March 20, 2002 - Edited from The Philadelphia Inquirer, Maria
Gallagher
Kosher and vegetarian really can meet at the seder table. Hold the matzo balls and savor a delicious meal of vegetables, with fish if you wish, in a feast that meets the holiday'sdietary requirements.
When Jews share the seder meal during Passover, the eight-day holiday beginning next Wednesday that commemorates their ancestors' escape from slavery in Egypt, most will sit down to the celebration's classic dishes.
That means gefilte fish and matzo ball soup, sweet kugel, roast chicken and macaroons for those of Ashkenazic (northern European) descent. In the homes of Sephardic (Mediterranean) Jews, roasted lamb might be the centerpiece, served with rice, chickpeas or lentils.
Many modern cooks are looking for ways to lighten the meal's traditional high-fat menu. And what about guests who are different from all other guests - who won't eat the traditional meats? Those who call themselves vegetarians will not eat red meat or perhaps poultry, but some will eat fish. Vegans shun all animal products, including milk, cheese, eggs and honey.
David Hirsch and Sara Robbins, chefs and co-owners of the gourmet vegetarian Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, N.Y., will suggest some possibilities when they present a vegetarian brunch at the Gershman Y in Center City as part of Philadelphia's Book and the Cook cookbook festival.
Moosewood's Book and the Cook brunch will be prepared by Catered Affairs, the kosher division of Peachtree & Ward Catering of Willow Grove.
Peachtree will contribute a recipe of its own: a savory pancake called matzo brei, made from crumbled matzos and beaten eggs, topped with tomato Provencal sauce or sautéed exotic mushrooms.
"What we've done is glorified a very pedestrian dish. A savory matzo brei is such a different thing," said Jon Weinrott, president of Peachtree & Ward, who as a child always ate a breakfast version of matzo brei with cinnamon and sugar during Passover.
A couple of the Moosewood recipes, such as the frittata with sweet potatoes and zucchini, needed modifications. The restaurant sprinkles it with smoked cheddar cheese. Weinrott searched the Internet for an acceptable cheese and found a line of kosher goat cheeses, plain or flavored, at Vandeburg Goat Farm (www.koshergoatcheese.com).
Vegans do not eat honey, which is the traditional binder for charoset, the fruit-and-nut paste that represents the building mortar used by Jews enslaved in Egypt. Weinrott suggests making a puree of soft fresh dates with a little added water and using that to hold the mixture together.
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