68 | MARCH 28 • 2024 
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ow that Purim has 
passed, it can mean 
only one thing: that 
Passover is on its way. I think 
we can probably agree that 
Passover represents the Super 
Bowl of the Jewish culinary 
calendar. With two nights of 
seders for potentially sizable 
crowds and another six days 
of chametz-free eating, along 
with the need to kasher the 
kitchen, use different dishes 
and buy Passover-specific 
ingredients, the preparation 
is substantial and the execu-
tion is demanding. 
All the more, the food 
restrictions, timing con-
straints and cooking for 
crowds require additional 
creativity. To rise to the occa-
sion, I am here with recipes: 

appetizers and sides this 
week, mains next week and 
desserts the week after.
My goal for these recipes is 
to offer you something new 
that you might not have tried 
before or thought about eat-
ing on Passover. While I am 
fully in support of embracing 
family or regional recipes, 
I also believe there is value 
in making those recipes and 
meals our own, based on 
our own tastes and based on 
local and seasonal availabil-
ity.
Getting started with start-
ers, more than other meals, 
these dishes are critical both 
for the choreography of the 
seder as well as keeping 
appetites at bay during seders 
that start late and go long. 

First, I offer a framework 
for my signature charoset 
recipe. This recipe diverg-
es from the traditional 
Ashkenazi charoset of apples 
and walnuts that I grew up 
with. I had never thought of 
charoset any other way until 
I went to my first non-Ash-
kenazi seder during college, 
complete with rice (which is 
off-limits for Ashkenazim), 
and a more multidimensional 
charoset made from different 
dried fruits and nuts. I was 
so struck by the flavors that 
I aimed to recreate it myself 
(with some Ashkenazi ele-
ments) in future years, and 
it has since become a staple 
at any seder that I host. 
Nonetheless, I have never 
come across a charoset rec-
ipe with the same flavors, 
so I cannot attribute it to a 
specific region or tradition. I 
do not include quantities for 

the ingredients (a no-recipe 
recipe) to encourage you to 
feel empowered to make it 
your own.
Next, as a non-gefilte-fish 
eater, I provide a quick grav-
lax alternative. While tradi-
tional gravlax takes several 
days (and valuable refrigera-
tor space) to cure, this recipe 
requires only 30 minutes of 
curing as a result of slicing 
the salmon into thin pieces 
first.
Finally, I include a recipe 
for a salad of roasted cab-
bage and kale using crispy 
quinoa as a topping and an 
agrodolce dressing of red 
wine vinegar and honey with 
quick-pickled red onions. I 
like this recipe because (1) it 
can be made in advance, (2) 
the crispy quinoa provides 
a welcome textural contrast 
and (3) the dressing provides 
a bold sweet-and-sour flavor.

Appetizers and sides for Passover
Food for Thought

continued on page 70

JOELLE ABRAMOWITZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

FOOD
PASSOVER