The food challenge of Passover is not the seder. It’s the seven days that come after.

After all, you know what to make for the seder. Torah and tradition are right there by your side, cooking: matzo, charoset, chicken or brisket, kugel if you’re Ashkenazi, something people actually like if you’re Sephardic.  It’s all preordained. God is your sous chef for your Passover meals.

But then the holiday of Passover is over, and you’re facing seven days of elaborate, seemingly all-encompassing food restrictions.

Not only are the usual non-kosher foods off limits, but so is all bread, pasta, beans, rice, and, of course, beer.  The idea is to avoid not just leavened bread, as it says in the Torah, but anything that can or will be used against you to harbor leavening.

Sephardic Jews are a bit more lenient. They get to eat beans, seeds and rice. Observant Ashkenazic Jews ar the most exacting—I’ve passed evenings arguing whether it’s okay to serve fresh green beans.

Where do I fall on the spectrum?  During Passover, I go full Ashkenazi.  I’m not sure why—the rest of the year I have a very expanded and convenient idea of what kosher means to me. (OUTSIDE our home, I hasten to add.  Inside, I am under rabbinical supervision.

But during Passover, it feels right to forego the weightiness of flour and starches, and legumes.  It’s liberating.  The rabbis who developed these arcane rules perfectly understood that spirituality begins with what we eat.  By spending a week free of the heavier stuff, I really do feel lighter, freer. The Exodus continues, just in my stomach.

But… it ain’t easy. Thinking of menus that don’t involve bread, pasta, beans rice, but excite you, satisfy you—that takes some doing. As I said, anyone and their grandmother can give you a matzo ball recipe, but what about dinner on Day 5?

Here’s how I solved the problem this year: by looking at iPhoto. We traveled to some great places this year, and I’m one of those people who take photos of food and menus and keep notes.  I went back through my photos and found favorite dishes that happen to be Passover friendly.  They are mostly from restaurants in Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, and Milan, with a few local places, including my home, thrown in. Many involve fish, and there are a lot of vegetables.  The flavors are strong.  The ingredients are fresh.  My pet peeve is those prepared Passover foods, like brownie mix and cereals, that completely subvert the spirit of the holiday, if not the law. These recipes are springy: herbs, fresh vegetables, and fresh fish.

Check back here each day next week. I’ve got your passover meals covered, along with a bit about where I found the recipes.

It’s a long holiday, but I promise, you won’t go hungry.

I’ll start with the last recipe, for Chef Micah Wexler’s Roasted Beet Salad with Grilled Haloumi Cheese.  Micah is the chef/co-owner of Mezze on La Cienega Blvd., and many of his Levant-inspired dishes are Passover friendly.  This one uses garbanzo beans in the original—boiled and fried, if I remember correctly.  But you can leave them out.  If you’re Ashkenazic.

Here’s what’s on my non-seder Passover meals for the rest of the week:

• Cod Gratinée with an Artichoke Mousse from “Café de l’Academia” in Barcelona
• Lemon and Olive Oil-Roasted Artichoke from “da Toni” in Venice
• Sole with celery puree and roasted cherry tomatoes from “Arcana” in Barcelona
• Sweet Potato and Soft Goat Cheese Gratin with Spring Herb Salad from “Struisvogel” in Amsterdam
• Seared Trout with Berber Spice and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette (okay, this one is mine)
• Asparagus Milanese from “Biffi” in Milan
• Padrón Peppers “Santa Catalina” from Barcelona
• Cauliflower, Courgette, Mint and Ticklemore from “Great Queen Street” in London
• Potato Cake, Bell Onion, Romesco, and Fried Egg from “Great Queen Street” in London
• Grilled Fillet of Sea Bass with sauce antiboise from “Struisvogel” in Amsterdam
• Roasted Beet Salad with Grilled Halloumi Cheese from “Mezze” in Beverly Hills