We all know that Pesach/Passover is named after the event when the Angel of Death "passed over" the children of Israel on its way to slay the first-born of the Egyptians. We know about the sign "on the doorposts of thy house" -- blood from a slaughtered lamb.

In the days of the Temple, the people brought lambs for sacrifice and the meat was roasted and eaten during the seder. This sacrifice was the "Korban Pesach." Other than a bit of interesting folk history, what does this have to do with the premise of this column -- why we eat what we eat and what we eat is who we are? Puh-lennnnty!!

Midrash tells us to keep the awareness of the Korban Pesach (and the fall of the Temple) in mind during the seder.  We do that in two ways. First, we have a roasted shankbone on the seder plate (note that those of the vegetarian persuasion use roasted beets) The second is through the absence of the Korban Pesach, just as fasting on Yom Kippur brings us the reminder of how important food is and thus how important it is to put it aside.

Because of the Korban Pesach, we don't dry-roast meats for the seder entrée, but rather we utilize stewed, braised, or pot-roasted meats. And what is the Emperor of Pot Roasts but (drummmmrolllll) brisket!

This is where all things work together...a brisket will feed the starving masses, needs little attention, and fits in quite well in making a non-dry-roasted entrée. It's all well-used muscle and is best benefited by long, slow, moist, and steamy-juicy-wonderfulness-family-style cooking. Say that three times, real fast!

Foodie Nancy Berry sends us this sweetly-tart variation on the traditional brisket-with-broth-and-onion-soup and only slightly more difficult with a geometric jump in results. The sun-dried tomatoes are a reminder of bountiful harvests of the past year and the promise of another harvest to come.

Even though the Brisket with Coke (hint: stock up for the year since KLP Coke is made with sugar syrup during Pesach and corn syrup the rest of the year!) was submitted by Jocelyn Angels, one of our Southern belles, Judith Sobel, calls the Brisket with Coke "Atlanta Brisket" since that's where she's from and Atlanta is the headquarters of the company. Coke is my secret ingredient in spaghetti sauces when I'm in a hurry; it balances the acidity of the canned tomatoes and provides some great resemblance to that long-simmered-all-day flavor.

For something completely different and yet the same, and for those with fewer seats at the table, our Archivist-General Raya Tarab offers an easy-sneezy Osso Bucco. It's the "gremolata" with orange zest instead of lemon that makes this an Israeli tasty treat!

Brisket w/Sun-Dried Tomatoes (M, KLP)
Source: "The New York Times Passover Cookbook," edited by Linda Amster,
William & Morrow, 1999
Serves: 12

5 pound brisket of beef
2 red bell peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 white onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
2-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2" thick
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
1/4 cup KLP ketchup
1 cup beef broth, canned or homemade, low sodium preferably
2-1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F. Sprinkle the brisket with salt and pepper to taste and place it, fat side up, in heavy roasting pan.

Sauté the red peppers and onions in olive oil until lightly browned. Remove from heat and scatter the mixture over the brisket. Add the carrots, parsley and sun-dried tomatoes.

In a small bowl, mix the ketchup, beef broth and brown sugar together. Add enough water to make 2 cups of liquid, and pour around the brisket. Make sure the sun-dried tomatoes are covered by liquid. Cover the pan tightly. Bake for 2-1/2 hours.

Remove the brisket from the pan and cool. Trim off all the visible fat from the cooled brisket and slice diagonally, against the grain. Return the meat to the heavy pan with the vegetables and gravy. When ready to serve, reheat for half an hour in a 350 F oven.

Posted by Nancy L. Berry
Nutritional Info Per Serving: N/A

Brisket w/Coke I (M, KLP, TNT)
Source: "MealLeaniYumm! (All That's Missing is the Fat)" by Norene Gilletz
Serves: 12

3 onions, sliced
4-5 lb. brisket, well trimmed
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tbsp. paprika
1/4 cup apricot jam
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup KLP diet cola

Spray a large roasting pan with non-stick spray. Place onions in pan; place brisket on top of onions. Rub meat on all sides with garlic, seasonings, jam and lemon juice.

Pour cola over and around brisket. Marinate for an hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 325 F or 160 C. Cook covered. Allow 45 minutes per lb. As the cooking time, until meat is fork-tender. Uncover meat for the last hour and baste it occasionally.

Remove from oven and cool completely. Refrigerate overnight, if possible. Discard hardened fat which congeals on the surface. Slice brisket thinly across the grain, trimming away any fat. Reheat slices in the defatted pan juices.

Posted by Jocelyn Angels
Nutritional Info Per Serving: 293 calories, 14.3g fat (6.4g saturated),
103mg cholesterol, 33g protein, 6g carbohydrate, 84mg sodium, 385mg
potassium, 3mg iron, <1g fiber, 19mg calcium >

Osso Bucco II (M, KLP, TNT)
Source: Chef Israel Aharoni (with some changes by me)
Serves: That depends on the number of slices you put in*

10-12 slices osso bucco meat with bone; (beef or veal shanks or shin) try to get from middle: it's larger and has more "meat" (see note)
3-4 carrots, peeled and cut to rings
2-3 onions, chopped
1 celery stalks, well washed and cut to moons
3-4 garlic cloves (depends on taste), crushed
2-3 bay leaves (very important, don't do without)
1 can crushed tomatoes (in Israel a can contains about 1 lb.)
1 bottle good red wine (any kind can be substituted.) *SEE NOTE
Seasonings to taste (I use salt, pepper, and cumin)
Oil for frying (He recommended olive oil but I use other kinds.)
10-12 potatoes

Garnish:
Chopped parsley
Orange peel threads (or just grate)

Brown meat in oil in a large skillet. If making a lot do it in batches. Remove from heat and place on a tray. Do not clean skillet.

In the same skillet (that contains oil + meat juices) sauté in order: onions, garlic, celery and carrots. Finally add tomatoes and 1/2 bottle wine. Sauté for about 15 minutes.

Add seasonings and bay leaves, sauté for a few more minutes. It does not have to be thick at this point.

Put half mixture in large oven pan. Arrange meat on mixture. Pour on top the rest of the mixture. Cover with aluminum foil. Place in pre-heated (medium) oven. Bake for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. About 1 hour before end, add peeled potatoes. Check during baking, and add fluids if necessary (the best choice is wine, however broth can be substituted).

Remove. If necessary, place in oven for 15 minutes without foil to brown. Meat should be very very tender. Dish can at this stage be cooled and kept at refrigerator for 24 hours, or kept on a warm plate, or served. Best not to freeze prepared dish (loses flavor).

Before serving, remove bay leaves. Arrange on tray with vegetables and potatoes around. Garnish with chopped parsley and orange grate (exclude orange grate if intended for children).

Poster's Notes:
1) If there is a problem with wine, you can use broth but the results will be best with wine.
2) This recipe was published a couple of years ago by Aharoni (famous Israeli chef and food journalist) as a suggestion for Passover main dish. I have used it since in Passover for the Seder main dish, with raving reviews. It has the advantage of being pre-cut (nature of dish) and pre-prepared. It even tastes better if you make it in advance and let it "stand" one day. It is also easy to make. Beware however that the
bone marrow might be high in cholesterol.
3) This dish is calculated for about 9-10 slices of meat. If using more, add some more vegetables and liquids or make in two batches.
4) I used this recipe with veal and beef osso bucco. While veal has less fat, beef makes a more flavorful dish (in my opinion).

Posted by Raya Tarab
Nutritional Info Per Serving: N/A

For these and other recipes, go to The Jewish Food Mailing List Archive.

For more information about the mailing list, or questions about the
recipes in these columns, please write to jewishfood-list@ujc.org.