Prop Styling and Photography Chay Berger, Miriam (Pascal) Cohen
Food Prep Leah Hamaoui

When planning my Yom Tov menu, I always try to incorporate family favorites, which I reinvent to make them kosher for Pesach. Chummus basar is a staple in my home and a favorite appetizer. This recipe comes as close to the real thing as it possibly can. It plates beautifully, and you can serve it with homemade or store-bought Pesach crackers and a side of Israeli salad, or just on its own!

SERVES 8–10

Meat Mixture

• 1 eggplant, peeled and diced
• 5 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 large Spanish onion, diced
• 1½–2 lb (680–910 g) ground beef, veal, lamb, or a mix
• 1 Tbsp Gefen Paprika, plus more for garnish can be omitted
• salt and pepper, to taste

Mock Chummus

• 5 lb (2.27 kg) Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 medium parsnip
• 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
• salt, to taste

Sprinkle the eggplant with some salt. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then dab dry with a paper towel.

Heat 3 Tbsp oil in a pot. Add the onion and sauté until transparent. Then add the eggplant and sauté until golden brown. Remove from pot.

Add another 2 Tbsp oil to the same pot and brown the meat till browned and crumbly. Then add the onion and eggplant mixture back into the pot along with the spices and mix until all combined.

To prepare the mock chummus, boil the potatoes together with the parsnip until fork-tender. Drain the water, then put the potatoes and parsnip into the food processer along with the mayonnaise and salt and process until smooth.

Plate just as you would regular chummus: Place a mound of potatoes on a plate, making a well in the center. Put some of the meat mixture in the center well and garnish with a sprinkle of paprika.

The meat mixture can be made in advance, then frozen and rewarmed. However, the potato mixture can’t be frozen. When rewarming the potato mixture, don’t put it in the oven, as it will turn into a kugel. Just put it into a pot with a little more mayonnaise and keep stirring until it gets warm, or place it in aluminum foil on top of a pan on your hot plate or blech.

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 888)