passover gefilte fish meatloaf

Better late than never, right? I've been so busy in my life that I'm behind in posting videos, which is why you see holiday-specific recipes posted after the holiday occurred. Sorry guys! 

You might be thinking that either I did my research on Jewish culture or I'm Jewish myself. You're right on both accounts, but I don't like flaunting my religion in my videos. 

In making this recipe, I looked back on my childhood when my maternal grandpa every Passover would have those free seder books you'd get at the supermarket and the immediate family would recite the lines in that book. I remember my sister being always bored during the seders while I was enthusiastic about it. 

My mom and her mom made the best matzo brei, which is basically crumbled up matzo and eggs, resembling French toast without the leavened bread. 

I love my macaroons and the only time of year besides Hannukah when they're available in the supermarket is of course, passover. But I'm amazed by how many different flavors of macaroons exist. 

By the way, matzo balls taste like tofu: bland af! But if you wanted to make this recipe vegan, you could omit the gefilte fish and beef jerky, and you'd still end up with enough contents for a meatloaf that will fill you up. The thought crossed my mind of me needing a larger bowl, given the number of ingredients(17!) in this meatloaf. 

So what did the meatloaf taste like? The apple flavor was very prominent and the meatloaf was very soft from the gefilte fish(which look like really cold chicken nuggets, but the broth sweetens them up) and the matzo balls. I may have tasted a rogue chocolate chip or two from the macaroons and even my dad was surprised that he liked this meatloaf(he's not Jewish)! Given all the carbs in this meatloaf, you'll be filled up very quickly. 

So what is charoset- it's a sweet paste made from fruits, nuts, and spices eaten during a Passover seder symbolizing the mortar the Jews used when they were enslaved by the Egyptians (yet that little detail was never a part of my family's seders. Then again my mom thought making quick bread using a mix was too complicated. It's just like making cake!). I used the components of an Ashkenazi(Eastern European) charoset: walnuts, apples, cinnamon, and red wine. 

You will need: 

For the cooking equipment: 

A large bowl
A medium bowl
A small bowl
Nonstick cooking spray
Lasagna pan

For the meatloaf: 

2/3 tbsp. onion powder
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2.5 oz. dried apple rings(part of charoset)
1/2 cup candied walnuts(part of charoset)
Pinch of cinnamon(part of charoset)
1/2 cup red wine(part of charoset)
1 tsp. beet horseradish mixture(the horseradish represents bitterness; sometimes beets are used in place of shanks for a vegan seder plate)
Pinch of parsley(traditionally you'd dip fresh parsley in salt water)
2 hard boiled eggs, crumbled
4 oz. canned, drained mushrooms(sometimes part of vegan seder plate)
Pinch of orange peel(chocolate oranges are a Passover snack)
4 oz. London Beef jerky(in place of lamb or beef shank, which takes hours to cook)
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup crumbled up macaroons(I used chocolate chip macaroons and cookies & creme macaroons)
1/2 cup matzo meal
20 oz. jar matzo ball soup
20 oz. jar sweet gefilte fish

1. Put the first 2 ingredients into a large bowl. 
2. Break the dried apple rings into pieces and put the pieces into the large bowl. Add the next 8 ingredients to the large bowl. 
3. Break the beef jerky into small pieces and put the pieces into the large bowl. Add the next 4 ingredients to the large bowl. 
4. Pour the matzo ball soup into a medium bowl and fish out the matzo balls. Place the matzo balls into a small bowl and crumble them up. Then put the crumbled matzo balls into the large bowl. 
5. Pour the gefilte fish into a medium bowl and fish out the gefilte fish and carrots. Place the fish into a small bowl and crumble them up. Then put the crumbled gefilte fish into the large bowl, along with the carrots. 
6. Mix all the ingredients up until you got a firm mixture. 
7. Spray a lasagna pan with nonstick cooking spray. Form 2 loaves from the meatloaf mixture. 
8. Bake in a 325 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the tops of the loaves are brown. Alternatively, you can skip the baking process and eat the meatloaves cold and raw, as all the ingredients in it can be eaten raw; plus gefilte fish is traditionally eaten cold. Bon appetit! 

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