Passover and Easter -The Egg

It is interesting to me that the egg is obviously present in both the celebration of Passover and that of Easter.  There are many things that connect these two very important holidays.  Perhaps that isn’t a coincidence given that the first Easter came at a time when Jesus, as all other Jews of the time, was celebrating Passover Himself.Passover is arguably the most celebrated, and certainly one of the most important, Jewish holidays.  It is a time of remembering the exodus of the Jews from ancient Egypt and their slavery under the oppression of Pharaoh.  Foods eaten are rich with significance and symbolism.  The egg is one of those foods.

Growing up in a very Hassidic Jewish neighborhood as I did, I was privileged to see and learn firsthand about just how important the foods eaten and used at the Seder are to retelling the story of Passover. Fundamental to the Seder table is the Seder plate.

Every seder plate includes the following items:

Zeroah- a lamb’s shankbone symbolizing the ancient Passover sacrifice

Beitzah- a roasted egg symbolizing the temple sacrifice and the continuing cycle of life

Charoseth– a paste of fruit and nuts symbolizing the mortar used to build the pyramid of the pharaohs

Mar’or- a bitter herb (like horseradish) to represent the bitterness of slavery

Karpas- a green vegetable (usually parsley) representing spring

A bowl of salt water to dip the karpas symbolizing the slaves’ tears.

Also necessary are three matzos (unleavened bread, symbolizing the haste of the flight from Egypt — there was no time for the bread to rise), wrapped in a cloth, and broken and eaten at set points throughout the evening.

And of course there is the wine used for the blessings.

The egg has its place in telling the story. Every Seder plate reserves a place to display each of the elements, one of them being a roasted egg. As you have read, it is there to serve as a reminder of the burnt offerings, the daily roasted sacrifices in the Temple. These sacrifices can no longer be offered there because the Temple was destroyed centuries ago.  So when the egg is served it is first dipped in salted water.  The salty water represents the tears of those slaves and those who mourn the loss of the Temple.  Like I said, every element of the Seder has rich meaning and an important significance.  You can read more about the Passover meal and recipes from our post last year at Passover.

What is interesting to me as a non-Jew, is that I never actually saw a “roasted egg” as is described in the instructions for the preparations and service of the Passover seder.  One can read about Passover, both the story and the meanings behind the rituals on a host of websites.  They almost all talk about a “roasted” egg, yet all the eggs I’ve ever seen on any Seder plate containing the elements were hard boiled, not roasted.

The same is true for eggs used in celebration of Easter.  For many, Easter is only about colored eggs and the Easter Bunny, but for the practicing Christian, it is the highest of holy days.  Though I know of no spiritual or religious significance to eggs at Easter, they seem to be a part of every celebration whether by those who are practicing Christians or not.  But they are always hard boiled never roasted.

So when I came across an entry on Facebook the other day about roasting eggs instead of boiling them, my interest was naturally peeked.  The entry was merely about the best way to cook eggs so that they can be easily peeled.  If you have ever boiled eggs you know that there are always some that just refuse to be released from the shell or rather the skin just inside the shell.  Invariably there are eggs that aren’t especially “pretty” once peeled because they have fallen apart or been broken up as they were peeled.

I was curious as to how this egg “roasting” technique might work, so I tried it and to my pleasant surprise it worked really well!  The eggs were perfectly done and came out of the shells with no problem at all.

The technique for roasting is this:

Place each of the eggs sideways on the opening of a muffins pan designed for making small muffins.  This way the egg is stabilized and the yolk will remain in the center of the egg as it cooks.  Place the eggs in a 325 degree oven for exactly 30 minutes.  When the time is up remove the eggs and immediately place them in a bowl of ice water to cool them off.  Once they have cooled, peel them and use them however you have intended, or refrigerate them until you are ready to use them.

In looking this up and reading more about “roasted eggs” for Passover, I came across another interesting idea.  It seems that Sephardic Jews, (Jews who have originated from Spain or the area of the Iberian peninsula) have a special way of roasting their Passover eggs called Huevos Haminados, or oven eggs.

The technique for making these goes like this:

Equipment:
A 4-quart ovenproof pot that you don’t care about, as it may get stained, or a deep ovenproof glass casserole of equal size.

Ingredients:

4 cups of tightly packed onion skins
12 eggs at room temperature
2 tablespoons coffee grinds
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2. Place half of the onion skins at the bottom of the pot or casserole. Nestle the eggs between the skins. Don’t crowd them. Sprinkle coffee grinds over eggs. Add oil, vinegar and salt. Cover with remaining onion skins.  Slowly pour enough water inside to submerge the mixture, about 3 quarts.

3. If using a pot, cover it with the lid. If using a casserole without a lid, cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Place eggs in the oven for 6-8 hours.

4. Remove pot carefully. Lift out eggs using a long-handled slotted spoon and place them temporarily on paper towels to drain off excess water. Eggs can be served hot or refrigerated for later.

I decided to try this method using red onion skins to see if this would intensify and enhance the color.  This is what resulted:

What I found interesting about these eggs, besides the intense color on the outside of the shell,  was the color that the eggs themselves turned in the roasting, a sort of caramel color.

And even more interesting was the taste of the eggs.  When lightly salted they actually tasted a bit like roasted chicken!

Passover begins at sundown tonight and lasts for 8 days.  Easter is next Sunday, March 31^st.  As both of these important holy days approachs, I hope you will take time, amidst the preparations and hustle and bustle that is always present at holiday times, to ponder the meaning and the significance of these days.  Passover and Easter are so much more than just nice stories to make us feel good.  They are remembrances of God’s immense love and care for us, and the extremes He will go to because of that love.

What we celebrate both at Passover and Easter is the real meaning of love, joy and abundant living!