Zero waste Pesach
Victoria Prever shares solutions to use up Passover leftovers
The finishing line is in site and, if you’re anything like me, you’ll be staring at surplus matzah meal, multiple boxes of matzah, potato flour, dried fruits, ground nuts and desiccated coconut. Then there’s that huge horseradish root festering in the fridge.
With the costof-living crisis and environmental issues in our minds, zero waste should be the norm. Most of excess Passover provisions will last a while, but you’ve come to the right place for ideas for getting through them sooner:
MATZAH MEAL
Can be used all year to coat fish fillets or meat schnitzels; for kneidlach and in meat balls. If you so have a serious glut, try: l Freezing kneidlach — make a huge batch but instead of cooking them, freeze them raw on open trays. Once frozen pop into a ziplock bag and they’ll be ready to drop into a pot of boiling water on Shabbat. You won’t have to make them for months! l In my salmon and sweet potato fish cakes (see: facing page).
MATZAH
Not just for Pesach pizzas and matzah brei . If you’ve not tried it already, turn the rest into granola — there’s a great recipe in The JC’s website. There are also many more uses for the dry cracker than you think: l Millionaire’s matzah — another winning recipe that won’t last long. Topping your bread of affliction with layers of toffee and of chocolate turns it into something sublime — you’ll have no trouble scoffing the lot. (Recipe on The JC website.) l Treat yourself to a few more matzah brei breakfasts this weekend. l Don’t forget you can blitz matzah into matzah meal and use it as above, or crumble it to use in savoury stuffing mixtures.
POTATO STARCH
Use all year round instead of cornflour to thicken sauces and stir fries.
CHAROSET
If you have any over — and the chances are slim in my house as we fight to spoon it out of the bowl — there are a few options: l On yoghurt with matzah granola. l To add flavour and texture to to crumbles, baked apples and strudels. Or you can make
hand pies: soften some peeled, chopped and cored apples in a little butter and sugar in a pan over medium heat for about
6 – 8 minutes. Mix in the charoset and toss the fruit in a little of that excess potato flour or regular flour if post-Pesach. Cut ready-rolled puff pastry into 12 x 7cm rectangles (A 320g pack will give you about 10.) Spoon the filling into the middle of the rectangle, brush the edges with beaten egg and fold the pastry over. Crimp the edges with a fork and cut three lines in the pastry to let the steam escape. Chill until firm (30 minutes) then bake at 180°C fan oven for 15 – 20 minutes until golden. l Charoset ice cream — perfect for using up the Sephardi style thicker pastes, but will also work for wetter recipes. Just drain off any liquid and stir through softened vanilla ice cream, dairy or parev.
NUTS, WHOLE AND GROUND
Will last several weeks provided you store them in the fridge to avoid them going rancid. Their uses are endless: l Cakes and cookies — great for a gluten free snack but also in flourbased. l Pancakes — mash overripe bananas and mix with beaten eggs and ground almonds for gluten free pancakes. l Pesto — blitz almonds or walnuts with parsley (which you also may have large quantities of from Seder night) add a clove of garlic (I prefer mine roasted to take off that burning edge), olive oil and grated parmesan cheese for a delicious pasta sauce or to top grilled fish. l In salads — nuts and dried fruits make perfect partners for rice, bulgur wheat or Israeli couscous for tasty salads. Add plenty of freshly chopped herbs too — which is where that parsley may also come in useful.
HORSERADISH
Has more uses than you’ think. l Fish pate — blitz creamed (or grated fresh) horseradish with smoked fish fillets and crème fraiche and perhaps some dill and lemon zest to make a delicious fish pate. l Spread or dip — fold it into yoghurt, cream cheese, sour cream or mayonnaise to slather over smoked salmon bagels when chometz is back on the menu.
PARSLEY
Can be used fresh or frozen if you find yourself with a post-Seder glut: l Freshen up Israeli chopped salads with plenty of chopped parsley (and coriander if you have it) or you can throw handfuls into soup before blitzing. l Freeze it whole in ziplock bags — suck out as much air as
possible — or blitz into a paste with olive oil and freeze in ice cube trays. It won’t win any beauty contests but it will add fresh flavour to soups and stews.
PESACH NOSH
In the unlikely event you do have any over, even Pesach treat foods don’t need to go to waste. Plava makes a perfect base for a trifle, as would cinnamon balls. Or you could combine leftover Pesach biscuits with leftover chocolate bars to make a fridge cake. Melt 200g chocolate (dark, milk or light) with 100g margarine or butter then stir in crumbled biscuit pieces, 100g of any combination of dried fruits and nuts, spoon into a tin approximately 20cm lined with baking parchment. Refrigerate overnight and serve in small squares.
Even crisps can be used up. Crush them and use to coat schnitzels or fish cakes. or for a salty sweet contrast in a chocolate chip cookie – find Joel Gamoran’s recipe on The JC website.
Enjoy the last few days of kitchen slavery.