he created a wine reduction with dried cherries.

“That gives it more of a festive bite,” he said.

At Crush at MGM Grand, Billy DeMarco, corporate executive chef for the Morton Group, said brisket’s always been a Passover tradition but gradually is giving way to short ribs.

“Short rib has more taste, in my opinion,” he said. “Definitely a lot more fat content, which, when you’re braising it, contributes to a lot more flavor.”

He’s also serving duck breast with potato-apple latkes and pomegranate gremolata, the recipe for which appears above.

“Gremolata is chopped herbs, lemon zest and garlic,” DeMarco said. “Another play on that is to add pomegranate. I was thinking of maybe using orange zest and lemon zest. Instead of using parsley, using mint. The duck, the apple, the potato, it all goes well together.”

Abou-Nasr said like most local buffets, the Suncoast’s will have special dishes for Passover, such as matzo ball soup, whitefish salad and noodle kugel, the latter of which gets extra zest from a touch of orange oil.

Suncoast executive chef Adrian King said the resort also follows tradition by using shank bones in its brisket preparation.

“We render those down and make a little sauce that we do with the brisket,” he said. “We marinate it in that and give it a little wine and some of the bitter herbs. We’ve made that our own specialty.”

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.