Passover menu (Photos courtesy Huppit Bartov Miller)

April showers bring fresh veggies! This month’s traditional Tunisian recipes make use of spring’s bounty with delicious, healthy and chametz-free recipes that take you through the Passover holiday and beyond.

Maakuda

Maakuda – Vegetarian Tunisian Quiche

Course Main Dish, Side
Cuisine African, Moroccan

Ingredients
  

  • 6-7 medium butter or yellow potatoes
  • 2 medium carrots
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 1/2 tsp. turmeric
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 7 eggs
  • 4 tbs. canola oil

Instructions
 

  • Boil potatoes and carrots until soft.
  • Peel boiled potatoes and cut cooked carrots into half circles.
  • Mash potatoes leaving some pieces un-mashed.
  • Add chopped onions, chopped parsley, frozen peas and carrot pieces.
  • Add turmeric, black pepper and salt.
  • Beat the eggs lightly, add to the blend and mix gently.
  • Warm canola oil in an ovenproof (Dutch oven) pot of 3.5 quarts (9’’ diameter).
  • Pour mixture into the hot oil and level mixture in the pot.
  • Cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.
  • Move to a 340-degree preheated oven and bake for a little over an hour or until the maakuda is firm, sides are brown and top is golden.
  • Remove from oven and let cool for 20 minutes.

Notes

A Reisterstown resident, Huppit Bartov Miller is an Israeli-American educator, cook and food blogger for Afooda.com.
Roasted Eggplant

Roasted Eggplant in Parsley Pesto, Pine Nuts and Tehina

Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Side
Cuisine African, Moroccan

Ingredients
  

  • 2 medium eggplants
  • 4 1/2 tbs. olive oil (3 tablespoons for the pesto and 1½ tablespoons for brushing)
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • parsley (about 2 cups of packed leaves)
  • 1/2 cup roasted pine nuts
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 4 cloves garlic

For Plating:

  • Tehina sauce
  • chopped parsley
  • toasted pine nuts
  • Sumac

Instructions
 

  • Half the eggplants and create checkerboard slits in the flesh.
  • Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
  • Combine parsley, roasted pine nuts, salt, black pepper and olive oil in a food processor to make pesto.
  • Spread the parsley pesto onto the eggplants, pushing the paste down inside the eggplant.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes in a 400° preheated oven.
  • Broil for two minutes.
  • Serve topped with Tehina sauce, toasted pine nuts, fresh chopped parsley and dust with a little sumac.

Notes

A Reisterstown resident, Huppit Bartov Miller is an Israeli-American educator, cook and food blogger for Afooda.com.
Tunisian Olive Tagine

Tunisian Olive Tagine – Green Olives in Tomato Sauce

Course Side
Cuisine African, Moroccan

Ingredients
  

  • 2 1/2 cups green olives (pitted)
  • 2 tbs. olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 cups crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tbs. sugar
  • 1 tbs. sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. harissa (or substitute with a few chili flakes)

Instructions
 

  • Wash the brine off the green olives.
  • Place in a medium pot with cold water and bring to a boil.
  • Cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, wash in cold water and drain again.
  • Sauté thinly chopped onion in olive oil over medium heat.
  • Add harissa (or chili flakes) and mix well.
  • Add chopped garlic and cook one minute.
  • Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, sweet paprika, black pepper and salt.
  • Mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Add drained green olives and ½ cup water and mix well.
  • Cover the pot and cook on low heat for about 35 minutes, checking and mixing occasionally.

Notes

A Reisterstown resident, Huppit Bartov Miller is an Israeli-American educator, cook and food blogger for Afooda.com.
Shakshuka Paschiya

Shakshuka Paschiya – Tunisian Fava Bean Passover Shakshuka

Course Breakfast & Brunch, Main Dish
Cuisine African, Moroccan

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tbs. olive oil
  • 1 small onion
  • 4 medium garlic cloves
  • 2 tbs. tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cup fava beans blanched, fresh
  • 10 mini potatoes
  • 2-3 medium tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 tbs. harissa
  • 1 tsp. sweet paprika
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions
 

  • Remove beans from pods. Drop them into a pot of boiling water and cook for couple of minutes. Remove and cool the beans in a bowl of ice water. Remove the thick skin that surrounds each bean by cutting a small seam and squeezing the bean out of the case.
  • In a large saucepan, sauté roughly chopped onions in olive oil on medium heat for about five minutes.
  • Add tomato paste, garlic slices, harissa (or chili flakes), stir and cook for five minutes.
  • Half mini potatoes, add to the mix and cook for five minutes.
  • Add cubed tomatoes, salt, sweet paprika, black pepper and cumin.
  • Add water, cover the pot and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
  • Add eggs, one at a time, exposing the bottom of the pot each time an egg is added.
  • Distribute the eggs around the pot.
  • Add blanched pilled fava beans, cover the pot and cook for 7-10 minutes on low heat until the egg whites set.
  • Serve topped with fresh parsley and crumbled goat cheese.

Notes

A Reisterstown resident, Huppit Bartov Miller is an Israeli-American educator, cook and food blogger for Afooda.com.
Halva-Pistachio Frozen Mousse Cake

Halva-Pistachio Frozen Mousse Cake

Total Time 8 hours
Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tbs. powdered sugar
  • 250 grams halva
  • 1 1/2 cup mini merengue cookies
  • 1 cup unsalted pistachios (peeled)

Instructions
 

  • Crumble the merengue leaving small chunks. Break the Pistachios into small pieces. Scrape/cut halva into crumbs.
  • Line the cake pan with plastic wrap leaving extra edges for sealing. Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with pistachio pieces and a few merengue pieces.
  • Whip the heavy cream with powdered sugar and carefully fold in halva crumbs and merengue pieces.
  • Pour mixture into the cake pan and cover well with the rest of the plastic wrap. Freeze for eight hours.

Notes

A Reisterstown resident, Huppit Bartov Miller is an Israeli-American educator, cook and food blogger for Afooda.com.

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