I missed Easter this year. Oh, by the actual weekend, I had clued in; something about all the colourful Easter bunny drawings hung up at the grocery store and newspaper ads for lamb shoulders and “Easter” hams. But, in the meantime, we hadn’t arranged for the kids to visit, and so on Sunday, we ate leftovers; our kids still in Calgary. With so few traditional family meals left, it saddened me to see another one become, “Oh, well, maybe next year!” or “It isn’t really a big deal.”

But it is a big deal.

I probably would have gotten over this funk by now, except that by perhaps not a “coincidental” coincidence (This is so Oprah!), I found myself doing some reading about the Jewish traditions of Passover, which begins this year on the 23^rd of April.

I was at a potluck dinner last weekend, and one of the ladies brought dessert. She admitted that it was an experimental recipe; a maple-walnut espresso torte out of the latest edition of Bon Appétit. As usually happens when we make something for the first time, we make excuses before anyone has a chance to try the dish, in this case because she had not been able to find one of the key ingredients, matzo meal. Casey had substituted flour, and was worried that the cake was going to be too dry.

I liked the cake; I prefer the subtle earthy flavour and texture of a dense cake to anything overly sweet. I wasn’t sure myself what a substitute for matzo meal was, but ate the cake appreciatively.

I later realized that the recipe she had used was from the same magazine I had used to make my raspberry salad dressing, an edition I usually avoid because it always focuses on Passover meals: gefelte fish (chopped white fish coated in matzo and fried), brisket, matzo ball soup, and flourless baking. I admit that the photo was deceiving; it portrayed a lush, rich torte, oozing syrupy sauce. I checked to see if there was any mention anywhere in the article for a substitute for matzo meal, but there was none. I was determined to find out what it was.

It wasn’t easy. All references to matzo meal led in a circle. Matzo (also matzah or matzoh) is unleavened bread made for Passover from flour and water. Matzo meal is ground up matzo bread.

The history of matzo is integral to the history of the Jewish people. When the Children of Israel escaped the tyranny of the Pharaoh of Egypt, there was little time to prepare foods, and they had to quickly bake bread for their trip with no time to allow it to leaven. This unleavened bread was known as matzo. During the celebration of Passover, no leavened bread is to be eaten. Any flour with even small amounts of gluten may not be consumed unless it is in the form of matzo bread. This includes wheat, barley, spelt, rye and oats. No leavening agents are allowed, including yeast, baking soda or baking powder.

Dietary restrictions further state that once the grain or flour comes in contact with water, which could start the fermentation or leavening process, it must be baked in less than 18 minutes. Special ovens are used to bake the dough quickly at very high temperatures.

There is even a stricter method of matzo production, matzo shmurah. Shmurah means “guarded” and this special matzo is made under the watchful eye of a rabbi. Special fields of grain are contracted to be watched, and from the moment the grain is cut it is watched to ensure that it reaches the bakery and is baked correctly without ever becoming moist. Because of its significance, this very special and more expensive matzo is eaten by strict Orthodox Jews, and even by those less conservative at the Passover Seder meal

Because no flour with gluten can be used at Passover, matzo is ground into either a fine meal and used like bread crumbs to make meatballs and dumplings, in puddings, and in baking; or cut into shreds called matzo farfel and used like pasta or rice. Ground nuts are the “flour” in most Passover sweets.

If the recipe doesn’t need to be suitable for Passover, you can use ground crisp breads such as Ak-mak, or the Armenian flat breads, or simply bread crumbs as a substitute for matzo meal. In most cases, if there is no dietary requirement to bake from a flourless recipe, you would be better to find another recipe; no matter how appetizing the photo looks. In Feast by Nigella Lawson, she suggests that any of her tortes made with ground nutmeat can be made suitable for Passover by removing the baking soda and powder. There is no getting around the fact that a Passover cake will be denser than cakes we are accustomed to, and often drier.

As I read on about Passover, the traditional meal served, and even the ritual house cleaning in preparation for the celebration, I was envious. I remembered friends I have had through the years: Italian, Greek, German, and those of both Jewish and Catholic faith. I was always a bit curious but ultimately felt like I was missing something of importance when I would hear about or have a chance to share in a family meal, especially one with religious or cultural significance.

We have so few traditional meals left: Christmas; Thanksgiving; Easter. I don’t think that I will ever let one just slip away again.