Perfect Passover Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is a good menu for Passover? ›

The actual Seder meal is also quite variable. Traditions among Ashkenazi Jews generally include gefilte fish (poached fish dumplings), matzo ball soup, brisket or roast chicken, potato kugel (somewhat like a casserole) and tzimmes, a stew of carrots and prunes, sometimes including potatoes or sweet potatoes.

The tradition goes back to the 13th century, when custom dictated a prohibition against wheat, barley, oats, rice, rye and spelt, Rabbi Amy Levin said on NPR in 2016.

The menu may differ depending on family tradition, but some popular choices include brisket, roasted chicken, gefilte fish and potato kugel. For dessert, many opt for a flourless chocolate cake, macaroons made with coconut, or something made with matzo (like a Matzo Truffle Tart or Berry Matzo Crumble).

There are at least five foods that go on the seder plate: shank bone (zeroa), egg (beitzah), bitter herbs (maror), vegetable (karpas) and a sweet paste called haroset. Many seder plates also have room for a sixth, hazeret (another form of the bitter herbs).

Don't bring food or wine—-kosher limitations are one thing, but Passover limitations on food and drink are a whole different level of complexity, and family customs are often even more so! If you feel you must bring a gift, stick to flowers, or ask your hosts.

From a strictly Biblical standpoint there is no question that potatoes are fine. They are not grains. Funny story. Some Ashkenazic rabbis wanted to include them in the same category as beans and corn, called “kitniyot” in Hebrew, which is forbidden on Passover by the rabbis.

Most Sephardic Jews will eat any type, while Ashkenazic Jews will not eat legumes (peas, corn, beans, etc). Additionally, many Hassidic Jews will only eat peeled fruits and vegetables on Passover, except for the lettuce eaten at the Seder.

The ban has been in place since the 13th century, but it's always been controversial. In fairly recent history, it's been overturned. According to NPR, in December of 2015 an international group of conservative rabbis made the decision that it's acceptable to eat rice, beans, and corn during Passover.

Leavening is out. To make the unleavened bread taste better, it can be covered in chocolate or made into matzoh balls. Oats are widely considered chametz and are therefore forbidden during Passover. To Jews who eat kitniyot, legumes are considered kosher for Passover.

For centuries since, Jews fulfill the biblical commandment to remember and retell the story of the Exodus with a special ceremony, the Seder. Symbolic foods, including eggs, are part of the story.

What does lettuce represent on the Seder plate? ›

A second bitter item, which is sometimes left off the Seder plate entirely, romaine lettuce symbolizes the fact that the Jewish stay in Egypt began soft and ended hard and bitter (look at the two ends of a piece of lettuce). How it's used: Some families do use the chazeret and the maror interchangeably or together.

A traditional color palette for such arrangements is white and blue hues, that are associated with purity and divinity respectively in the Jewish faith. As a spring holiday, Passover is blessed with an abundance of seasonal flowers at hand to create a white background brightened with natural blues and lilacs.

A pasty concoction made from fruits and nuts, charoset is representative of the mortar the Jewish slaves used for their hard labour in ancient Egypt. During the Seder meal, it's tradition to eat a "Hillel sandwich", made by combining charoset and maror within two pieces of matzah.

Kosher for Passover snacks include matzo, fruit, nuts, potato chips, macaroons, and chocolate-covered matzo.