Food coverage is supported by a generous donation from Susan and Moses Libitzky.
The first time I visited Israel, I was 12 years old on a six-week vacation with my parents and older sister. I had grown up hearing about my parents’ time in the country as newlyweds, honorary kibbutzniks, with my mom toiling away in the kitchen and my dad learning how to raise (and kill) chickens.
Even in our Western Canadian kitchen, we’d eat up bowls of stewed okra and homemade falafel as my parents retold stories of their glory days in the Holy Land. When it was time for us to make the trip as a family, my sister and I were ecstatic, eager to take in the sights, smells and, most of all, the tastes of a place they loved so much.
I recently found my journal, over 20 years later, chronicling our time, where I often complained about the blistering heat, commented on the beautiful land (and people), and mostly documented the foods I was trying.
During the trip, we stayed in Tel Aviv with our cousin Yossi, in his Allenby Street apartment overlooking the tree-lined pavement. I can still taste that first meal we shared. Cousin Yossi made beef-stuffed kibbeh, an Israeli salad, stuffed peppers and a dessert of malabi, a rose-water pudding topped with raspberry syrup and pistachios. I’d never tasted anything like malabi — with a floral taste that I wasn’t sure what to make of.
Admittedly, I was skeptical of the rose water and opted for a second dessert of chocolate pudding. But as my palate has expanded and my horizons have broadened, I remember that first bite with such fondness and have since fallen in love with malabi.
As I start to dream up my Passover menu, I have that trip on my mind. Every Passover we proclaim, “Next year in Jerusalem!” I want to actively bring a little Jerusalem (and Tel Aviv) to my Passover table.
With any menu planning, I’m always thinking about how to serve a dish, what it might symbolize and whether I can prepare it in advance. This recipe for Haroset “Malabi” hits all three.
When it comes to rose water and Passover, the jury is still out. It is noted that commercially available rose water doesn’t have a hechsher for Passover, typically because it is made in countries without kosher supervision.
Vanilla beans are not considered kitniyot, so stock up on vanilla pods. (I buy mine at Oaktown Spice Shop or when Trader Joe’s has them.) You can also find kosher-for-Passover vanilla extract if preferred. In this recipe, you can substitute the beans from the scraped vanilla pod with 1½ tsp. vanilla extract.
Hint: Don’t toss your vanilla pod once you’ve scraped out the beans for the recipe. Add the pod to a container of sugar to create vanilla sugar, or add it to a bottle of vodka, bourbon, brandy or rum and let it steep for four to six weeks for DIY vanilla extract.
In lieu of the raspberry syrup, I make a Manischewitz-and-honey syrup by simply boiling down the sweet kosher wine until it thickens. I top the pudding with an apple-nut mixture inspired by haroset.
Haroset “Malabi”
Serves 6
Pudding:
- 2 cups whole milk or almond milk, divided
- 4 Tbs. potato starch (or cornstarch)
- 14 oz. can coconut milk
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- Beans scraped from ½ of a vanilla pod, or 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
- ½ tsp. rose water, optional
Syrup:
- 1 cup Manischewitz wine
- 2 Tbs. honey or agave syrup
Haroset Topping:
- 1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped
- ¼ cup unsalted, shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
- 1 Tbs. honey
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- Pinch kosher salt
In small bowl, whisk ½ cup whole or almond milk with potato starch until smooth. Set aside.
In medium saucepan, combine the remaining milk, coconut milk and honey over medium-high heat. Stir frequently until honey dissolves. Once it starts to bubble, reduce heat to low. Add potato starch mixture, stirring constantly.
Add lemon juice, vanilla and (optional) rose water. Cook pudding for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring constantly until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Pour the pudding into 6 dishes and cover with plastic wrap. Transfer to the fridge. Let cool and set for 2 hours.
For syrup: In small saucepan, combine wine and honey. Bring to low boil. Reduce to simmer and let reduce by half. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
For haroset topping: In a medium bowl, combine apple, pistachios, honey, cinnamon and salt. Mix well.
To serve: Spoon 1-2 Tbs. of wine syrup over set pudding and top with haroset.