Watch a video for this Brazilian Haroset for Passover HERE.
Every time I cook Jewish recipes, I think of my Tia Sarita, my father’s sister, who immigrated from Tangier, Morroco to Rio de Janeiro in the 1960s.
I also think about Brazilian ingredients, the tropical flavors associated with my country, and how Brazilian jews slowly incorporated that into a new, forming cuisine.
Unanimously we think about lime, coconut, mango, papaya, peanuts, cashews, and so many other tropical foods. But it took a while until my aunt started using these ingredients in her own cooking. She began collecting recipes when she had just arrived in Rio, and my grandmother would still do the cooking.
Over the last few years, I decided to embark on a lovely project: to preserve my family recipes. I called my aunt Sarita to chat about Haroset. We talked about a Brazilian Haroset for Passover of course.
An animated great-grandmother with short-cropped black and white hair, my aunt speaks with me shifting from Spanish to French to Haketia (a Sephardic dialect) to Portuguese, as she searches for words to describe the ingredients of Morrocco, Brazil, and how she creates her recipes.
Her cooking makes me feel at home, with deep roots in Jewish, Spanish, North African, and Brazilian cultures. We visualized a recipe that preserves the essence of haroset but alters the flavor profile with our own tropical twist. A recipe that marries Jewish traditions with Brazilian ingredients.
In our version of Brazilian Haroset for Passover, cashews and peanuts replace the traditional walnuts. Lime accentuates the brightness of the apples and spices like coriander and ginger. The banana adds creaminess. The coconut adds a nutty flavor. The flavors shimmer in your mouth.
Watch this recipe for Brazilian Haroset for Passover HERE.
Brazilian Haroset for Passover
Makes about 3 Cups
2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1 banana, peeled and diced
1/3 cup (40g) peanuts, lightly toasted and chopped finely
1/3 cup cashews (48g), lightly toasted and chopped finely
1/3 cup (18g) coconut chips
1 lime, zested, cut into segments, and diced
1/3 cup Kosher sweet red wine
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Combine all the fruits and nuts.
Add the lime, wine, honey, and spices and mix well using a rubber spatula and folding carefully until fruits and nuts are completely covered.
If you like this recipe, you might also enjoy:
The Best Almond Cake For Passover
Chocolate-Covered Tatzoh Toffee
I’m so happy that you visited today. Thanks for reading and browsing my site.
Make sure to share this story with someone who cares about this topic.
I’d love to know what you think about this article. Please send an e-mail.
You can buy my cookbooks on Amazon: Latin Superfoods is my latest cookbook, I’m also the author of The Brazilian Kitchen and My Rio de Janeiro: A Cookbook.
Visit my YouTube Chanel @LeticiaMoreinosSchwartz
Brazilian Haroset for Passover
The easiest and most impactful thing you can to support is to subscribe to my newsletter and to my channel on YouTube. And of course, tell your friends about it.
I’d love to connect with you on social media
Instagram @LeticiaMoreinosSchwartz,
Twitter @ChefLeticia
Facebook @ChefLeticiaHealthyCooking
Linked In @LeticiaMoreinosSchwartz
See you next time,
Leticia