Of all the tempting dishes often served at a Passover Seder -- the briskets and roast chicken, the matzo ball soup and spiced fruit haroset -- it is the matzo itself that Rabbi Yisroel Miller finds most delicious.

	Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette Chicken Soup With Miniature Leek-Chive Matzo Balls is a version of a dish that brings back memories of family Seders of the past. Click photo for larger image.

The simple, unleavened bread, a symbol of how the Jewish people were delivered from slavery in Egypt so quickly that they did not even have time to let their bread rise, reminds Rabbi Miller that he is "part of a food chain that goes back 3,000 years," he said.

Each Passover, joining that food chain by eating matzo becomes a sacred act.

"Passover is the first commandment in the Torah that tells us that eating can be sacred, that all physical activity itself can be sacred with the love of God," said Rabbi Miller, who leads the Orthodox Congregation Poale Zedeck on Phillips Avenue in Squirrel Hill.

Passover, or Pesach, in which Jewish families tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt and discuss the gift of freedom, lasts for eight days and begins this year after sundown on April 12. The name Pesach is Hebrew for passing through or over, or exempting, and signifies God's sparing the homes of the Jews when He was killing the firstborn sons of Egypt.

Observant Jews begin preparing for Passover days and even weeks in advance, cleaning their homes, cars and clothing (crumbs in jacket pockets, for instance) top to bottom to clean away any trace of chametz, or leavened food, and throwing away, giving away or symbolically selling any pasta, cereal, cookies, crackers or other leavened foods to a non-Jew (some people do this temporarily, then "buy" back the food after Passover).

Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette Herbed Cornish Hen is a nice alternative to roasted chicken as a Seder dish. Click photo for larger image.

Passover begins with a Seder, or order, which is a special meal for family and friends that always consists of 15 steps in which food and wine play major roles.

After a blessing is said over wine, the wine is drunk and a second cup is poured. After washing their hands, participants dip a vegetable -- usually parsley -- to symbolize the Jews' humble origins into salt water, which represents their tears.

Then one of three matzos at the table is broken, with part set aside for the children (or in some cases, their parents) to search for later. The Haggadah, a book that includes the text of the Seder, is read and the story of the Exodus and the first Passover is told in response to four questions asked by the youngest child present who is able to ask them.

For many families, this is one of the best parts of the Seder, a time for parents and children to have a conversation that often gets better with each passing year.

When Rabbi Larry Freedman of the Reform Temple Sinai congregation on Forbes Avenue was growing up in Plattsburgh, N.Y., his mother had a tradition of drawing characters from the story of the Ten Plagues on a small chalkboard.

"And she can't draw, which became part of the joy of the whole thing," Rabbi Freedman said. "We would anxiously await her drawing of the stick, which she would do with a great flourish of striking the chalk against the chalkboard."

Now his own children, 11-year-old Ethan and 9-year-old Lev, are the ones asking the four questions -- and it doesn't stop there anymore.

"Every year they get a little bit older and the conversation gets a little bit deeper and the Seder gets a little bit longer," Rabbi Freedman said.

Like the Freedmans, many Jewish families try to make the Seder fun as well as instructional, singing songs and even acting out the plagues. For Rabbi Daniel Wasserman, leader of the Orthodox Shaare Torah Congregation on Murray Avenue, "a Seder that isn't fun isn't a Seder."

Guests at the Wasserman family's Seder, for instance, might pelt each other with toy frogs to represent the frogs that rained down on the Pharaoh after he refused to grant the Jewish people their freedom, and throw pingpong balls to represent another plague's hail.

"The Seder is a living classroom, and just as you have boring classrooms and children learn nothing and run away from them, you can have a boring Seder, and just as you can have an exciting classroom, you can have an exciting Seder," he said.

After the story is told, participants prepare to eat the matzo after it is blessed.

After everyone eats a bit of matzo, a blessing is recited over a bitter vegetable, which is usually raw horseradish, although romaine lettuce is sometimes used instead. The vegetable, which symbolizes the bitterness of slavery, is dipped into haroset, the mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine that represents the mortar the Jews used for constructing the Pharoah's pyramids and other buildings during their enslavement. Then a bit of the bitter vegetable is eaten with the matzo in a "sandwich" before the festive meal itself.

Even the bitter taste and aroma of the horseradish as the fresh, pungent root is shaved can conjure up nostalgia.

"Your eyes water and you cry and you pass it to your brother and he cries and you hate it and you love it at the same time," said Rabbi Miller of Poale Zedeck. "What remains is the love."

And at the meal itself, where anything but leavened food can be served, it again is memory as well as flavor that make dinner special. While brisket, roast chicken and lamb are popular, even gefilte fish -- traditional fish cakes or balls that fewer people regularly eat now -- and other foods that aren't obvious favorites become comfort foods with special significance during Passover.

"There are lots of wonderful memories associated with food," said Rabbi Aaron Bisno of the Reform Rodef Shalom Congregation on Fifth Avenue. "It's not possible to be at a Passover Seder and not remember the other times the family has gathered."

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Salmon Gefilte Fish with Horseradish-Dill Sauce

Serve this dish as a first course. If you can't find a whole salmon, buy 4¹/₂ pounds of skinless fillets and 2¹/₂ pounds of salmon heads and bones. Prepared, refrigerated gefilte fish will keep for up to five days. Rabbi Larry Freedman, who makes this dish with his sons, says it is "labor intensive but quite tasty." The sauce, he says, is key.

• 7 1/4- to 7 1/2-pound whole salmon, cleaned, filleted, skinned; head, skin and bones reserved
  
• 6 medium onions, peeled and quartered
  
• 2 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground white pepper
  
• 5 large eggs
  
• 1/4 matzo meal
  
• 4 1/2 quarts cold water
  
• 5 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  
• Sliced carrots, cucumbers and radishes (optional)
  
• Horseradish-Dill Sauce (recipe below)
  

Line 2 baking sheets with plastic wrap. Cut salmon into 1-inch pieces. Working in batches, grind salmon finely in processor, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of work bowl. Transfer fish to large bowl. Add 3 onions, 1¹/₂ tablespoons salt and pepper to processor. Using on/off turns, finely chop onions. Add onion mixture, eggs and matzo meal to fish. Stir gently until mixture is well blended.

Using moistened hands and working with ¹/₄ cupful at a time, shape fish mixture into oval dumplings, each about 2¹/₂ inches long by 1¹/₂ inches wide. Arrange dumplings on prepared sheets. Cover and chill while preparing stock.

Place reserved salmon head, skin and bones in large pot. Add 4¹/₂ quarts cold water, chopped carrots, sugar, remaining 3 onions and remaining 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover pot and simmer stock 20 minutes. Using large slotted spoon, remove all the solids from fish stock and discard.

Bring stock back to simmer over medium heat. Gently drop half of fish dumplings into stock. Cover pot. Simmer until dumplings are tender and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer dumplings to 13- by 9- by 2-inch dish and arrange in a single layer. Repeat cooking with remaining dumplings, transferring to another shallow dish. Strain stock over dumplings. Refrigerate stock and dumplings until cold, about 3 hours. (Can be made up to 5 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)

Arrange 2 fish dumplings on each plate. Spoon just enough chilled stock over to moisten. Garnish with sliced carrots, cucumbers and radishes, if desired. Serve with Horseradish-Dill Sauce.

Makes about 44 dumplings.

Bon Appetit, courtesy of Rabbi Larry Freedman

Horseradish-Dill Sauce

• 4 cups mayonnaise
  
• 1 3/4 cups ketchup
  
• 3/4 cup prepared white horseradish
  
• 1 3/4 cups chopped fresh dill
  

Combine mayonnaise, ketchup, horseradish and dill in large bowl. Stir to blend well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared up to 5 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Bon Appetit, courtesy of Rabbi Larry Freedman

Chicken Soup with Miniature Leek-Chive Matzo Balls

PG Tested

This recipe makes light, fluffy matzo balls with a fresh herb-leek flavor that's just right for spring.

• 6 tablespoons unsalted pareve margarine
  
• 1/2 cup packed finely chopped leek (white and pale green parts only)
  
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives
  
• 4 eggs
  
• 2 tablespoons ginger ale
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
  
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  
• 1 cup unsalted matzo meal
  
• 12 cups chicken broth
  
• Chopped fresh chives for garnish
  

In a heavy small skillet melt margarine over medium heat. Add leek and saute for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add ¹/₂ cup of chives.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, ginger ale, salt, pepper and ginger. Mix in matzo meal and leek mixture. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or until firm.

Line a large baking sheet with plastic wrap. Using moistened palms, roll rounded teaspoons of matzo into balls. Place on prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in matzo balls, cover and cook for about 40 minutes or until tender and evenly colored throughout. Using a slotted spoon, transfer matzo balls to a bowl.

In a large pot, bring the chicken broth to a simmer. Add matzo balls and cook for about 10 minutes or until warmed through.

Place 4 matzo balls in each bowl. Ladle the broth over the matzo balls. Garnish with chives and serve.

Serves 12.

Julia M. Pitkin, Karen B. Grant and George Grant, "Bless This Food: Four Seasons of Menus, Recipes and Table Graces"

Potato Brownies

Some Jews don't use matzo meal in baked recipes because of a concern that the matzo might ferment after it is combined with water, inadvertently adding leavening to the dish. As a result, some recipes for baked goods such as this one use potato starch instead.

• 8 eggs
  
• 4 cups sugar
  
• 1 1/3 cups cocoa
  
• 1 1/3 cups oil
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 cups potato starch (available in the grocery store's kosher section)
  
• 3 cups chopped nuts, optional
  

Grease two 9- by 13-inch pans. Beat together eggs and sugar until they are smooth and lemon-colored. Add cocoa, oil, salt, potato starch and chopped nuts (if desired). Pour into pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Debby Miller, wife of Rabbi Yisroel Miller

Sadye's Special Sponge Cake

Rabbi Alvin Berkun obtained this recipe from congregation member Sadye Lackman, and considers it one of his favorite Seder dishes.

• 12 eggs, separated
  
• 3/4 cup matzo cake meal
  
• 1/4 cup potato starch
  
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice and rind
  
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
  

Beat egg yolks with cake meal, potato starch, lemon juice and 1¹/₄ cups sugar. Beat egg whites until glossy but not stiff. Beat remaining ¹/₄ cup sugar into egg whites. Blend egg yolk mixture gently into egg whites. Pour into ungreased 10-inch tube pan and bake in slow oven (325 degrees) about 1 hour. (Allow no door slamming during baking!) Invert onto cake rack and allow cake to cool in pan.

Serves 12.

Sadye Lackman, courtesy of Rabbi Alvin Berkun