Main course dish for big Seder!

[Echobelly]

So we've ended up with 20 people for second night seder at ours! We've done similar numbers before, but I'm wondering about trying something different for main course, although our good old Brazilian salmon stew is a fallback. Anyone got any good recommendations for a big KLP main course, especially ones that might not take too much prep or can be done in advance?

Can be fish or meat (lets face it probably chicken only as I would need to take our a mortgage for that much kosher beef or lamb). One way or another we'll have to make a few dishes of something else because we have two people who don't eat fish and one person who doesn't eat meat but will eat fish. And we'll have to do a boiled potato in salt water for my SIL who hates eggs!

Price up a cheap cut of meat (pot roast or similar) and see how it compares to chicken. Once you account for the bones in chicken, there is not a huge difference - boneless thighs are actually more expensive than pot roast. (supremes are cheaper)

This is my very very easy pot roast. And it comes out really good.

Chop up lots and lots of onions. Garlic as well if you use it. Put your cheap meat cut in a roasting bag, add your flavouring of choice (salt, pepper, nutmeg...) then add the onions and some red wine, (sorry no quantities here).

Stick the whole thing in your oven on 150degrees celsius and leave it there for about 3 hours (size dependent)

Let it chill and slice thinly, have it waiting ready in your pot or pan to reheat.

Thanks @Jewishbookworm. I haven't done much slow cook, I'll look into that. Oven might be good as I find when I try to cook large quantities on our hob, the bottom bits always get burned and the whole thing ends up tasting a bit burned... I think that's something about our induction hob not being great.

What about a chicken tagine style dish? Essentially a stew but with chopped dates or apricots in it Possibly chickpeas too. Could be served with jewelled couscous or rice.

I do like a meat + fruit dish (though if kosher for passover not with couscous or possibly even rice or chickpeas depending on what traditions you follow)

I'm a bit meat tsimmis fan - cheap cut of beef/lamb with carrots and sweet potatoes. We usually have it for Rosh Hashanah but it would work for Pesach too.

I'd probably do a roast chicken, meat tsimmis and some sort of fish dish. 20 people is a LOT so I'd have several options.

Doh! Forgot about the pesky Pesach leaven thing!!!! But rice would work, or certainly for us. I'm glad I mentioned it here because this is the recipe I plan to make for our seder night and I'm obviously having a meno brain fart and wouldn't have been very popular for dinner!!!

I'm not super religious so have a very relaxed attitude but my parents wouldn't eat chickpeas or rice or of course couscous.

That’s so interesting. It’s just leaven - bread-like grains - here. So wheat and oats are out but rice and legumes are in.

We use quinoa instead of rice/grains at Pesach as it's a pollen not a grain apparently

Quinoa is definitely allowed!

This is the one time a year where I become extremely smug because my husband is Iraqi and eats rice during Pesach 😂

I'm quite happy with potatoes. :) 51 other weeks to enjoy rice.

Some people have the custom to avoid roast meats or chicken so i always add a bit of water to my roast as well.

Enjoy cooking. People always seem to LOVE chicken soup with matza balls so I would defo do that.

There are excellent recipes here:

www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/