Tuesday 16 March. 7:30 pm UK time/ 12:30 am PT/3:30 pm ET/ 8:30 pm Europe/ 9:30 pm Israel. Harif/Hampstead synagogue/ JIMENA.

Fabienne Viner-Luzzato, professional chef of Tunisian origin and JC contributor, Esther Amini, author with Persian roots of the acclaimed ‘Concealed’ and Linda Dangoor, artist and popular author of Flavours of Babylon will talk about their special foods and tell us how Passover is celebrated in their communities.
For Fabienne’s Msoki recipe, click here..

This is Esther Amini‘s mother’s Haroset from the Iranian city of Mashhad.
(This should be made a few days before the beginning of Passover and then kept refrigerated)

1 cup ground walnuts
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup ground pistachios
1 cup ground hazelnuts

1 pound seedless raisins
3 red sweet apples
3 pomegranates
1 glass of Extra Heavy Malaga wine

1. The raisins should be washed, then soaked in water for about an hour to soften them.
Squeeze out the water and grind them.
2. Peel the three apples, grind them, and add them to the raisins.
3. Peel the three pomegranates, take the kernels out, grind them, and add them to the mix.
4. Add the four cups of nuts listed above.
5. Pour the glass of extra heavy Malaga wine into this container and mix it all well.
It now has a thick consistency.
6. The Haroset should be stored in a sealed plastic container and placed in the refrigerator.
7. On the first night of Passover, prior to serving the Haroset, add some more Malaga wine to moisten the consistency.

A delicious recipe from FLAVOURS of BABYLON by Linda Dangoor

Stuffed Courgettes in a sweet and sour sauce
You will need: 8 long courgettes

The Stuffing

225 grams minced lamb
1 finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

The Sauce

2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
Juice of 1 lemon
1 flat tablespoon of sugar
1 bay leaf
200ml water

Method

Wash and top and tail the courgettes. Cut in half along the width so you end up with 16 cylindrical pieces.

Using an apple corer, scoop out the centre of the vegetable. Do not cut right through. Leave one end closed. Set aside .

For the sauce, combine the scooped out courgettes with the sauce ingredients in a pan large enough to hold all the stuffed courgettes and boil for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the stuffing ingredients together and stuff the courgettes, smoothing off the tops.

Arrange the stuffed courgettes in the boiling sauce, adding more water if necessary to half cover the contents. Boil for 2 minutes. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Then pour in the mixed the lemon juice and sugar and simmer covered for a further 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot with rice.

The dish can be cooked in advance and will taste more flavoursome the following day.