Vegetarian Seder

Vegetarian options for Passover Seder
Monday, April 14, 2008
Last updated: Monday April 14, 2008, EDT 6:42 AM
Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"Jewish Holiday Cooking," by Jayne Cohen (John Wiley & Sons, 2008)
Image courtesy of jewishholidaycooking.com

As a non-Jew who has celebrated Passover Seder at a friend's table, I know by taste that there are vegetarian options on Jewish feast days — and they are quite spectacular. Jayne Cohen seems to agree. Next to the other menu suggestions for Passover and Sukkot, she includes an entire vegetarian Seder. Other occasions like Rosh Hashana and Hanukkah also have ample options: After all, it was olive oil that burned in the temple for eight days, not poultry fat, Cohen writes. Oil-drenched latkes are a cruelty-free food. The vegetarian Passover Seder menu includes the chopped eggs and onions below, as well as an artichoke matzoh ball soup, zucchini frittata, wild mushroom potato kugel, fresh asparagus and, of course, bitter herbs and oranges.

— Evelyn Shih

* Chopped eggs and onions
3 to 5 tablespoons olive or avocado oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut into eighths
Olive oil schmaltz, optional (see note)

Heat oil in a medium skillet and add sliced onions. Sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until rich golden-brown. Salt and pepper lightly and remove from heat to cool.

Scrape the sautéed onion and all the oil remaining in the skillet into a wooden bowl, and chop coarsely. Add the eggs and raw onion and continue to chop until the mixture is well-blended but not pasty. Mix in salt and lots of pepper with a fork. The mixture should hold together loosely. If you need, add more oil or olive oil schmaltz. Chill well.

Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving with garnish.

Servings: 4 to 6.

Per serving: 218 calories, 18 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 318 milligrams cholesterol, 4 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams protein, 167 milligrams sodium, 0.4 grams fiber.

Note: Olive oil schmaltz can be made with 2 cups of finely chopped onions, salted and drained, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Cook the onions in the oil over low heat for 60 to 75 minutes, then emulsify in a blender.