PASSOVER ALL OVER THE WORLD

A ritual marathon feast known as a Seder is celebrated on Passover to mark the Jews’ liberation from slavery in Ancient Egypt. This year it takes place April 10.

There are some differences between the ritual Seder plate and the various cuisines served for the holiday, but the combination creates some savory meals.

In their migration over the centuries, Jews have traversed the globe in order to practice their religion freely. Thus, the influences on the foods eaten during Passover have been diverse.
In Judaism there are two basic groups Ashkenazi from Germany and Eastern Europe, and Sephardic from Spain, Italy and the Middle East. With adoptions and intermarriage American Jews also have Latino, Asian and African ancestry.

As a second-generation Jewish-American family, we celebrated with the more common rituals and food. I researched the Internet and found myself particularly enlightened by one source, a website entitled HappyPassover.net.

According to the site, for instance, the customs and traditions followed by Indian Jews are similar to Hindus in both makeup and language. Here it says that the delicacies are a blend of “Indo-Jewish” flavors. Whereas we tend to have chopped liver, brisket of beef, matzo ball soup and potato pancakes, “Indian Jews prepare items such as molagachi, a mahogany chicken with black pepper; ellegal, a spice-rubbed fish in a cool herb salsa; appam, coconut crepes in a date sauce; and masalachi, mutton that is braised with coriander and garlic.”
“Following strict sabbath laws, men don a Malabari sarong, called a mondoo, while the women wear flowing silk saris and jewelry that sparkles. Songs of exodus are softly hummed to Indian melodies.”
Six ritual foods are on the Seder plate, some different from the traditional Jewish American.
“Lamb bone shank, roasted egg and matzo, are surrounded by romaine lettuce, date jam with walnuts, celery, and lime juice,” the site says. Although rice and legumes used to be forbidden, they have become traditional in Sephardic cultures.

While Jews were once ousted from Italy, there now exists a large Jewish population, especially in Rome.
“A traditional Passover menu begins with a paste-like mixture of ground dates, raisins, figs and oranges called Haroset all’italiana. Carciofi all romana, Roman-style artichokes, are prepared with bresaola, an air-cured beef with lemon and arugula. Cubes of fried white fish are marinated in an herb vinaigrette with caramelized onions for a dish called carpione.”
Those are just the side dishes, as the main course of an Italian Seder includes tortino di azzine, a matzo lasagna using vegetables and lamb together and insalata alla Sefardita, a salad of romaine, green onions and dill in a red wine vinaigrette. Desserts are generally comprised of a rich almond-paste cookie rolled up in powdered sugar known as ricciarelli de Siena.
“Here a ritual Seder plate is brought to the table covered with a pretty scarf. Prior to placing it on the table, the plate is placed atop a child’s head and rotated allowing everyone to view.”
Later, the tradition of having the youngest son recite the “four questions” relates to this. Although we typically take three pieces of matzo and simply place it under a napkin, the Italian ritual has the matzos tied to the napkin to form a little sack. It is then passed around the table from shoulder to shoulder.

Another Sephardic tradition, new to me, is to take a green onion, with long stems, and place it beside each member at the Seder table. Each member picks it up, holding it like a whip while singing the song, Dayenu. When the chorus kicks in, the participant holding the bulb lightly whips each person with a flick of the wrist. This particular ritual is used by Jews in Afghanistan and Iran. One explanation is that it represents the whips used when the Jewish slaves were beaten by the Pharaoh’s slave drivers.

Regarding food, the site says that Jews of Allepo, Syria, were known for their liberal use of spices, such as allspice, cinnamon, saffron and cardamom.
“There are an abundant amount of bitter cherries in this area featured in many of their dishes. One recipe involves a stew of meatballs with allspice and pine nuts that are smothered in a cherry sauce with tamarind and onions. Here, the use of rice is common to the Seder meal.”

If you are not interested in preparing a Seder meal, don’t expect a kosher restaurant to be open for Passover as it involves disposing of any items that are not “kosher for Passover” as well as changing the dishes and other traditions that involve a great deal of work.

One option for at least one Seder night is at Thai Rock, located in Rockaway Beach. There, a “kosher style” traditional Seder dinner comes complete with matzo ball soup, chopped liver and a brisket of beef. Bring your family to avoid the hard work and cleanup. I am told that there is usually a rabbi in attendance, as well as music and gefilte fish that is not out of jar.

Posted 4:17 pm, April 6, 2017

MEAT ME AT MARIO’S AND SAY, “MANGIA”

Rumor has it that lovers of Italian sausage are trekking to Mario’s Meat Market and Gourmet Deli for their supplies.  Hey, Joe, what’s the story?  Picture it.  1971 when Mario DiGangi and his family come to America from a town in Italy called Polizzi Generosa where Mario gets a job working in a meat store while living in Brooklyn.  A move to Ridgewood, Queens he works at another meat store for 9 years.  Enough already! It’s 1982 and time to get his own store!  That is when he opened Mario’s Meat Market and Deli located at 75-55 Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village, Queens. 

 MARIO

 MARIO ON THE LEFT, HIS SON JOE ON THE RIGHT 

An Italian meat market; what’s the big deal?  These high quality one family places are few and far between.  I walked in one day to see Mario’s son Joe preparing the dry sausage.  Joe took over since Mario had passed in 2011.  He tells me that it’s all about the quality and cut of meat being used.  I see a variety of both thin and thick sausages through the glass shelf of which is made fresh every day…the sausage, not the shelf.  Joe said that a lesser amount of fat is used for the dry sausage and yes, it’s been quite demanded.  They are air dried for 4 weeks and ready to slice up, like a thin salami.  

The store is quite large and divided well.  One area has the Grade A prime or Black Angus cuts of meat and only organic chickens are sold here.  You could drool just looking at what you and your family can cook up.  Wait until you see their Tomahawk Steak; prime rib and feeds at least three.

JOE,ARTIE SPINELLI, AND UNCLE TONY DIGANGI

There are many prepared items so you don’t have to think.  Take for instance, Chicken Breast ala Mario is lightly coated with spices and stuffed with proscutti, mozzarella, and sausage.  Large enough for two people especially when you add a pasta dish with one of Mario’s sauces. Buy the chopped meat or delve into a smokehouse burger made with prime chuck and brisket blend, Applewood smoked bacon, Vermont cheddar, salt and pepper.  Want one made from turkey? How about a burger with organic turkey breast, spinach, imported feta, salt and pepper?  All tasted savory and satisfying to the taste buds.  

I love osso bucco but want to make sure it’s cooked properly.  Joe can give you the recipe.  How does he know?  He didn’t start there by cutting meat.  It’s an art.  Joe spent his younger years in the kitchen helping his mother and grandmother.  Who else would you get the best recipes from?  Now he cooks up a variety of delicious food that you can simply heat and eat worthy of a great Italian restaurant.  That is where we move on toward the deli area. 

Chose imported cheeses such as provolone, ricotta salata, parmigiana reggiano, burrata, caciocavello, and scamorza.   Try one of the tastiest store made ravioli made with sweet red bell peppers and smoked mozzarella.  Top it with their ala vodka, tomato or pesto sauce.  

Easter brings requests for baby lamb, especially known for the delicacy of eating the roasted head…in Southern Italy.  You can purchase a whole baby lamb and Joe will gladly cut it up for roasting. These lambs are milk fed and tender.  Northern Italy tends to go for baby goat…no kid-ding.  Preference is a darker meat and liver vs. the head.  

Pizza Rustica, the famous Easter Italian Pie is like quiche with various meats and cheeses.  Sweeten the meal as you will find a diversity of locally made and imported pastries not to mention the Italian imported gift wrapped chocolate eggs.    

My take on this market?   I got the thin sausage; one with cheese and parsley, one with fennel.  Fried it up and put some of their tomato sauce atop.  I did my own osso bucco creation by dipping in flour and frying as usually done.  I did not have wine.  Instead, I substituted with water and raisins.  After letting it cook on a sort of high simmer, I added tomato sauce and lastly, a small dollop of their pesto sauce on the marrow. 

Mario’s has their own brand of ravioli, one of which is a sweet red pepper with ricotta cheese and smoke mozzarella.  Not being a vegetarian, I opted to top it with their Bolognese sauce, loaded with chopped beef.  

A portion of the deli department is dedicated to salads and pre-cooked items.  I decided on their vegetable lasagna to conclude that I didn’t require any meat to satiate my taste.   They cure their olives and sampled a mixture.  Octopus salad was quite tender and very little was added. 

One surprise was in requesting marrow bones.   Before it was trendy, they were thrown in with your order if you wanted.  Joe said that if you are there to buy other meat items, he’ll toss a few bones.  Otherwise, they are $2.99 per pound.  The surprise was that they were not the usual beef bones but from veal.  It’s kind of like having osso bucco without the meat.  

While you are shopping, take advantage of their $12 panini deal.  Choose one from their list or create your own.  For instance, I had one with grilled chicken, grilled veggies and a cheddar horseradish cheese.   Uncle Tony is their main panini maker who adds a cup of soup and a bottle of water (and some extra spices on the panini).  Extremely tummy filling.  Check it all out at www.mariosmeatsanddeli.com 

BOSTON BOLTS TO MARIO’S MEAT MARKET

Rumor has it that lovers of Italian sausage are trekking to Mario’s Meat Market and Gourmet Deli for their supplies.  Hey, Joe, what’s the story?  Picture it.  1971 when Mario DiGangi and his family come to America from a town in Italy called Polizzi Generosa where Mario gets a job working in a meat store while living in Brooklyn.  A move to Ridgewood, Queens he works at another meat store for 9 years.  Enough already! It’s 1982 and time to get his own store!  That is when he opened Mario’s Meat Market and Deli located at 75-55 Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village, Queens. 

 

An Italian meat market; what’s the big deal?  These high quality one family places are few and far between.  I walked in one day to see Mario’s son Joe preparing the dry sausage.  Joe took over since Mario had passed in 2011.  He tells me that it’s all about the quality and cut of meat being used.  I see a variety of both thin and thick sausages through the glass shelf of which is made fresh every day…the sausage, not the shelf.  Joe said that a lesser amount of fat is used for the dry sausage and yes, it’s been quite demanded.  They are air dried for 4 weeks and ready to slice up, like a thin salami. 

  

The store is quite large and divided well.  One area has the Grade A prime or Black Angus cuts of meat and only organic chickens are sold here.  You could drool just looking at what you and your family can cook up.  Wait until you see their Tomahawk Steak; prime rib and feeds at least three.

There are many prepared items so you don’t have to think.  Take for instance, Chicken Breast ala Mario is lightly coated with spices and stuffed with proscutti, mozzarella, and sausage.  Large enough for two people especially when you add a pasta dish with one of Mario’s sauces. Buy the chopped meat or delve into a smokehouse burger made with prime chuck and brisket blend, Applewood smoked bacon, Vermont cheddar, salt and pepper.  Want one made from turkey? How about a burger with organic turkey breast, spinach, imported feta, salt and pepper?

I love osso bucco but want to make sure it’s cooked properly.  Joe can give you the recipe.  How does he know?  He didn’t start there by cutting meat.  It’s an art.  Joe spent his younger years in the kitchen helping his mother and grandmother.  Who else would you get the best recipes from?  Now he cooks up a variety of delicious food that you can simply heat and eat worthy of a great Italian restaurant.  That is where we move on toward the deli area.

Chose imported cheeses such as provolone, ricotta salata, parmigiana reggiano, burrata, caciocavello, and scamorza.   Try one of the tastiest store made ravioli made with sweet red bell peppers and smoked mozzarella.  Top it with their ala vodka, tomato or pesto sauce.  

Easter brings requests for baby lamb, especially known for the delicacy of eating the roasted head…in Southern Italy.  You can purchase a whole baby lamb and Joe will gladly cut it up for roasting. These lambs are milk fed and tender.  Northern Italy tends to go for baby goat…no kid-ding.  Preference is a darker meat and liver vs. the head.  

Pizza Rustica, the famous Easter Italian Pie is like quiche with various meats and cheeses.  Sweeten the meal as you will find a diversity of locally made and imported pastries not to mention the Italian imported gift wrapped chocolate eggs. 

    

While you are shopping, take advantage of their $12 panini deal.  Choose one from their list or create your own.  For instance, I had one with grilled chicken, grilled veggies and a cheddar horseradish cheese.   Uncle Tony is their main panini maker who adds a cup of soup and a bottle of water (and some extra spices on the panini).  Extremely tummy filling.  Check it all out at www.mariosmeatsanddeli.com 

WHERE HAVE ALL THE DELIS GONE?

I have had a craving for a kosher overstuffed tongue sandwich on rye bread.  The kind that you can only get at a kosher deli.  These days they are few and far between.  According to Jay Parker, owner of Ben’s Best, at 96-40 Queens Blvd., there were once up to eight kosher deli’s just in the surrounding area of Rego Park.  Now, Ben’s Best is only one of two located in all of Queens County.

Jay isn’t the first owner as it was being passed down through his grandparents who immigrated from Poland and Russia during the 1930’s.  This was the all too common story of people who would never take a hand out and sacrificing their life to better the future of their children’s.  They did not want their offspring to work in a deli but rather go to school and grow into a more lucrative business. 

At that time the grandparents worked and lived atop a canned goods store.  Jewish immigrants, particularly the Ashkenazi, yearned for their own “comfort food” of the meats, soups and what were considered inexpensive “delicacies”.   Jay told me that back in the 1930s and once the slicing machine was invented, there were 1500 kosher delis in New York City  and that now there are only about a dozen.  

Jay’s father, Benjamin, was the first to own this boutique delicatessen in 1945. Jay took over in 1984 after his father died, trading Wall Street for pastrami and quite happy and proud that he did.  “You just can’t get this stuff anywhere else”.  

Of the space, half is taken up by the counter and kitchen.  There is no party room.  Jay says he likes it this way as keeping up the quality and taste is easier to serve and satisfy a smaller amount of diners at a time. 

Finished with the history. Let’s get to the food.  I really wanted to sample everything on the menu.  I settled on what I felt were the important ones starting with Jewish penicillin. In other words, Chicken Soup with a huge Knaidel (matzo ball), thin noodles, a couple of carrot slices and pieces of chicken.  It’s all about the broth using whole chickens, chicken bones and soup greens.  I found that there was just enough salt to taste the savored flavor.  Hey, you can always add salt, but you can’t take it out.

Chopped liver, for those that have never had it, is made from chicken livers.  Schmaltz (chicken fat), hard boiled eggs and onions are added.  All is ground up to what would be considered a chunkier pate.  I recall years ago when my mother made this and she had to use a chopper rather than a food processor.  The chicken fat was taken directly from a fresh kosher chicken.  When fried up, there were small pieces of the crisp fat, called greeven.  Great on rye bread.  Chopped liver at Ben’s Best is served with slices of red onions, red peppers, black olives and some lettuce.  Oy, what a great sandwich it made, not to mention the good taste.  Jay has the bread specially made with caraway seeds that are totally ground. No more having someone point at your teeth.

Stuffed cabbage is another favorite of mine.  Cabbage leaves are basically stuffed with ground beef and cooked rice, along with a few other ingredients, then simmered in tomato soup.  I found both the taste and consistency a bit different from ones I’ve had before, even making it myself.  Ah! The beef was ground a bit more than usual and tomato SOUP is better than tomato SAUCE.   The cabbage roll is served with peas and carrots atop.

Since I have mentioned cabbage, I’ll mention the cole slaw and pickles that are served with meals.  Thank goodness, there wasn’t vinegar in the cole slaw.  Pickles are coming from a barrel and not a jar. One sour, one half sour.  Perfect! 

Potato pancakes (latkes) may be typical of Chanukah.  You don’t have to wait for the holiday.  Made from grated potato (less the water), onion, matzo meal, flour, eggs and oil, they are thick.  Jay has them served with apple sauce that is freshly made on the premises.   Option at home is to serve with sour cream.  There isn’t any dairy served here. 

Kasha Varnishkes are actually a Sephardic recipe that combines these buckwheat groats with farfalle bow-tie pasta.  There are no meat products in this version.  If the waitperson asks if you want beef gravy served on the side, ask “Which side?”

A delicious knish is a standard.  What make a difference is the knishwich, a sandwich of meat served inside a knish.  It’s like having your meat and potatoes in a better form.  All of the meats are made on the premises.  Ben’s Best is well known for the pastrami.  I had sampled the pastrami, corned beef, brisket of beef and turkey.  I could see what the pastrami rave was all about. 

No, I did not forget the tongue.  It is quite difficult to buy at a meat market or supermarket as I have heard from many that the Chinese discovered what they find as a “delicacy”.   That’s right, they are shipped off to China and will pay highly for it.  It’s not unusual to find the price of cooked tongue here at about $40 per pound.  Jay’s overstuffed sandwich has about a half pound of meat.  In other words, eat it sparingly!  Nurse it!  Savor it!  Love every bite of it!  My craving has been satisfied for a while. Oy, a mechayeh! 

Stressed is desserts spelled backwards.  Jay said that they make their own baklava.  Perfect timing as the baklava was just coming out of the oven.  Twist my arm.  OMG it was awesome!  Aside from eating it hot, I notice that the walnuts were chopped fine.  As much as I like baklava, I don’t particularly want to chomp on nuts.