Remember that battered folder I was telling you about, the one full of clipped recipes? Well, I came across a batch of Passover recipes and thought, “Sure, why not?”

Never mind that I am not Jewish nor is it anywhere near Passover. Never mind that I subbed fresh green beans for the asparagus in this recipe because mid-October asparagus is NOT cutting it. And never mind that the result is so bright, fresh, tangy, toasty, that I don’t think I mind that I used green beans at all.

I also made a traditional (albeit slightly modified) honey cake.

Just a thought, but I’m guessing that there aren’t many Jewish folk here in Sherbrooke because matzo meal proved impossible to find. After scouring the Internet looking for a swap—and believe me, despite the lack of Jewish heritage, people were particularly tenacious on this point regardless—I found that it may be acceptable to use plain ole breadcrumbs. It’s not like I had many options so I went with it. It turned out pretty good; the holes you see in the previous picture were made with a chopstick to allow the soaking syrup to inundate the cake. In fact, I served it with homemade whipped cream, which cut the richness of it nicely. Tomorrow I’m going to tackle potato kugel!

Baked Asparagus with Toasted Walnuts

adapted from “Fast & Festive Meals for the Jewish Holidays: Complete Menus, Rituals, and Party-Planning Ideas for Every Holiday of the Year” by Marlene Sorosky (William Morrow)

4 tbl. chopped walnuts

2 to 3 lb. thin-speared asparagus, woody stems removed (alternately, you could do as I did and use the same amount of green beans, trimmed and blanched)

salt and freshly ground pepper for asparagus and topping, to taste

1 tbl. kosher for Passover margarine, cut into small pieces

3 tbl. walnut oil or olive oil

1 1/2 tbl. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread walnuts on a cookie sheet and set aside. Spread asparagus on a separate sheet; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and dot with margarine. Bake nuts until aromatic and golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Bake asparagus for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender but still crisp.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice and and salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, spoon topping over asparagus and sprinkle with walnuts.

Passover Honey Nut Cake in Soaking Syrup

adapted from “A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking” by Marcy Goldman (Broadway)

For the cake:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

3 tbl. orange juice

1 tsp. finely minced orange zest

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon (or 1/2 tsp. for more pronounced cinnamon flavor)

1/2 cup matzo cake meal (or the same amount of plain breadcrumbs)

1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts or almonds

1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

for the soaking syrup:

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup orange juice

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup water

1 tbl. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

fresh whipped cream for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 7- or 8-inch round layer cake pan (if you do not have one, you can use a round foil pan of the same or similar size, available in the supermarket baking aisle).

To prepare the cake: In a medium mixing bowl, using a wire whisk beat the granulated sugars and brown sugars with the oil and eggs until the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Stir in the orange juice and zest, salt, cinnamon, cake meal and nuts. Turn the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is light brown and set. Cool for at least 20 minutes.

To prepare the syrup: While the cake bakes, in a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, orange juice, honey, water, cinnamon and lemon juice. Heat to dissolve the sugar and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the mixture becomes syrupy. Cool well.

Pour the cooled syrup over the cooled cake, poking holes in the cake with a fork or toothpick to permit the syrup to penetrate. Allow it to stand for 2 to 4 hours to absorb the syrup. The syrup may pool on top of the cake or around the bottom and you may  need to repoke the holes or scoop the syrup back on top.

You may prefer to refrigerate this cake so that while it is absorbing the liquid, it is also firming up. Also, chilling the cake offsets its sweetness and makes it easier to cut.