Syrian Haroset

 
Syrian Haroset

June 28th 2011By Victoria Dwek

My father-in-law, a Rav, told me he was once asked, “Why is haroset delicious if it represents such sad things?” He responded, “Every difficulty in life is really sweet—they are blessings from G-d.” Every ingredient in the haroset is symbolic of the Jewish labor in Egypt. The walnuts are the pebbles of the bricks. The dates represent the mud, and the wine is the blood of the babies who were used in place of bricks when the quotas weren’t filled. As most Sepharadim eat gebrokts, the matzah meal represents the straw, also used to make bricks. This recipe is from my husband’s grandmother a”h, Rosa Dwek, from Aleppo, Syria.

 

Persian Charoset— Haleg

 

June 28th 2011By Reyna Simnegar

from Persian Cooking from the Non-Persian Bride Persian charoset (Haleg) is fabulous! This is my mother-in-law’s charoset recipe. I buy already ground walnuts and almonds to make my life easier. I also purchase date paste so I don’t have to grind that either. The rest of the ingredients I process together into a wet paste similar in texture to chummus. Charoset spice is made by Sadaf and you can get it online; or simply mix equal parts of cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon. Keep haleg refrigerated and if it gets too thick, thin it with grape juice or even sweet wine to give it a grown-up twist!