Shabbat Recipe Round-Up

I love the slow ramp up into summer when it comes to Shabbat. We’re early enough in the season that I’m not sick of the never-ending Saturday afternoons and, instead, I’m grateful for the extra time on Fridays. I can come home, take some deep breaths, and get to work on dinner. It means my food is actually fresh and I don’t feel wiped from staying up late cooking the night before.

This extra time has other benefits, too. I like to have my guests come before Shabbat starts and do some of their own cooking. Everyone can make their own pizzas, pop them in the oven, and then we’ll bring in Shabbat together.

While we’re doing the blessings and passing around the spring quinoa salad and ramped up crostini with ricotta and pea shoots, the pizzas can stay warming in the oven or on your blech.

As a sucker for pastries made with anything other than white flour, I think this light spring meal would benefit greatly from this chocolate buckwheat cake. The buckwheat and almond flour mellow out the richness of the dark chocolate. It’s gluten free, which is always a plus these days, and if you want to make it dairy free, I would substitute deodorized coconut oil for the butter. Serve it with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and some fresh berries. You won’t regret it.