Spice Up Your Passover Seder Menu with Sephardic Flavors

Passover begins at sundown on Friday, April 6, 2012, and food blogger Tori Avey shares the cultural background of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish cuisine, as well as a few recipes ideas for a Passover Seder menu that Jews from both groups can enjoy.

Passover is one of the most important Jewish holidays, and food plays an important, symbolic role in the celebration. When creating a Passover Seder menu, I find it fun to look back at the origins of the holiday foods we enjoy—in particular, where in the world the foods come from. The term “Jewish cuisine” covers a very broad range of foods from all over the world. That’s because Jews have settled in many different countries throughout history. There are two major Jewish groups that split off into two different parts of the world during the Middle Ages. Jews who landed in Europe, in places like Germany, Poland, and Russia, are called Ashkenazi Jews. Jews who went to Mediterranean places like Spain, Portugal, Africa and the Far East became known as Sephardic Jews. Most American Jews today are of Ashkenazi descent, though there are many Sephardic Jews as well.

Try Tori's recipe for Chicken Soup with three traditional matzo ball recipes.

Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews have the same religious beliefs, but their cooking styles are vastly different. Ashkenazi foods are more familiar to American cooks (bagels, gefilte fish), while Sephardic foods tend to be more exotic in terms of flavor (hummus, baba ghanoush). Why the difference? It basically boils down to the weather. Ashkenazi food is reflective of the colder regions where Ashkenazi Jews settled (Eastern Europe, Hungary, Russia). To survive a Russian or Polish winter, one needed heavy, rib-sticking cuisine—foods like potatoes, noodles, meat, smoked fish, preserved and pickled foods. Sephardic Jews settled in warmer areas of the Mediterranean (Morocco, Italy, France). Due to the sunny climate, they had access to fresh vegetables, fish, fruits, spices and olive oil. Because of this, Sephardic cuisine tends to be lighter, healthier, and more colorful.

Israeli Salad can bring a lot of color and fresh, spring flavors to your Seder.

The difference between Sephardic and Ashkenazi cuisine is even more pronounced during Passover, when the kosher food laws become more challenging. While both groups prohibit chametz (leavened grain products) during the holiday, there is a separate category of foods called kitniyot that is dealt with differently by both traditions. While Ashkenazi Jews ban kitniyot from the Passover table, Sephardic Jews do not. Kitniyot items include rice, corn, millet, dried beans and lentils, peas, green beans, soybeans, peanuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and mustard.

How can you have a Seder without the perfect brisket recipe?

While you won’t generally see kitniyot dishes at an Ashkenazi Seder, they are quite common at Sephardic Seders. My family eats in a style that I like to call “Ashkephardic”– we enjoy foods from both traditions. That means we’re a lot less strict about kitniyot at Passover. Many families, however, do not allow kitniyot at all during the holiday. That doesn’t mean Sephardic flavors are banned from Ashkenazi Seders—it just means you have to be a little more careful about which recipes and ingredients you choose.

Sephardic Charoset Truffles will add a sweet ending to your meal.

I’ve put together a menu of Passover recipes that will help you bring an exotic Sephardic flair to your Seder, while also respecting the Ashkenazi ban on kitniyot. By combining traditional Passover ideas with healthy, Middle Eastern-style dishes, you can bring some exciting color and spice to your Seder table.

Get Tori’s Passover Seder Recipes

• Perfect Chicken Soup with Three Matzo Ball Recipes
• Sephardic Charoset Truffles
• Israeli Salad with Pickles and Mint
• Savory Herb Braised Brisket
• Maman’s Moroccan Fish
• Lemony Almond Macaroons

Get these Passover recipes