Passover is a time when the majority of the world's Jewish population thinks of potatoes, onions, chicken fat, apples and nuts. That's because approximately two thirds of the world's Jewish population today originated in Western and Eastern Europe and Russia, and Germany, "Ashkenaz" in Hebrew, in particular. The term "Ashkenazi," used to describe Jews from this region comes from the word "Ashkenaz."

The Jewish cuisine that we call "Ashkenazic" today was influenced by the cold climate in which these Jews lived, and in which their culture developed. Root vegetables, hardy tree fruits, fresh water fish, dairy products -- and the ability to store them, and nuts formed the easily available ingredients ready to be turned into gastronomic wonders by generations of creative Jewish women.

There were certain hallmarks of Ashkenazic Jewish cooking which endure even today. This type of cuisine generally avoided sauces, except for natural cooking juices augmented by water or a simple meat or vegetable stock. Also, different types of foods were generally segregated, rather than mixed. For example, potted meatballs were rarely mixed in a gravy with vegetables, although sometimes potatoes might be added to extend the dish.

This is still true of Ashkenazic cooking today. Today has only a remnant Jewish population, but at one time, its Jewish inhabitants numbered over 20,000 or more.

Summers when tomatoes and other vegetables were plentiful. Spaghetti is easily available and pasta is served plain, with a little butter or oil. A simple pasta sauce, made of fresh tomatoes, is unknown in the area and considered eccentric in the extreme. Summer diets consisted of stewed beef served with fried potatoes, palmeni - small meat-filled dumplings served boiled, without a sauce, and sliced fresh cucumbers. At there local markets they carry, eggplant, carrots, tomatoes and some fresh herbs and they are stewed together.

At Passover, the dependence of Ashkenazic Jews on root vegetables and eggs is particularly apparent. When cooking for Passover. Routinely they go through 4 or 5 dozen eggs, ten pounds of potatoes and at least five pounds of onions. These ingredients surface in a wide variety of dishes on the first two nights during which the Seder, the ritual discussion of the holiday. These food staples are found in kugel, a popular potato pudding often flavored with chicken fat, in the sponge cake that uses separated eggs as a leavening agent and which is a favorite of mine during this eight day holiday, in the brisket of beef, in the tsimmes - a stew of root vegetables and dried fruits and in a wide variety of other breakfast, luncheon and dinner recipes.

During the eight days of Passover, Ashkenazic Jews refrain from eating any type of food that could be leavened by yeast or that might give the appearance of being leavened. All flour is forbidden, except for flour made from matzoh or from potatoes. Grains, like rice, corn, legumes - peas, beans, and even green beans, which supposedly swell when they come into contact with water, are absolutely forbidden.

My family, which has roots in Germany and the Ukraine, has the custom of eating kasha, which is not a grain, during Passover. Since it swells when cooked, kasha should be forbidden. However, when I asked a very religious rabbinic authority about this, he said that eating kasha was permitted if it was my family's tradition. Who said that Judaism was consistent? However, I wouldn't suggest that Ashkenazic families take up this tradition without consulting their own rabbinic authority.

The dishes I've mentioned are the Passover dishes most widely known, but Ashkenazic cuisine is not the sum total of Jewish cuisine. The other world Jewry is "Sephardic." Strictly speaking, Sephardic Jews are those who trace their roots to "Sepharad," the Hebrew word for Spain. However, today it is also used to include Jews who lived in and around the Middle East, in the area of the Mediterranean and in Asia. This includes Indian Jews, Yemenite Jews and Jews living throughout the Arab world.

Jewish cooks in these regions worked with very different foodstuffs from Ashkenazic Jews and were often influenced by the surrounding non-Jewish culture. Rice, legumes, dried fruits like figs and dates, salt-water fish, flaky pastry -- like filo dough and exotic spices like saffron and rose water were the Sephardic Jewish woman's basic culinary palate. Onions, potatoes and chicken fat are virtually unknown. Olive oil is a staple.

When it comes to Passover, Sephardic Jews have the custom of eating rice, legumes, corn and green beans, all foods that are outside the pale for Ashkenazic Jews. This diet developed partially because of the absence of potatoes and root vegetables as a substitute bread staple during the holiday, and also because of a less exclusionary philosophy on the part of Sephardic rabbis who were responsible for setting the culinary standards for this holiday.

As a rule, Ashkenazic rabbinic authorities tended to be somewhat more exacting when defining the parameters of Jewish law than Sephardic rabbinic authorities. This is magnificently illustrated in the 16th century law code, the Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Joseph Karo. Karo, who lived in Sfat, in Israel was Sephardic.

The Shulchan Aruch is always printed with the interlinear commentary (within the text itself) of Rabbi Moses Isserles, a noted Ashkenazic rabbinic authority who was a contemporary of Karo. As one reads this remarkable work, which was the first to bring together the traditional observance of Judaism for the world community, one reads first Karo's discussion of a particular law. Often, Isserles will "butt in" and write, "But in Ashkenaz, we do it this way" -- which will be different than the Sephardic custom or rite.

For years, I've been hearing about Sephardic families eating rice during Passover, but, after many interviews with Sephardic cooks, I've yet to come up with a Sephardic Passover rice recipe. I'm beginning to wonder if this is a myth perpetrated on the Ashkenazim by Sephardic Jews to make us wish that we were Sephardic! Certainly being able to eat rice during Passover would make a wonderful change from the seemingly endless potato dishes.*

Sephardic cooking for Passover differs from Ashkenazic cooking most clearly in the use of legumes. Occasionally rice makes an appearance as an ingredient in a dish - as in rice fritters, or as rice flour. Perhaps the most striking difference between Ashkenazic and Sephardic cooking, however, comes when one looks at the recipes for Charoset, the fruit, nut and wine mix which is used during the seder to portray the bricks and mortar the Israelites used to build the Pharaoh's storehouses. Charoset is also eaten as a kind of fruit relish during the holiday period.

Ashkenazic charoset is generally of one type. Macintosh apples are peeled, cored and chopped, together with walnuts, into a rather soft, mushy consistency. Red kosher wine or grape juice is then added to taste. It's served in a bowl and has the amazing quality that, no matter how little you think you've made, you always have enough to serve the army of a reasonably large country. This dish has many adherents, but I am not one of them.

Some years ago, in an effort to free myself of bondage to apples and walnuts, I began to explore other possibilities. I found, to my delight, that Sephardic Jews have a completely different take on charoset, using dried fruits, nuts, exotic fruits like quince and liquids other than kosher grape wine. The recipe supplied here is the one our family has used every year since my wonderful discovery and is from the kitchen of my friend Emita Levy, the daughter of an eminent Sephardic family.

What I like most about this, and other charoset recipes that use dried fruits (there are many) is that the mixture can be rolled into small balls. This makes serving much easier and makes a very nice plate arrangement if each person at the table has his or her own small plate with the necessary seder ingredients. If you have children at home who want to help, rolling the charoset into serving-size portions is a great, and fail-proof job for even young fingers.

Like all charoset, it's impossible to make a "little bit" of this; however, it makes a wonderful jam-like spread for matzoh for the whole holiday.

For other Sephardic recipes for Passover, I recommend "Sephardic Cooking" by Copeland Marks, Primus, Donald I. Fine, Inc., NY, 1994, and "The Book of Jewish Food," by Claudia Roden, Alfred A. Knopf, NY, 1996.

The Haroset recipe below is a collection of both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic variations.

½ pound dried pitted dates

½ cup dark seeded raisins

4 oz. dried apricots preferably unsulphured well rinsed

1 large naval orange peeled and separated into segments

2 red apples peeled cored and cut into eighths

zest from ½ lemon

1 tsp. Cinnamon

¼ tsp. Ground cardamon

½ cup unsweetened apple juice

1 tbsp each: dark brown sugar and honey

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

½ cup each: shelled walnuts and whole blanched almonds

1. Put all ingredients except honey, lemon juice, nuts and wine in a 3-quart heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil

2. Reduce heat to simmering and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. (Mixture will remain thick but moist as fruit exudes liquids while cooking.)

3. Remove from heat and let cool.

4. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and add honey, nuts and lemon juice. Coarsely chop with 4 or 5 turns in a food processor—take special care not to over-chop.

5. If desired, spritz with wine to taste.

3 lbs chicken

3 quarts water

2 carrots

1 medium onion

2 celery stalks with leaves

3-4 sprigs parsley

salt and pepper to taste

l. Cut chicken in pieces place in cold water and bring to a boil.

2. Skim froth from water.

3. Chop and add remaining ingredients. Cook with lid half covering the pan for about 1 ½ hours.

4. Refrigerate and strain. (it is recommended that you make your soup base a day in advance; this makes it easier to strain and also allows the flavor to be enhanced.)

4 eggs

4 tbsp. oil (corn tastes the best)

4 tbsp. cold chicken soup base

1/4tsp. white pepper

½ cup matzo meal

small bowl of ice water

1. In a bowl beat together the eggs and oil.

2. Beat in chicken soup, salt and white pepper.

3. Gradually add the matza meal and blend thoroughly.

4. Cover and refrigerate for 30 to 45 minutes.

5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

6. Make teaspoon or tablespoon size balls out of matza meal mix making sure to dip your hands in ice water and quickly roll the mixture together.

7. Lower the heat of the boiling water to a simmer add matza balls, cover end cook for 45 minutes.

8. Test before expelling, be sure that the ball is cooked completely through the center, if it is not done the center will look dark and raw. Cook almost 10 more minutes and check again. 9. Remove with a slotted spoon and add two or three balls to each bowl of hot chicken soup just prior to eating.

Makes 15 to 20 matza balls.

Lastly because it is prohibited to cook with flours or rising agents during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, desserts are hard to come by. Below is a recipe that is sure to fill the cravings of every sweet tooth during this season.

¾ cup potato starch

¼ cup matza meal

½ tsp each: ground ginger and freshly grated nutmeg

¼ tsp. Salt

10 large eggs (use 4 yolks and 10 whites), at room temperature

2/3 cup super-fine sugar

1 ½ tsp. Each: finely minced lemon and orange peels

3 tbsp. Frozen pineapple juice concentrate

½ cup blanched almonds, ground (for optimum flavor, buy whole, raw almonds. Drop in boiling water for 1 minute and drain. When cool enough to handle, pinch each almond and the skin will slip right off. Let dry then grind in food processor.)

1 tbsp. confectioners sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9 inch tube pan with a doughnut-shaped piece of wax paper, notching around the cut center circle every inch. Do not grease the pan.

2. Sift first 4 ingredients into a bowl and set aside.

3. Separate eggs, dropping 4 yolks into one mixing machine bowl and 10 whites into another mixing bowl (make sure it is either glass or metal, not plastic). Using a whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy. Turn speed up to high. Sprinkle half of the sugar and beat until stiff and glossy.

4. Beat yolks until light. Sprinkle remaining sugar, zests and concentrate. Beat on high speed until well blended.

5. Pour all the yolk mixture over the beaten egg whites. Fold in by hand in 12 sweeping strokes. Sift dry ingredients and fold in nuts.

6. Spoon into prepared pan, smoothing out the top. Turn a blunt knife around the sides to dispel and air bubbles.

7. Bake in center section of oven for 55 minutes. Top should be lightly browned and inserted tooth pick should come out clean.

8. Remove from oven and invert tube onto a 3 cup mason jar with 1 ½ inch neck, or any other convenient holder that will fit the tube.

9. Cool 1 ½ hours. Gently unmold. Peel off wax paper. When completely cooled, sift confectioners sugar over cake, cut with sharp serrated knife and serve alone or with cut melons.

Courtsey of the first fruits magazine