Dips & spreads for Pesach

Whether you are celebrating Pesach, Easter or are just looking forward to the picnic season (or all of the above), I’ve got these delightful dips and spreads that might interest you!

Chicken liver or mushroom pâté

The classic of the Ashkenazi cuisine, popular around Pesach, this chicken liver recipe comes from my Jewish babushka Rosalia. It goes so well with matzah and thinly sliced pickled (or fresh) cucumbers. The mushroom (vegan) counterpart works as gloriously with pickles and any kind of bread, depending on the occasion!

Chicken

For the pâté

200g of chicken liver

300ml of milk

1 tbsp of butter

1/2 onion

1/3 tsp of nutmeg

1/2 tsp of herbs de Provence

1 tbsp of brandy

1 tbsp of toasted pine nuts

Salt and pepper to taste

To make the pate first soak the chicken livers in some milks for 30 minutes. Drain them before

use. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a frying pan and add the chicken livers. Cook for 6 minutes making

sure there is no blood. Then add the onion, nutmeg and herbs, and cook for another 5 minutes,

till the onion has caramelised.

Transfer into a food processor and blend with a tbsp of brandy and toasted pine nuts until

smooth. You can pass the pâté thought a sieve to achieve an extra silky consistency.

Originally published in my debut cookbook Salt & Time

Mushroom

20g of wild mushrooms

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced 

200g of mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 tsp of thyme leaves, finely chopped  

85-100g of walnuts
1-2 garlic cloves, minced

Olive oil 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Soak the wild mushrooms in boiling water, then drain, cleaning off the grit and chop finely.

Heat up some olive oil in a pan and fry the onion with a pinch of salt for 8-10 minutes.
Add the fresh and the wild mushrooms and the thyme, and cook for another 8-10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning.

In a food processor or using a hand-blender mix together the cooked mushrooms (oil and juices included) with the walnuts and the garlic, and whizz until you get a smooth consistency. I would start with 85g to see how the pate turns out - it all depends on how juice are the mushrooms and the walnuts. Keep adding more, if the texture is too runny. Or in case of the opposite, add a splash of water, and 1-2 tbsp of olive oil.

Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Smokey carrot and red pepper cream cheese 

Originally this recipe was inspired by a paprika cheese spread known as liptauer or körözött in Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. But as I looked into its variations, I found a recipe from Hungarian Romani cuisine called Ciganyturo, which uses sauteed carrots, red peppers and onions, generously seasoned with smoked paprika. While Ciganyturo uses local cottage cheese, I have experimented with different dairy bases in its absence, and could not have been happier with the result I share below. Try it with rye bread (of course), pita or Turkish pide bread, which I believe would be the closest equivalent to the traditional Romani bread called bodag. 

Serves 6-8

1/2 onion, thinly sliced 

1 medium red pepper, thinly sliced 

2 medium carrots, peeled and grated  

1 heaped tsp of smoked paprika

250g of full fat cream cheese (or 125g of feta and 125g of cream cheese)

Salt to taste 

Drizzle a pan with some olive oil and fry the vegetables with a pinch of salt on medium heat for 25-30 minutes until they start to caramelise.
Take off the heat and mix in a heaped tsp of smoked paprika.

Let cool down a little before adding to a food processor with 250g cheese. You can use a hand blender and a tall narrow jar for this too. 

Blend until smooth, adjust the seasoning to your liking. If the mixture is too runny place it in the fridge for a few hours to firm up before serving. 

Carrot tapenade 

A carrot relish is often used to accompany white fish in Eastern European cuisine. 

The carrot topping of the Ashkenazi gefilte fish, known as yarmulka, or the Polish cod and carrot dish called ryba po grechku. Another equally popular type of vegetable dip or relish is commonly known as ‘caviar’, aubergine one being the most popular. So taking the best of the both culinary traditions, I have created this smokey, tangy and sweet carrot tapenade. Enjoy with a crusty baguette as part of a zakuski spread, or a charcuterie platter, inside a cheese toasty or on top of a slice of rye bread smothered with cream cheese. 

Serves 6-8

4 tbsp of unrefined sunflower oil

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced  

1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and thinly sliced 

4 carrots, peeled and grated
1-2 garlic clove, minced  

2 tbsp of tomato puree 

4 tbsp of water 

2 tsp of caster sugar
1 tsp of smoked paprika
½ tsp of chilli powder or hot paprika (optional)
1 tbsp of white wine vinegar 

2 tbsp of chopped dill 

Heat up the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion, and pepper with a pinch of salt on a medium low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the carrot and cook for another 20 min. Might want to add a tbsp of oil here. 

Add the garlic, stir through, and then add the tomato puree, some water to loosen it up, and sugar. Cover with a lid, and cook for 10 minutes. 

Take off heat, stir in the smoked paprika, the Vinegar and the dill. Taste for seasoning. 

Let it cool down completely before transferring into a glass jar and store in the fridge overnight, before consuming. 

These recipes appear in my new cookbook Kapusta.