Every year as Passover approaches I see the same frantic energy. We scrub our kitchens and we obsess over menus. Then at the very last minute we remember the Seder plate. We run to the supermarket to buy a plastic wrapped root of horseradish because that is what we were taught to do.
But I want to ask you a question. When we sit at the Seder table are we tasting our history or just a substitute for it?
If we look at the roots of our culture and the soil of this land the true bitter herb isn’t a root from the cold North. It is the plant growing right now in the cracks of your sidewalk and along the edges of the fields. This is Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola).
A Biological Lesson in Exile
In the Jerusalem Talmud our sages gave us a beautiful botanical guide to identify the Maror. They said it must be a plant that is sweet at its beginning and bitter at its end. This isn’t just a metaphor for the Egyptian exile. It is a literal description of the Prickly Lettuce.
When the first rains fall the wild lettuce sprouts. In these early winter months the leaves are tender and mild. You could almost mistake them for the Romaine you buy at the store. But as the sun of Nissan grows stronger and Passover nears the plant changes. It develops small prickles along its spine and begins to bleed a thick white milk when broken.
This milk is intensely bitter. Historically it was used as a sedative. By putting this wild lettuce on our Seder plate we aren’t just performing a ritual. We are tasting the actual chemistry of our landscape. We are eating the same bitterness that our ancestors once used to dull the pain of their labor.
The Curse of the Clean Leaf
Today many people are afraid to eat fresh greens because of bugs. My colleague the researcher Zohar Amar calls this struggle with wormy lettuce the punishment of the modern man. In ancient times we ate lettuce in the winter when the plant was strong and the insects were quiet. Today we demand fresh lettuce even in the heat of August. To get a winter plant to grow in the summer we have to use aggressive chemicals or artificial sterile bubbles. We have traded the natural rhythm of the seasons for a convenience that comes with a heavy ecological price.
Choosing wild Prickly Lettuce or at least eating local Romaine only when it is in season is a way to reclaim our connection to the timing of the Earth.
From the Field to Your Plate
If you go out to find your own Maror look for the Prickly Lettuce. You will recognize it by the row of soft spikes running along the underside of the main leaf vein.
How to serve it
A good lettuce needs very little work.
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Tear the leaves by hand.
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Add chopped green onions and a pinch of coarse salt.
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Add a generous dusting of dark purple sumac.
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Squeeze over fresh lemon juice and wait.
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Wait three minutes for the salt and acid to wake up the leaves.
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Only then drizzle your olive oil.
If you add the oil too soon it coats the leaves and blocks the flavor. By waiting you allow the seasoning to truly penetrate the greens.
This Passover I invite you to look outside your door. The story of our freedom isn’t waiting on a supermarket shelf. It is growing prickly and proud in the soil beneath our feet.
Wishing you a happy and rooted Spring.
