Shared by Claudia Roden
Shared by Claudia Roden
Egyptian Charoset
Yield: 8 servingsTime: 25 minutes
Egyptian Charoset
Yield: 8 servingsTime: 25 minutesFamily Journey
Aleppo and IstanbulCairo
London
Charoset is an essential part of the Passover Seder plate. Its brown color symbolizes the mortar used by the Israelite slaves in Egypt. This recipe was shared by Egyptian-born culinary scholar Claudia Roden, who writes in “The Book of Jewish Food”: “In Egypt, we believed that the paste had to be the color of the Nile silt used to make the mortar, and that only a mixture of dates and raisins gave the right approximation.”
Read more about Claudia’s family in "Claudia Roden Has Carefully Preserved a Lost Jewish" and try her recipes for braised fava beans and artichoke bottoms, slow roasted lamb shoulder with apricot sauce, spiced saffron rice with nuts, and flourless chocolate cake.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups pitted medjool dates
- ¾ cup raisins
- ½ cup sweet red wine
- ½ cup finely chopped walnuts
- 1 cup water
Preparation
Step 1
Place the dates, raisins, and wine in a saucepan. Add just enough water to cover the fruit (about 1 cup). Over high heat, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the dates break down, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, 10-15 minutes.
Step 2
Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the walnuts.
Step 3
Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
