Chocolate Caramelized Matzo

This recipe is a sweeter take on Matzo; I only made half a batch since it's too hard not to want to scarf it all down at once!

Matzo Ball Soup

Matzo Ball Soup is healthy comfort food at its finest.  It puts chicken noodle soup to shame!  I was feeling under the weather this past weekend, and making this soup set me straight.  I made it from scratch, but honestly, I've had much better, fluffier results using a boxed mix for the Matzo balls in the past.  I think the problem was that the recipe I used did not call for baking powder, which apparently is the key to fluffy Matzo Balls (my personal preference, some people prefer them firm).  I can only assume the boxed mix includes the necessary ingredients; and really, using the box mix is not very different from making it from scratch as far as the integrity of the ingredients...  You can upgrade the box mix by making your own chicken broth.

 

Matzo Lasagne

The love affair with Matzo continues, and this delicious version of lasagne is light and healthy too (with only 110 calories in each sheet of Matzo!).  I can't wait to try different variations of lasagna using Matzo.  The ingredients for this one are simple - just Matzo, onions, tomatoes, cheese, basil and olive oil. 

Saute 1/2 an onion (add 1 shallot for extra flavor) in some olive oil until browned, add in 3-4 chopped tomatoes - cook until well combined, then set aside:

Grease a baking dish for assembling the lasagne (I used an 8"x8" size dish).  

Boil a pot of water to soften the sheets of Matzo - place each sheet in boiling water for about 1 minute, then lift out with a slotted spatula; let them drain before layering in the lasagna dish.  Layer a sheet of softened Matzo, the tomato mixture, then some mozzarella cheese.  Repeat layers 3 times.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  

Top with fresh basil and enjoy!

Passover Stuffing

I had never had Matzo until I met my husband (who is Jewish).  During Passover, Matzo, a flat, unleavened cracker is eaten instead of bread.  Unleavened bread is eaten because believers say the Israelites left in such a hurry they couldn’t wait for the bread dough to rise.  I quickly fell in love with this cracker, so delicious when simply spread with butter and jam, not to mention the many other ways to prepare it.

 

This year we were invited to a Passover brunch and I was tasked with bringing a savory dish.  I decided to test some recipes during the week before deciding what to make for the  gathering.  My mother-in-law sent me some of her recipes, and I decided to try making her Matzo Farfel with Onions and Mushrooms. It's basically Passover "stuffing".

I could not find any Farfel at the store, so I used Matzo meal instead (I believe the difference has to do with the coarseness of the meal - Farfel is a coarser meal).  [Sadly, I came down with a cold the day before the event which knocked me out + I didn't want to spread the fun around. It did call for some Matzo Ball Soup though, more on that later this week].

You will need:
2 cups Matzo Farfel
2 cups water
1/2-3/4 lb fresh sliced mushrooms
4 large onions
2 eggs
salt
pepper

First, boil the water and add matzo farfel until soft - strain - matza must stay moist, not wet:

Fry the onions & mushrooms in oil (add some chicken fat if you have it).
Mix together the onion/mushroom mixture, farfel, eggs, salt & pepper in a deep bowl.

The recipe calls to place the mixture in a greased flat pan with about a 2" edge.  After making these, I was in a bit of a muffin/cupcake tin craze, so I decided to make little cups of this stuffing instead:

Bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes (I baked them for 20 minutes since the cupcake tins are smaller). Enjoy!