5 Ingredients or Fewer

Safta Rachel's Iraqi Charoset

April 11, 2016
4.3
3 Ratings
Photo by Staci Valentine
  • Makes About 1 cup (12 servings)
Author Notes

This charoset is so good and so easy to make: equal amounts date syrup and nuts stirred together and thickened with the “dust” that remains after finely chopping nuts (another reason not to buy pre-chopped nuts). What you get is crunchy deliciousness with a viscosity somewhere between a schmear and a pour.

And there are so many tasty ways to repurpose it after the Seder. It’s divine for breakfast the next day with Greek yogurt, bananas, and/or strawberries, or with a schmear of unhulled tahini on matzah, a sort of Middle Eastern PB&J. For dessert, use it as an accompaniment with a hunk of toasted sponge cake, and maybe a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and crumbled halvah… or forget the cake and have a sundae. Use the charoset as a filling in a chewy almond macaroon sandwich for a Passover-friendly, Iraqi-inspired macaron/alfajore. Stir in a little harissa, and Iraqi charoset becomes a hot-sweet-crunchy condiment for leftover chicken or brisket. Best keep a jar of the stuff handy on your kitchen counter, maybe even all year-round; you never know when you’re going to develop a craving.

Reprinted with permission from The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen © 2015 by Amelia Saltsman, Sterling Epicure, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. —Amelia Saltsman

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Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup (75 grams) pecans, toasted
  • 3/4 cup (255 grams) silan (date syrup)
Directions
  1. Chop the nuts into about 1/4-inch (6-millimeter) pieces, chopping some almost to “dust.”
  2. Put the silan in a small bowl and stir in the nuts and dust. You should have a thick honey-like spread.
  3. It can be made 1 day ahead and stored, covered, at room temperature.

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Writer, teacher, and award-winning author of The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen: A Fresh Take on Tradition and The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook: Seasonal Foods, Simple Recipes, and Stories from the Market and Farm, Amelia Saltsman is passionate about helping everyday cooks make the connection between small-farmed foods and real-life meals. In her warm style, Amelia streamlines today’s desire for healthier, sustainable foods; the need to get dinner on the table; and the longing for rich holiday traditions into one seamless whole.

1 Review

Sarah J. April 24, 2016
I made this for seder on the second night and everyone raved about it! It's amazing how much complexity can come from just two ingredients. I was surprised that, even though the date syrup is sweet, it has a tang similar to that of pomegranate molasses. Excellent!