Several years ago, when I thought it made sense to host two Seders with over 20 people each, I had a happy little discovery. See, the first night was a family Seder. I forget things a lot. I was planning to do a flourless chocolate cake and an apricot almond torte each night, but I forgot that Scott's Grandma always brings treats, too. We had a lot left over. Enough that I decided not to make the second torte, but I had already ground the apricots, almonds and spices together into a brown paste. Yes, you can see where this is going. It was a paste that resembled mortar. A very tasty mortar. And there you have it.
8 oz Turkish Apricots
8 oz Toasted (not salted) Almonds
2 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
Zest of 1 lemon
Manischewitz or other liturgical wine or grape juice
Place first 6 ingredients in food processor. Add 2 Tbsp. manischewitz. Process until ingredients are finely ground, about 60 seconds. Empty paste into Tupperware. Add more wine if paste is too dry. Keep in refrigerator. It's best when made at least 1 day in advance.
