Our family charoset recipe came to us courtesy of my husband’s sister. She learned the recipe from my mother-in-law, a Sephardic Israeli Jew who was married to an Ashkenazi Russian Jew. The charoset is pureed with dates, Sephardic-style, but it also contains apples and walnuts (traditional Ashkenazi charoset ingredients). Because of the blending of two food traditions, I call this our Ashkephardic Charoset Recipe.
Not only do I love the flavor of this charoset, I think it’s wonderful how my husband’s ancestry is reflected in the final dish. The pureed texture resembles mortar, which is one of the symbolic reasons we eat charoset (it represents the mortar that the enslaved Jews of Egypt used for building). Spreading this charoset on a matzo cracker is a highlight of our Seder meal. I hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as we do!
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Ashkephardic Charoset
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted dates, tightly packed
- 3/4 cup walnut halves
- 1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1 small ripe banana
- 2 tablespoons sweet kosher wine, or more to taste
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- A few apple slices, walnut halves, and lemon juice for garnish
NOTES
Instructions
- Pulse the pitted dates and walnut halves in a food processor till they form a crumbly mixture.
- Add raisins, banana, apple, sweet wine, cinnamon and black pepper to the processor. Blend for 1-2 minutes, scraping the sides periodically, until mixture becomes the consistency of a sticky paste (like hummus).Taste the mixture. Add kosher wine for more sweetness and to soften the mixture, if desired.
- Best when served chilled. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Please note that apples and bananas will begin to oxidize after the first day, and the mixture may darken in color. This is normal and does not affect the taste of the charoset.
Nutrition
Geshmak! I modified the recipe to suit a Nazir by substituting pomegranate juice for the red wine and a few more dates in place of the raisins. That worked beautifully.
This is absolutely THE best charoset I’ve ever had. It was hard not to eat more after tasting it! The recipe is amazing and easy to follow, and as this is the first time I’ve tried making charoset, I’m extremely happy with it and will be using it every year. Thank you so much!