My Passover Kitchen

April 15, 2016

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Passover starts in one week! Are you ready? Check out some of my favorite kitchen essentials I use for my Passover cooking. Eight days may not seem like much to warrant all these kitchen gadgets, but in reality Passover is always longer than 8 days…most kitchens are kosher at least 2-3 days earlier. And the amount of cooking that needs to be done feels like we’re condensing a month’s worth of eating and cooking into one week.

My Passover Kitchen Essentials

Food Processor

This was my first major kitchen appliance buy for passover. It’s my absolute essential for preparing for the seder. I invested in a large capacity Cuisinart food processor and it’s still running smoothly. I use it to make:

horseradish
charoset
passover granola (for easy breakfasts and snacks)
salsa verde, pesto, etc… (I love serving fresh vegetables and herb sauces to lighten up a heavy meal)
prepping cakes and cookie batters (check out my dessert recipes as most are grain-free/Passover friendly)

Slow Cookers

If you have the space to store an extra slow cooker for passover, it really frees up some much needed time, especially if you’re needing to feed a family in those horrible “transition” days when the kitchen isn’t quite fully kosher for passover but passover hasn’t started yet and everyone is home from school and work, and guests are coming to town, etc…

I use a large 6-7 quart size slow cooker to make:

chicken or beef stock (for other recipes I’m making to avoid those horrible soup bouillons) – just throw your bones into the cooker, fill with water, and turn it on!
chicken soup (either for an easy meal for “transition days”, to make the soup for seder night, or to keep soups or other items warm for the seder)
slow cooked chicken (any chicken recipe you have can be made in a slow cooker)
stews
salmon chowder (one of my favorites! I can eat this for breakfast)

I use a small slow cooker to melt chocolate for fondue to serve on seder night as dessert. It’s my savior every year since I don’t always have time to bake a ton of desserts for the seder. I ask for a guest to bring a fruit platter to serve along side it, and it’s always a crowd pleaser. And I make sure to have plenty left over to make homemade chocolate covered matzo.

Blenders

If you have a food processor, you can get away without having a blender, but I do find it helpful for all the other homemade items I like to have for Passover week.

Since I keep my food processor parve, I keep one immersion blender for meat (cream soups with a chicken or beef stock base for example) and a regular blender for dairy recipes.

And I like using blenders for:

homemade nut flour waffles or pancakes (I like to make a big batch and freeze for easy kid-friendly re-heating)
homemade nut milks, like my coconut-almond milk and instant almond milk
smoothies
homemade mayonnaise (I usually use an immersion blender for this)
homemade salad dressings

Hand Mixer

So many Passover recipes call for beaten egg whites which makes a hand mixer very practical. Mine is very old but still running smoothly and I like having hand mixer that comes with its own storage case to keep all the beaters in one place and to make it easy to store away the rest of the year.

Roasting Pans

Just like my year round cooking, my Passover meals are based around a ton of vegetable side dishes. And roasting vegetables with simple spices is my go-to side dish. I have roasting pans for dairy, fish, and meat and use it for everything from baking fish, to making kale chips, to roasting chicken. The Kosher Cook sells sheet pans embossed with “Dairy”, “Meat”, or “Parve” that I find really helpful.

Storage Containers

I have slowly accumulated a good amount of pyrex containers for Passover throughout the years. I’m not a fan of plastic for storing food. Pyrex or other glass storage containers can be placed in the oven or freezer without any chemicals leaching into your food, and can be used as serving dishes.

Mason jars are also amazing to have for Passover, I especially like the wide mouth jars. I use them to store food, and for making homemade salad dressings, jelly, mayonnaise, and freezing stocks.

And I don’t like the amount of waste that seems to get out of control on the holidays. I know Passover has its challenges from budget to storage space, but we shouldn’t forget about the concept of Bal Tashchit (the commandment to not destroy or waste) when it comes to all the throw away items we all take for granted.

If we can all do a little better, collectively it can make a difference.

Miscellaneous

Some of my other favorite kitchen items I have specifically for Passover:

Salad spinners: I use these every single day, and couldn’t get used to not having one on Passover. My favorite is the stainless steel OXO salad spinner, the bowl can be used for other food prep, and OXO is really good about sending (free) replacement parts (I usually have to call them once a year to get a new plastic insert for mine).
Silicone spatulas: Also used daily in my kitchen. I buy new ones for Passover and use them year round until they get worn out again by the next Passover. And it comes in different colors that is always convenient in kosher kitchens (available in white, red, and green).
Baking supplies: muffin pans (for almond flour muffins), round and square pans for cakes and brownies, hand mixer, etc.. If you’re trying new recipes this year, especially for baking, make sure you have the correct size pans!

Some non-essential items you may want to have depending on what your family likes to eat is:

Ice Cream Maker: you can easily make dairy-free ice cream (with coconut milk) and sorbets. This is one area that I have yet to see healthier versions of on Passover.
Waffle Maker: I like to make a big batch of nut flour waffles to store in the freezer for the week that the kids can easily heat up in a toaster oven.