Ashkenazi Charoset

During the Passover holiday, when Jews tell the story of the biblical Exodus from Egypt, one of the ritual foods we eat is a paste called charoseth. Consisting of sweet fruit, nuts and wine, charoseth symbolizes the mortar which the ancient Israelites were said to have used during their enslavement to the Pharaoh.

Whereas Ashkenazi Jews tend to eat coarse, moist charoseth made from fresh fruit such as apples, Sephardic Jews prefer a smooth concoction made primarily from dried fruits. For a Sephardic charoset, see the 'Fig and Banana Paste' recipe below.

The most basic recipe for Ashkenazi charoset is to combine 2 parts chopped apples with 1 part chopped almonds or walnuts, then add about 1 tbsp. extra sweet red wine and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon for every apple used.

Here I have used some dried fruit, which was an action motivated out of desperation as I ran out of walnuts and had added too much cinnamon. But the results were good.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 crisp apples (such as Fuji or Gala), peeled and cored
  
• 3/4 cup walnuts
  
• 3/4 cup black raisins
  
• 6 black mission figs
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. honey
  
• 1/4 cup extra sweet red wine
  
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves

RECIPE:

1. Chop the apples with the sharpest chopping knife you have (to prevent bruising) and immediately combine with lemon juice in a bowl.
2. Chop the walnuts by hand or in a food processor into 1/4" pieces. When chopping hard foods by hand, make sure that you cut with the rear of the blade (closest to your hand) while steadying the knife from the front with your off hand. This will keep the food from flying off the cutting board.
3. Chop the raisins and figs in the same fashion.
4. Combine all ingredients.

Serve within a few hours. It will still be delicious for a couple of days, but it will discolor and grow less crisp as time goes on.