Matza and macaroons  As the Jewish festival of Passover nears,
Naomi Alderman celebrates its annual food rituals and offers two
classic recipes from her grandmother's favourite cookery book
Naomi Alderman with her gran's old cookbooks Naomi Alderman with
her gran's old cookbooks. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi
Christian Sinibaldi/Guardian  There's a smell of cinnamon and
nutmeg in the air. The special crockery and glasses are brought
out and an extravagant meal is prepared, one which has taken
weeks of planning. Passover is the Jewish Christmas. We have a
festival at Christmas-time, it's true, but the doughnuts and
dreidels of Chanukah can't compare to Passover for significance,
intensity and ritual. Not to mention the overwhelming importance
of food to the celebration. All Jewish festivals have some food
component. Either we eat a particular food, or we stop eating
something. At new year, we eat apples dipped in honey to
symbolise our hopes for a sweet year ahead. On the Day of
Atonement, we don't eat or dr