My Rite of Spring

As the fish heads and skin and bones bubbled on the stove and rendered the richest of fish stocks, I found myself enjoying the feel of kneading together the ground fish and onions and carrots and parsnips and eggs that become gefilte fish. It’s not so much the budding trees, but this yearly rite of making gefilte fish for Passover that signals the arrival of spring for me.

Maybe it’s my Norwegian heritage, but the preparation and taste of gefilte fish was one of my first positive connections to the new religion I took on in 1976. When my fish put a smile on my mother-in-law’s face, I knew I was accepted. She could not have cared less about whether I could read Hebrew, but my ability to cook Jewish food secured my place in her heart.

I wasn’t even sure we were going to celebrate Passover this year, since we just got back from Israel on Sunday and were both so jet-lagged. But I knew that seder or not, I would be making gefilte fish. I mean, it just wouldn’t be spring otherwise! So before we left, I placed my order for the traditional mix of whitefish, pike, and carp with the Korean fishmonger whose store is near Chevy Chase Circle. He carefully grinds the fish and gives me a huge bag of the heads and bones and skin that make the stock.

When I picked up the fish at 6:30 last night, I was not sure I could stay awake to complete the cooking last night. But once I starting chopping up onions and carrots and the stock began to give off that uniquely fishy smell, I knew the fish would happen. I was so tired I didn’t do my traditional worrying about the seasoning. I just dumped in salt and pepper and sugar and started forming what turned out to be around 50 pieces of gefilte fish, each with its little piece of carrot on top. By 10:30 the fish was done and cooling and the house was sufficiently saturated with the inescapable smell.

We are joining our friends Judith and Merv and their family for a seder at their house. As much as I like to host the seder each year, it is a relief to do it at someone else’s house. Merv is such a Jewish scholar that I am sure he will give each of us plenty to think about. It won’t simply be a race through the Haggadah to get to the meal.

So today, happy Pesach, happy Easter, happy Spring. After all, they all in one way or another deal with new life and new possibilities.