Passover began Monday and ends Tuesday, April 30, meaning there are plenty of days and nights to dine on many traditional dishes of this important Jewish holiday.
The list of traditional foods is long: roast chicken, chicken soup, matzo ball soup, gefilte fish, brisket, haroset, and sweet and savory kugels. The foods of Passover are as varied as the tastes of those who observe the celebration of the ancient Hebrews’ escape from slavery 3,000 years ago.
Observant Jews eat no unleavened bread during Passover, in memory of the their ancestors’ hasty escape from Egypt that left them no time to wait for bread to rise. That was the origin of matzo, a flatbread sold in supermarkets this time of year.
In the intervening years many recipes have been created to eat this unleavened bread. Children eat it like crackers with peanut butter and jelly while adults top it with salsa or hot sauce. For breakfast it can be broken up, softened with a little water, and mixed with eggs and seasonings. Fried in a skillet it becomes matzo brei, which is often topped with sour cream and applesauce. Fruit and nuts can be added too. It’s a good base for pizza (see recipe) as well.
For dinner there is always matzo ball soup or fried chicken dipped in seasoned matzo crumbs. Matzo-based desserts range from a layered “cake” to chocolate-covered matzo and matzo s’mores.
You can make your own matzo from scratch if you like, using flour, salt, olive oil and water. But the supermarket version are just fine, especially since you are using it as a base for your dishes.
This recipe for matzo pizza from food.com is simple to make and should keep away cravings for traditional pizza until after Passover.
1 matzo
2 to 3 tablespoons tomato sauce
3 tablespoons lowfat mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons red peppers
2 tablespoons green peppers
2 mushrooms, sliced
4 slices tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon basil
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil; spray with non-stick spray.
3. Spread matzo with sauce.
4. Sprinkle with cheese, peppers and mushrooms.
5. Top with tomato slices; sprinkle with seasonings. 6. Bake for 10 minutes until cheese melts.
From allrecipes.com
Olive oil cooking spray
4 unsalted matzo boards, or more to taste
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
¾ cup chocolate chips
1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray; arrange matzo boards to fit in a single layer, breaking if necessary.
3. Combine butter and brown sugar together in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then boil for about 3 minutes.
4. Pour butter mixture evenly over matzo on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet into the preheated oven and immediately reduce heat to 350 degrees; bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees if the matzo are smoking too much.
5. Remove baking sheet from oven and sprinkle matzo with chocolate chips. Let stand to melt chocolate, about 5 minutes.
6. Spread melted chocolate over matzo; place in refrigerator until chilled and set. Break into pieces when cooled.
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