Go Mexican on Pesach

Before you turn around seders will have come and gone and Chol Hamoed will be here. You’ve survived the Pesach cleaning, you’ve left Egypt through the Seder. Now what to do with your new found freedom? Why eat Mexican, of course. If you’re like me and didn’t opt for Pesach in Cancun, then don’t let yourself feel short-changed. Bring Mexico and all it’s wonderfully fresh colors and flavors of cinnamon, oranges, lemons, limes, chilies, cilantro (if you don’t love it, well, try it again or leave it out), green and red onions home to your table.

Fresh Tomato Salsa

Then there is the fresh Salmon with Two Salsas, Fresh Tomato Salsa and Mango Salsa. The color combination will impress you and your guests. “Did you do that?” everyone at your table will say, and you’ll smile knowingly.

Red Cabbage Salad

 Just when you’re feeling like you want something simple and easy, pull out a bag of pre-washed and shredded red cabbage or do your own if you can’t find kosher l’Pesach, and transform it into a colorful and delicious red cabbage salad, a perfect accompaniment for fish. The lemon and orange juice, green onions, cilantro, and black pepper combine with the red cabbage into a delightfully refreshing dish, a nice change from the more traditional lettuce salad.

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Avocado Salad

Avocados are available all year round these days, and we couldn’t resist including our great guacamole in this menu. It includes red onions, chopped tomatoes, fresh lemon juice, black pepper (an addition from my son-in-law) and red onion. This guacamole is a taste sensation to be savored, remembered, and repeated anytime you want to delight your family and guests.

Zucchini with a Zip

For those who don’t feel a meal is complete without a cooked vegetable, there is Zucchini with a Zip, our own invention, combining all the best of traditional Mexican ingredients with some imagination and intuition, a must for all good cooks.

Margarita Sherbet

Homemade ice cream wins the top of my hit parade for a wonderful Pesach desert. It’s well worth the investment if you’re so inclined to have a kosher l’Pesach ice cream maker. This recipe for Margarita Sherbet rounds off the fresh theme of the meal and eliminates the need for ice cream with egg whites, which always make me a little nervous.

The Orange Sangria will add sparkle to your palate and give your table that fiesta feeling. Look for seltzer that is kosher l’Pesach.

This bright and exciting meal will make you feel happy about only using fresh foods, and your table will compete with the most gorgeous impressionistic painting with its splashes of red, orange, and green. Your palate will tingle with a touch of chili to add to the excitement of achieving the freedom of leaving Egypt, some green onions to remind us of the leeks we ate in there. Now is the time to celebrate our freedom with family and friends. Or as an old joke says, “They tried to kill us. We won. Let’s eat.”

Ole!

Note: There are so many ways of keeping kosher l’Pesach. If any of these recipes don’t fit your  standards, feel free to substitute ingredients or leave it out.