Around the Passover Table (19 page)

4 whole plain or egg matzohs

About 1
¹
⁄
₂
cups chicken broth, preferably
homemade
or good-quality, low-sodium
purchased
, or vegetable stock

6 large eggs, beaten to blend

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

¹
⁄
₄
cup fresh snipped dill (optional)

Best-quality extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

SOAK
the dried mushrooms in 1
¹
⁄
₂
cups hot water for 30 minutes or until soft. Drain the mushrooms through a strainer lined with paper towels or a coffee filter, reserving
¹
⁄
₂
cup of the soaking liquid. Rinse the mushrooms under cold running water to eliminate any remaining grit and chop them coarsely.

IN
a large, heavy, lidded skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions and cook, lifting and tossing occasionally, until they are lightly tinged with bronze. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and transfer to a large bowl.

HEAT
2 more tablespoons oil in the pan (don't bother rinsing it out) over moderately high heat. Add the fresh mushrooms and sauté, turning occasionally, until golden at the edges. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the garlic, the dried mushrooms, and their reserved soaking liquid. Boil the mixture over high heat, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid is evaporated. Season well, then transfer to the onions.

HEAT
the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the same skillet over a medium flame. Add the remaining garlic, stir just until its heady aroma rises (about 1 minute), then add the chard stems. Cook, stirring regularly, until almost tender (anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes). Add the chard leaves (a few handfuls at a time, if necessary, until the chard shrinks in volume), season with salt and pepper, and cook, lifting and turning, until all the leaves are wilted. Cover the pan and continue cooking until the leaves and stems are very tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Let cool in the pan, then squeeze out and discard as much liquid as possible, and add the chard leaves and stems to the onions and mushrooms.

PREHEAT
the oven to 350°F.

BREAK
the matzoh into small pieces and place in a large bowl. Cover with the broth and let soak about 2 minutes, stirring the matzoh around once or twice so it is evenly moistened. Drain and press out as much liquid as you can from the matzoh. Mix the matzoh and the eggs together in a large bowl and season liberally with salt and pepper. Stir in the mushroom-chard mixture, thyme, and dill, if using, and combine everything well. Let the ingredients mingle for 5 to 10 minutes.

GREASE
the bottom and sides of a 13 by 9-inch heavy, shallow baking pan and put the pan in the oven until it is sizzling. Turn the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil. Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden.

LET
the kugel rest for about 20 minutes. If necessary, reheat before serving.

Wild Mushroom–Potato Kugel

yield:
8 to 10 servings

The Irish potato. For most of us, the starchy tuber, like leprechauns and shamrocks, is inextricably linked to the Emerald Isle. But the potato had a profound effect as well on the Jews of Poland and Russia, where it became a staple from the mid-nineteenth century on. Without the potato, in fact, the phenomenal Jewish population explosion in Eastern Europe would never have occurred, according to the noted Jewish food historian, John Cooper.

As they decreased their reliance on bread, these Jews began eating the cheap, nutritious potato two and three times a day, breakfasting on potatoes in their jackets, eating spuds with onions or cabbage for dinner.

Potato kugel was always a treat. Although I have not found old kugel recipes calling for wild mushrooms mixed with the potatoes, the pairing makes perfect geographic, as well as gustatory, sense: boletus mushrooms (also known as porcini or cèpes) grow wild all over Poland and Russia—and Israel, too.

Here I sandwich woodsy, dried mushrooms between layers of grated raw potatoes that have been combined with savory fried onions and seasoned liberally with pepper. Baked in a hot oven, the elegant kugel emerges gloriously crusty, and full of deep, earthy perfumes.

Rinsing then squeezing the grated potatoes dry before adding them to the other ingredients concentrates the potato flavor and eliminates that watery, muddy taste that mars some kugels.

1 ounce dried wild mushrooms, preferably boletus—that is, porcini or cèpes; shiitake don't work well here (
¹
⁄
₂
to
³
⁄
₄
cup)

¹
⁄
₄
cup olive oil, plus additional for greasing the pan

3 cups thinly sliced onion

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

6 large or 8 medium russet (baking) potatoes, peeled

4 large eggs, beaten

Best-quality extra virgin olive oil for drizzling (optional)

SOAK
the mushrooms in 2 cups hot water for 30 minutes, or until soft. Drain the mushrooms through a strainer lined with paper towels or a coffee filter, reserving the soaking liquid. Wash the mushrooms under cold running water to remove any remaining grit and chop them coarsely.

HEAT
the oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until crisp and light brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Combine the chopped mushrooms, garlic, and reserved mushroom soaking liquid in the same skillet (no need to wash it out). Boil the mixture over high heat, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid is evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove the skillet from the heat.

PREHEAT
oven to 400°F.

GRATE
the potatoes, using a medium disk in a food processor (if you don't have a grating disk, use the coarse shredding disk, then replace the disk with the metal blade and pulse until the shreds are chopped). Or grate using the large holes of a hand grater. Transfer them to a colander, rinse well, then drain, using your hands to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, eggs, fried onion, and plenty of salt and pepper.

GREASE
the bottom and sides of a large (13 by 9-inch, or similar), shallow, heavy baking pan (preferably enameled cast-iron or metal, not glass), and place the pan in the oven until the oil is sizzling hot (this will produce a deliciously crisp crust).

TURN
half the potato mixture into the pan, spread the mushrooms over it, cover with the remaining potato mixture, and smooth the top. If desired, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the top. Bake uncovered for about 50 minutes, until the top is golden and crisp. Let the kugel cool until set. If necessary, reheat before serving.

Crackletop Potato Kugel

yield:
8 to 10 servings

It practically defines crackle, tastes deeply of earthy spuds, is richly flavored with salt and oil: what could make a better crust for a kugel than the potato chip? Simply crush the chips with your hands and sprinkle lavishly over the oniony potato batter before baking.

The best-quality kosher-for-Passover chips I've found are plain, so I like to stir in some smoked paprika to mimic the barbeque-flavored ones I adore. For variety, try other seasonings or prepare toppings during the rest of the year from your favorite purchased flavored chips.

6 to 7 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups thinly sliced onion (about
³
⁄
₄
pound)

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 large or 8 medium russet (baking) potatoes, peeled

3 tablespoons matzoh meal

4 large eggs, beaten

Smoked sweet or hot paprika (optional)

4 to 5 ounces high-quality, kosher-for-Passover potato chips (enough to make 1
¹
⁄
₂
to 2 cups when coarsely crushed by hand)

HEAT
2 tablespoons of the oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté, lifting and turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until tinged pale gold, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.

PREHEAT
the oven to 400°F.

GRATE
the potatoes, using a medium grating disk in a food processor (if you don't have a grating disk, use the coarse shredding disk, then replace the disk with the metal blade and pulse until the shreds are chopped). Or grate using the large holes of a hand grater. Place the potatoes in a colander, rinse well to remove most of the starch, then drain, using your hands to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add the potatoes to the fried onion. Stir in the matzoh meal and 1 or 2 tablespoons oil. Season generously to taste with plenty of salt and pepper. Add the eggs and combine well.

POUR
the remaining 3 tablespoons oil into a large, shallow, heavy baking pan (13 by 9-inch or similar size, preferably enameled cast-iron or metal, not glass). Thoroughly rub the oil around the bottom and sides of the pan and place in the oven until sizzling hot (this will create a crispy crust).

TRANSFER
the potato mixture to the pan and smooth the top. If you are using the smoked paprika, mix it well with the crushed potato chips in a bowl. Sprinkle the potato chips evenly over the kugel.

BAKE
uncovered for about 50 minutes, until the top is golden and crisp and the kugel is firm. Let the kugel rest until set, about 20 minutes.

COOK'S NOTE
: Use fewer crushed chips if you prefer a thinner crust. Avoid reheating leftovers: the crust may become soggy.

Variations:
For a splurge, substitute rendered Poultry Schmaltz for some or all of the olive oil.

Add raw onion to the batter: finely chop 1 medium or large onion or grate and drain the onion along with the potatoes.

Make Potato Kugel Muffins:
preheat well-greased muffin pans in a 375° oven. Spoon in kugel batter and bake 35 to 40 minutes for regular muffins, about 25 minutes for mini-muffins.

The variations are delicious with or without the potato chip topping. If not using the topping, drizzle with olive oil or brush generously with
Poultry Schmaltz
.