The Fluidity Of A Seder.

 Passover starts this Monday, April 22nd and with it comes centuries of recipes and traditions. However like any holiday meal it can be modernized to suit a family's ever changing and growing tastes. It's a perfect marriage for the new and the old.

Regular contributor Joan Nathan wrote about this in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. Passover simply started as a Spring feast>it is thousands of years old with the first one being out lined in the Book Of Exodus. Then the Israelites ate Maror, or what is now known as arugula.This represented the bitterness of enslavement>It;s now dipped in salty water to symbolizes the tears shed during this time. There is also a hard boiled egg, burned in the oven or with a match to symbolizes birth and rebirth. A roasted lamb or beef shank bone and later chicken leg and  roasted beets for vegans and vegetarians symbolize the sacrifuce .Haroseth , gefilte fish , chicken souls and matzoh brittle came later with the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe. Ms. Nathan adds her own spin on the meal, with her Polish mother-in-law's take on gelfilte fish, basically fish dumplings made with whitefish, pike and carp. She took the original recipe and reduced the cooking time from two and a half hours to just twenty minutes. Yet a new generation is not into this so she has subbed in a terrine made with salmon or halibut or a white fish salad served on top of matzoh.  She includes this recipe along with one for  brisket and a chocolate hazelnut Schaum torte taken from her son's Danish in-laws

Her family's German influence is there too.She had alwasy ened her seder with her father's chrenslach or a matzog fritter he had while growing up in Germany. There was also another of his favorites a kiss or a Schaum torte. It simply a large meringue with strawberries on top to symbolize Spring. The recipe was carefully written out in German and was made for centuries.It dis get a update thanks to her daughter-in-law's family and with it a new spin.It 's filled with bitter chocolate to cut the sweetness and roasted hazelnuts.What was once was a tradition with a Danish family has now made it to Ms.Nathan's sder where it is a staple.Has her brisket recipe changed this much as well? It's stil cooked with herbs such as thyme and rosemary and made even more flavorful with the addition of crushed or diced tomatoes and red wine.There are also the traditional carrots and celery added as well. Again it;s a versatile piece of meat. For a different spin try smoking it or even barbecuing on the grill. The same goes for her whitefish salad. It can be an original recipe made with mayo, onions and chopped celery. Add dill if you want to or not.

Passover holds traditon but those changed with each generation. Recipes are added. They're improved. It all leads up to a flavorful meal that every generation can enjoy.