This haroset recipe originated in Toledo, Spain, before the Inquisition, and found its way to Tétouan, near Tangier, in northern Morocco, and then to Paris, where it is served today. Dates, the predominant fruit in most Moroccan haroset, are mixed with apples before being rolled into little balls. Sylviane Lévy (see page 65), whose mother gave her the recipe, says to roll them in cinnamon, then serve them in little paper cups. These balls look like chocolate truffles and taste like Passover petits fours!
Recipe information
Yield
about 40 haroset balls, servings 20
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Place the almonds in a food processor with a steel blade, and pulse until finely ground. Add the dates, apples, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and the ginger, and continue pulsing until the apples are chopped fine and the mixture comes together. You might have to do this in two batches. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Step 2
The next day, shape the mixture into balls the size of large marbles. Put about 1/2 cup cinnamon in a bowl, and roll the balls in it. Serve two per person.
Variation
Step 3
Algerian haroset balls use 1/2 pound dried figs, 1/2 pound dried pitted dates, 1 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup dry red wine, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, and sugar to taste, pulsed in a food processor, then rolled into balls.
