Festive recipes to celebrate Easter and Passover

With both Passover and Easter right around the corner, you might be looking for new and creative dishes to serve your family and friends. David Burke, executive chef at David Burke and Donatella, shares some fun recipes you can make for both holidays.

Smoked Salmon Layer Cake
4 servings

Ingredients
12 oz smoked salmon -- thinly sliced
4 Matzah
1 bunch of watercress
1 fresh tomato, sliced
Extra virgin olive oil -- personal preference on amount
Sweet butter -- personal preference on amount
1 red onion, thinly sliced
Caviar -- optional as a garnish

Directions
Break the Matzah into three or four pieces, lightly butter one side. Alternate layers: Matzah, smoked salmon, red onions, tomato and watercress. Drizzle olive oil as dressing.

Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Matzah Brie

Ingredients
1 pound wild mushrooms (shitake, oyster, portabella), roughly chopped
1/2 onion, minced
16 spears of asparagus, peeled and blanched
8 eggs scrambled
Crumbled Matzah
Fresh chives

Directions
Mix scrambled eggs with crumbled Matzah. Sauté onions and mushrooms in olive oil until lightly caramelized and add egg mixture place asparagus in dish and add scrambled egg mixture. Garnish with fresh chives.

Roasted Rack of Veal with Fresh Thyme, Figs, Oranges, Black Honey and Walnuts

Ingredients
6 bone rack of veal -- seasoned with salt and pepper
Olive oil
Fresh thyme or zatar -- a few sprigs
2 oranges, peeled and cut into segments
6 figs, quartered

Directions
Heat pan and place olive oil and fresh thyme in pan to brown veal. Roast veal 50 minutes in oven at 350 degrees. Warm figs and oranges in black honey, add walnuts.

To serve
Slice veal into chops, place sautéed spinach on plate with chop on top and finish off with black honey mixture.

Black Honey Recipe

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups of honey
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup of ketchup
1/4 cup of lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon of coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon of dry lavender
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon of whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon of mace
1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon of salt

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Directions
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Strain and reserve.

Brisket Chef Salad

Ingredients
Salad mixture
Mixed greens
Tomato
Onion
Carrots
Hard boiled eggs
Brisket, braised and sliced

Dressing
Equal amounts to your liking
Horse radish
Mayonnaise

Honey I Shrunk the Apple

Ingredients
4 peeled apples, soaked in lemon water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
4 tbsp. butter
1 cup of honey
2 cups apple juice

Directions
Combine ingredients and pour over apples. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Finish with fresh strawberries and raspberries.

Classic Chocolate Mousse in Easter Egg Shells
6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
10 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
3 jumbo eggs, at room temperature, separated
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions
In a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot, not simmering water, melt the chocolate with the butter, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Remove the saucepan from the heat, keeping the bowl over the pan of hot water.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth.  Stir in vanilla.
In a large, grease-fee bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer set at low speed -- beat the egg whites until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high and continue to beat egg whites until they form stiff, shiny peaks.
Remove the bowl from the pan of hot water.  Stir in the egg yolk mixture into the chocolate mixture until well combined. With a large rubber spatula, fold one third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites. In a chilled medium bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer set at medium-high speed -- whip the cream until soft peaks start to form when the beaters are lifted.  Do not over beat the cream. Using a large rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. A few white streaks may remain.
Take your hollowed out colored Easter eggs, and place the chocolate mousse mixture into each egg and serve at each place setting.