PASSOVER FRUIT CASSEROLE

• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• 1/2 cup prunes
• 1/2 cup dried pineapple
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 3 apples, pared and sliced
• 9 egg whites
• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup fine matza meal
• cinnamon

Put the apricots, prunes and pineapple in a bowl. Pour boiling water over them to cover and let stand for at least one hour. Drain. Add the raisins and sliced apples.

Beat the egg whites, adding sugar gradually, to a stiff meringue. Add the oil and matza meal. Mix gently but thoroughly. Fold the batter into the fruit.

Transfer to an oiled, glass baking dish (about 12" x 15"). Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 F/160 C.

MY EXPERIENCE: I first came across this recipe as a low-cholesterol concept for Pesach cooking. My family loved it, but I found it horribly sweet. Because the dried fruits are themselves so sweet, I think the sugar can be cut to 3/4 cup; even a 1/2 cup. My guess is that the oil could also be cut to 3/4 or 2/3 cup.

Other fruits also can be substituted. I used dried pears, for example, when I couldn't find pineapple.