You do not have to be Jewish to know the story of Passover, the holiest holiday commemorating the exodus of the Jews from enslavement in Egypt.

Let me take you back to your days in Sunday school and the unforgettable Bible story of how the evil Pharaoh ignored plagues of hail, darkness, frogs, boils, lice, locusts and dead cows, rather than obey God’s command to free Moses and his people.

Then came the final and 10th plague – the death of the first born in every dwelling – except those of the Israelites who marked their homes with the blood of a sacrificial lamb to allow the angel of death to “pass over” their houses.

So begins the story of the parting of the Red Sea and the Israelites’ safe passage to freedom in the desert.

Now for the part that bread plays in this exodus.

Bread that was set out to rise was hastily packed by the Israelites in the rush to flee their captors. The bread was thus unleavened – flat, dry and cracker-like – not unlike today’s matzo.

If there’s one food associated with the eight days of Passover, which this year begins on April 22 with the ritual of a family Seder meal, it is matzo or its first cousin, matzo meal. Matzo is used most famously in traditional Ashkenazi Passover foods such as matzo ball soup and gefilte fish.

Most American Jews are Ashkenazic, meaning that they are descendants of Jews from Eastern Europe, France or Germany.

But there’s a second, yet equally distinct, subculture of Judaism known as Sephardim or Sephardic, descendants of ancestors who lived in Spain and Portugal. Fewer than five percent of the Jews living in the United States are Sephardic.

In the late 1400s, many Sephardic Jews were driven from the Iberian Peninsula into North Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Western Asia – parts of the Arab and Muslim worlds.

Geography and climate often define the food of a particular region. People eat what they can grow or what can be gathered inexpensively. To understand the differences in the food of these two Jewish subcultures, one must start by exploring the cooking traditions of the specific countries and cultures. These culinary practices and food choices then are adapted to the dietary requirements of the Jewish religion.

What is readily available in the Iberian Peninsula may be unheard of in the Baltic States – yet the two subcultures share the same rituals during Passover, especially at the Seder meal which marks the first night of the holiday.

A special plate, candles, basin and towel for hand-washing, symbolic foods – including covered matzo, a roasted egg in salt water, a roasted shank bone, horseradish, bitter lettuce or vegetable and charoset, a mixture of apples, nuts, wine and spices – are used to “retell the story as commanded by God,” explains Lisa Smith, spiritual leader of Durango’s Har Shalom congregation.

All bread and bread products, pasta, pastries and crackers are foods that practicing Jews avoid during Passover, apart from and in addition to the year-round dietary restrictions observed by some Jews, such as not eating pork, shellfish and certain seafood.

For Jeff Deitch, a member of Durango’s Har Shalom congregation, keeping kosher for Passover means eating no leavened food whatsoever.

Sandwiches, pastry and cookies are verboten, but matzo is permitted in place of bread. Flourless macaroons, fruit and candy are OK, but there’s no beer during Passover, because beer is grain-based.

Both Smith and Deitch recall foods that were served as part of their family’s traditional Passover feast, especially roasted chicken, brisket and matzo ball soup, a chicken-broth-based favorite.

While Deitch admits he’s not much of a cook, he says the difference between good soup and great soup is all about the soaking of the matzo in water, squeezing it nearly dry, then sautéing the matzo with onion before adding egg and parsley.

That’s how his mother made it, rather than opting for the convenience of using matzo meal.

Smith agrees that a matzo ball soup dumpling should be light and fluffy.

“When it’s like a golf ball, you didn’t get it right,” Smith said.

Gefilte fish is an acquired taste, Deitch said. This traditional Ashkenazi Passover offering, usually white, deboned fish such as pike or carp mixed with matzo and seasonings – is frequently poached, then served cold, often with horseradish on the side.

The Sephardic equivalent uses similarly minced fish with egg to form fish balls that are simmered in a tomato based sauce often seasoned with garlic, paprika, black pepper and chili flakes.

Fish loaves made of salmon, filet of sole or red snapper or fried fish with sauces featuring lemon or olive oil and seasoned with cumin or coriander are also popular in the Sephardic Seder feast.

In place of matzo ball soup, Sephardic Jews from Greece and Turkey may serve a lemony soup similar to Avgolomono – chicken-based and thickened with eggs.

Rice or sweet potatoes often substitute for white potatoes in a Sephardic kitchen. Artichokes, eggplant and zucchini are popular among Italian Sephardic Jews, who also eat pastilles (meat-filled potato croquettes).

Prohibited among some Ashkenazim during Passover, under the heading of “kitniyot” (small things) are chickpeas, corn, legumes including dried peas and beans, lentils and peanuts, but among Sephardic Jews, no such exception exists.

Charoset, a sweetened fruit and nut confection is arguably a favorite among both Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews. Most traditional charoset features sweetened, chopped apples, cinnamon, walnuts and wine, but adapting a recipe to include the exotic flavors of the Mediterranean is easy enough, Smith says.

Sephardic charoset might include dates, figs, raisins, citrus zest, pecans, cardamom, ginger, cloves and cayenne added to the apple mixture.

“We make it the way our grandmothers did. There could be a different charoset recipe unique to every family,” Smith said.

Sephardic Charoset

Ingredients:

¾ cup raw almonds

¾ cup pecans

2 cups dates, pitted

1 cup dried figs

1 large green apple, chopped

2 tablespoons orange zest (reserve orange)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground ginger or ginger paste

1 large orange, peeled and quartered

Method:

In a food processor, finely chop almonds and pecans. Do not process to the point of making a paste. Place chopped nuts in large bowl.

Chop dates and figs into ¼- to ½-inch pieces. Add to nuts.

Core and chop apple into ¼- to ½-inch pieces. Add to nut and fruit mixture.

Combine orange zest and all spices. Add to bowl. Stir.

Squeeze juice from orange. Remove loose membrane from orange and chop into fine pieces. Add orange pieces and adjust moisture by adding additional orange juice as needed. Chill.

Mound on serving plate, surrounded by matzo. Scoop or spread on matzo and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Lisa Smith.