Passover Under Fire

My day started at 3:30 AM - that’s just how it’s been lately. I go to bed early and wake up even earlier. Today, we are hosting the family for the Passover Seder. I’ll be preparing roasted chicken and potatoes, broiled salmon, white rice, a green salad, and maybe some roasted eggplant as well. Later in this post, I’ll add photos of the preparations and how everything turned out.

This is our first time hosting the Seder at our home. We’ve always been guests at other people's houses, but as they say, there’s a first time for everything. Like every year, this holiday carries a special meaning. Passover symbolizes the Festival of Freedom. Perhaps this year, we will finally be free from the Iranian threat.

The plan for today is to finish the last-minute shopping and get cooking. The cleaner came yesterday, so at least the house is clean. Now, the challenge is to keep the kids busy so they don’t make a mess while we’re busy with the holiday preparations.

I went with my son to the supermarket. When we got to the underground parking area, the siren started. It was the pre-alarm, and I knew there was a shelter nearby. I parked the car and went with my kid to the shelter. There were many people there who had also been buying last-minute groceries for the holiday. We waited there until it was over.

Then my wife called and told me that she had locked herself out of our apartment. She didn’t forget the key; it was my fault. We have a smart lock on our home, so we can go outside without a physical key and open the door with our phones. In the morning, I decided it was a good time to take the battery out to charge it. I told her, but she might have forgotten. So, I drove back home to give her a key (I always keep a spare on my car keyring). She said it was okay and she could wait, but I didn’t want her waiting outside for a long time. I hadn’t even started the shopping yet.

I drove back, gave her the key, and returned to the supermarket for the second time. This time, the alarm caught me before we finished getting everything we wanted. My son found a friend from his chess class at the supermarket. Apparently, his family has been living in a shelter near the store during the war.

My son's friend led us to a “secret room” inside the shelter area. His father, mother, 4-year-old brother, and their dog were all there. They all live together in one small room in the shelter. They were very friendly; we talked, and they told us this room has been their home during the war. We stayed with them until the "all-clear" siren told us we could go out. This was the third time today.

Then we tried finishing our shopping once again. We did it quickly so we could finish before the next alarm started. This time, we made it. We finished our shopping and drove home. Just before we parked the car, the fourth alarm of the day started. We went downstairs to our building’s local shelter. We sat there waiting; my son started eating his sandwich while I heard my wife entering the shelter, talking to one of the neighbors about us being out shopping. She was surprised to see us sitting there.

All of this happened before 11:00 AM. This day feels so long.

I was able to get some sleep at noon, as I was tired from waking so early in the morning. When I woke up again, I started cooking my roasted chicken and potatoes.

Sweet & Spicy Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

Ingredients

• For the Marinade:

  • 5 tbsp Silan (Date Syrup)

  • ½ cup Sweet Chili Sauce

  • ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • 2 tbsp Sweet Paprika

  • 1 ½ tsp Coarse Black Pepper

  • 1 ½ tsp Salt

  • 1 tsp Turmeric

  • ½ tsp Chili Flakes (Red Pepper Flakes)

  • 1 tbsp Chicken Grill Seasoning

  • 1 tbsp Dried Thyme

• The Main Components:

  • 4-5 Chicken Quarters (separated into thighs and drumsticks)

  • 5 Potatoes, cut lengthwise into halves or quarters

  • 2 Onions, sliced into rings

  • 1 Whole Head of Garlic, top sliced off (to expose the cloves)

  • 2 cups Water

Instructions

1. Prepare the Sauce: In a large bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients together until well combined.

2. Coat the Chicken: Place the chicken pieces into the bowl. Massage the sauce thoroughly into the meat, making sure to get plenty of marinade under the skin. Arrange the chicken in a baking dish (avoid using disposable pans for better heat distribution!).

3. Prep the Vegetables: Toss the potatoes, onion rings, and the head of garlic into the same bowl with the remaining sauce. Mix well to coat and arrange them in the baking dish around the chicken.

4. Add Liquid: Carefully pour 2 cups of water into the side of the dish (avoid pouring directly over the chicken so you don't wash off the spices).

5. Cover & Bake: Take a sheet of parchment paper, crumble it up, soak it under the tap, and wring it out. Cover the dish with the damp parchment paper, then seal tightly with a layer of aluminum foil.

6. The Roast: Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C on the Turbo (Convection) setting for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

7. Brown & Crisp: Remove the foil and parchment paper. Bake for approximately 25 more minutes until the chicken is deeply browned and caramelized. Don't be afraid to let it get a dark, rich color!

The Iranian attack that almost killed my chicken

After the chicken was in the oven, we started to prepare all the other parts of the “Seder.” The kids were almost ready, too. Then the sirens went off. I lowered the heat on the oven to 150°C and went down with my family to the shelter all over again. The alarms didn’t stop for more than an hour. There were maybe eight alarms, one after another. We started to think that we might have to cancel the Seder and everyone would stay home. But we didn’t want to do that to the kids who were expecting it. We knew it was very important to them to have this one normal holiday evening with the family.

So we waited for a bit, and when we saw that it was quiet, we told everyone to come over. My mother-in-law didn’t want to come at first; she wanted to stay in her safe room at home. We didn’t want them to be all alone on Passover eve, so I told her I would pick them up in my car and drive them back home whenever they liked. That is how it happened. We managed to sit all together, read the Haggadah, drink wine, and eat a nice holiday dinner. Fortunately, there were no alarms in our city during the meal.

Not long after we finished, and just before dessert, my mother-in-law asked me to take them back before the alarms started again. I understood; they wanted to be in their own safe place.

After I took them home and returned, we continued sitting with my sister’s family for another hour or so. We talked, we ate cake, and the kids were with us in the living room talking and laughing. It was a nice ending to the evening; we were all happy that we made it happen.

After they went home, we didn’t even finish cleaning up the mess. We were just too tired. We went to sleep, but the alarms kept bugging us all night.