FOOD HOLIDAYS
92 | April 2019
LEAH
KOEN IG
“A Seder is basically
an amazing dinner
party with a lot of
historical, religious,
and cultural
signifi cance kind of
layered on top,”
says the author of
Little Book of Jewish
Feasts. For Leah,
modernizing her
family’s traditions—
using songs and
puppets to tell the
story of Passover,
for instance—
strengthens her
connection to the
holiday. And Leah’s
take on mina, a
Sephardic dish
commonly served
during Passover,
reinvents the
traditional
rustic meat pie as
a vegetarian
casserole bright
with lemon zest and
fresh oregano.
M I NA (MATZO
PIE WITH LEEKS
AND SPINACH)
With layers of matzo
(a thin, crisp
unleavened bread),
veggies, and cheese,
this meatless mina
falls somewhere
between a lasagna and
an eggy strata.
Celebrated in early spring, Passover
is an eight-day commemoration of the
Jewish exodus from slavery in ancient
Egypt. Though some of its roots are
somber, Passover serves as a
celebration of freedom and the arrival
of spring. If you aren’t familiar with the
festival, here are a few of the basics.
PHOTO: (PORTRAIT) ZIVAR AMRAMI
THE TRADITIONS
SEDER SERVICE
It includes an open invitation: “Let all
those who are hungry come and eat.”
So it is no surprise that members of the
Jewish community often see it as an
opportunity to invite non-Jewish friends
and family members to the dinner.
SEDER DINNERS
Held the fi rst night (or fi rst two nights) of
Passover, a Seder dinner includes wine
and symbolic foods that help tell the
story of Passover during a traditional
ceremony and festive meal.
THE SEDER PLATE
Typically it contains six items—including
bitter herbs, parsley or green onion, a
roasted bone, and a hard-boiled egg —
that symbolize parts of the Passover story
and remind participants of Jewish history.
