Not your bubbe's haroset!
The following is a recipe I just threw together inspired by Greek Haroset.
soak dried dates and apricots in water for about an hour; strain and save soak water
chop dates and apricots into mush (I like to do it on wax paper for easy cleanup)
put into a large mixing bowl
in a dry, hot pan toast fennel seed, coriander seed and white peppercorn–once you smell the amazing fragrance and hear the seeds pop, remove from the heat–grind according to your desire (i smashed it with a glass bottle between wax paper)
mix the spices in with the fruit and mix well, adding splashes of the soak water if necessary to ease mixing.
chop walnuts, fold into the mixture
add in finely chopped fresh dill (yup, fresh dill–and it HAS to be fresh; mint will work too, but dill is better)
add in a splash or two of red wine, mix it up really well
and there you have it, a sweet, spicy sticky haroset that your bubbe wouldn’t recognize!
enjoy!
oy! in my crazy rush I forgot to add in the cloves and the sesame!
add to this recipe a pinch of cloves and a sizeable heap of sesame seeds!
If you have any leftovers, I’d love to swing by, ukulele in hand, and take a taste!
Nice work, Justin. This year I brought a charoset showdown to the seder. It was Sephard-esque vs. Asheknaz-esque, a.k.a sticky-sweet vs. never-stays-on-the-matza. My money was on the first.
Contender 1
finely ground almonds, sunflower seeds, and salted cashews
chopped dates, dried cherries, apricots, and cranberries
ground ginger, cinnamon, and grapefruit zest
pomegranate juice
Contender 2
diced apples
ground walnuts and almonds
raisins simmered in manischewitz with nutmeg
lemon juice
Fresh mint all over. Number 2 received the most praise. Both batches had disappeared by breakfast.
@mel nice work. make some for our next get together? does any charoset ever stay around long? srsly?