Seven Perfect Recipes for your Passover Meal

Most cooks are stumped when it comes to menu planning for an important event. What’s the best starter? How to pair mains with sides? And yuntif is your ultimate culinary performance. The stage is set, the audience is seated at your table, the curtain rises, and the spotlight is on you.

Chill. Those folks around your table are not food critics from the New York Times; they’re just your family and friends. And you’ll be a star because we’ve done all the planning for you: every course in this elegant coordinated meal perfectly combines flavors, textures, and colors. Just serve and bow to the applause.

Salmon Cakes with Tropical Fruit Salsa

Croquettes are a cute and elegant for your starter course. They’re also wonderfully light and refreshing. The tropical salsa is a combination of fresh pineapple, mango, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice—the perfect complement to the richness of the salmon. The balance of sweet and savory flavors instantly pleases the palate. This is a starter with zing!

Carrot, Quinoa & Spinach Soup

Instead of just adapting your year-round recipes, use Pesach as an opportunity to try new things. A few years ago, quinoa burst onto the scene as both healthful and K for P (according to some) and became a year-round, here-to-stay grain. This recipe is special enough for a yuntif meal and hearty enough to serve on Chol Hamoed. If you make this for a dairy meal, try adding a ½ cup of whole milk when you stir in the spinach. It gives the dish a light, creamy flavor.

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Spinach & Walnut Salad

Packed with iron and protein, this salad offers serious nutrition. Brighten it up with chopped fresh fruit or a handful of craisins. You can easily make a balsamic dressing, and it’s a terrific pairing for any fresh spinach salad. When it’s not Pesach, you can add kick to the dressing by adding 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard.

Chicken with Olives, Tomatoes & Onions

I love, love, love olives! If you agree, jump on board because this chicken recipe featuring kalamata olives—a dark purple Greek olive—will be one of your new favorite dishes. By the way, I wouldn’t use this for the Seder because browning might give the impression of roasted meat. But it’s a great dish for other yom tov and Shabbos meals. Did I mention that I love olives?

Grilled Ribeye with Crispy Parsnips

Ribeye is one of the most popular, juiciest, expensive steaks on the market. This cut is more marbled than others, which makes the steak especially tender and flavorful. Crispy parsnips are the perfect, slightly sweet alternative to French fries. (Grilling the steak disqualifies it for the Seder menu)

Accordion Potatoes

How great looking are these? On this “potato festival” we are forced to constantly reinvent these little spuds, and it’s easy to get bored. But these babies are too fabulous for words! The secret is the red-skinned potatoes: they hold their shape well and are creamier and slightly sweeter than russet potatoes. Crisp chopped garlic, coarse flake kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and quality olive oil finish off this superb show-stopping side.

Chocolate Meringue Stars with Raspberry Sauce

Next to macaroons, I think meringues are probably the most inherently Pesach-friendly dessert you will find. I love when we can take a year-round favorite, and not worry about making special adjustments. Fold in some cocoa powder and serve with a dipping sauce (made from jam and lemon juice) and upgrade these to a fab closer of your holiday meal.