Welcome to Passover, Pandemic Edition. For some, it may be our first time having a Passover seder in our own home. If that’s the case, I’ve got good news: A global pandemic—an eleventh plague, we might say—is not the time to stress about getting your seder just right.
Don’t have matzoh? Use a wheat thin, tortilla chip, rice cake, or any unleavened cracker. Out of eggs? Use something else symbolically white and oval/round—a turnip? A golf ball? Get wild. Want to make a vegetarian seder plate? I’ve got you covered.
Below are a number of links to guide you in creating what will surely be a seder to remember, and a couple pictures of seder plates, both traditional and my very unorthodox vegetarian version (with labels so you can start to know your way around).
The Spiel
Finally, a note on the story of Pesach: On Passover, we remember how the Jews fled their enslavement under the pharaoh of Egypt. We reflect on the many ways in which we, and those in our communities near and far, those we know and do not know, suffer oppression and fight for liberation. It is a universal story of resistance, human dignity, and resilience. It is a remembrance I, in my corona-addled state, need right now.
If you’re in need of a haggadah—the text that guides the seder meal and telling of the Passover story—ask someone in your family (they’ll be thrills, trust) or try this guide from Tablet Magazine, this one with a socialist twist, or any of these delightful reform options.
SEDER PLATE
Seder Plate Components:
charoset (chopped apples with honey, cinnamon, nuts, and sometimes kosher wine and dried fruit, according to Ashkenazi or Sephardic traditions)
z’roa (lamb shank, other bone, or beets for vegetarian version)
beitzah (egg, whole, hardboiled, deviled, etc.)
karpas (parsley or other herbs)
maror (horseradish or other bitter/spicy herbs)
salt water
orange (a symbol of feminist and queer inclusion)
MEAL IDEAS
Remember: If all else fails, just have a regular old meal without any chametz (leavened—yeasted or risen—breads or grains)!
roasted squash with crispy mushrooms
lemon & feta roasted artichokes with fresh mint
wasabi polenta with sesame soy veggies
roasted root veggies
balsamic roasted brussels sprouts
roasted eggplant with jeweled herb salad from Botanica Restaurant
roasted broccolini with lemon from Nosh With Tash
gefilte fish (I’m always thrilled to drop this off the menu, but if you’re a gefilte lover, make this whitefish terrine from my friends at Gefilteria)
