Passover is around the corner! We are getting busy cooking (and listening to some Passover music and some traditional renditions of the HAGGADAH in the Rhodesli Tradition by Neil Sheff, to get us in the mood! Listen along with us!)

While listening today, I was remembering the Birkat Amazon as I had learned it in Seattle, “Ya Komimos.” Thanks to my Facebook friend Louise Chiprut Berman, I immediately had the words at my fingertips. I could hear most of it in my memory, missing a line or two. Asking on Facebook, Bryan Kirschen was able to post Hazan Isaac Azose singing it exactly as I remembered! AH, such happy memories…..and the wonders of Facebook!
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Cooking with my Mom. Making Keftes de Prassa….a family favorite. We serve Prassa (leek patties) at Pesah as they are a spring vegetable.  We also serve them at Rosh Hashanah as part of the ‘yehi ratzonis’ – the Rosh Hashanah Seder.

Our family makes them without meat…..a good option for the vegetarians at your Seder. (some have the tradition of adding ground beef to their leek patties.)

This is my mom’s method for Keftes de Prassa.

Ingredients:

1 large onion – chopped

8 medium stalks of leek

3 eggs

2 tblsp matzah meal

1 C mashed potato or 1 C mashed potato flakes

pepper to taste

*optional pinch of red pepper flakes

Prepare leeks. Cut 1/4″ from top and bottom.

Cut in half vertically.

Soak and clean leeks throughly. (leeks, by nature, often have a good amount of fine dirt between leaves. Make sure to clean carefully) Soak, rinse, soak again (2 – 3 times).

Cut into 1/2″ pieces.

Boil cut leek and chopped onion in a pot of water ( covering mixture), until vegetables are soft and limp. Boil Potato separately until soft.

Drain (squeeze out) all liquid. Add additional ingredients. Blend into an even leek-onion-potato mixture. Shape into patties.

Fry : 2/3 C oil

Fry on medium heat until both sides are slightly browned.

Drain on a paper towel. Divine freshly made…..can be frozen, sealed tight.

Defrost and place on a cookie sheet and warm in the oven at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until warmed throughly.

Enjoy!!!!!!

Love hearing what you’re making and doing for the holidays. Stay in touch with us here and on Facebook at ‘Bendichas Manos!’

~ Kaye & Marcia