food & dining
Use Up Your Matzah
I t happens every year: Passover ends
and there’s a whole box of matzah
sitting on the kitchen counter. Because
of its historical and religious significance,
I find it hard to simply toss matzah into
the trash. But what can I do with it?
Last year, I realized I could minimize
the amount of matzah remaining after
Passover by pinpointing how many
boxes my family uses. Because we
usually consume four boxes, this year I
didn’t buy more than that. I knew most
food stores are overloaded with matzah,
so making a last-minute purchase was
feasible. Once Passover ends, my family experi-
ences matzah fatigue, so it’s hard to lure
them back. Thus, I’ve become strategic.

I wait until everyone has had their fill of
leavened flour before slipping matzah
into recipes. That takes at least a month.

The best way to entice people to
accept matzah as an ingredient is to cook
something sumptuous and spectacular.

Matzah Brei with Crumbled
Feta | Dairy
Yield: 2-4 servings
Equipment: A large skillet, preferably
nonstick 4 pieces of matzah broken into approx-
imately one-inch square pieces
5 eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil, or more, if
needed 1 large onion, diced
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Place the matzah in a large bowl.

Sprinkle it with water. Toss the matzah,
making sure each piece receives a little
sprinkle. Reserve. Break the eggs into a
medium-sized bowl, and mix them with a
whisk. Reserve.

Heat the oil in a large skillet on a
medium-low flame. Add the diced onion
and sauté them. When the onion is
fragrant and turning golden, add the
matzah, then the eggs. Rotate the skillet
so the eggs and matzah cover the pan
evenly. Fry until the bottom is firm. Add more
oil at any time, if needed. Cut the matzah
brei into four pie-shaped pieces. Turn
over each piece, and fry them until the
bottoms are firm and crisp. Sprinkle the
feta cheese on top. Let it melt a little,
then serve immediately.

Chocolate Matzah Pudding | Dairy
Yield: 9 pieces
Equipment: 8-inch-by-8-inch baking pan
Sweet butter for greasing the
baking pan
4 pieces of matzah, broken into 6
pieces ½ cup milk, plus ½ cup
2 eggs
¾ cup sugar, plus 2 teaspoons
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa
½ teaspoon cinnamon, plus ½
teaspoon ½ cup semisweet chocolate morsels
Accompaniment: whipped cream or
vanilla ice cream
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat the baking pan with butter.

Place the matzah in a medium-sized
bowl, and soak the pieces in ½ cup of
milk while preparing the next step.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add ½
cup milk, ¾ cup sugar, salt, cocoa and
½ teaspoon of cinnamon. Beat again.

Drain the soaking matzah and add it
to the bowl, stirring to coat it with a
silicone or wooden spoon. Gently mix
in the chocolate bits. Transfer this to
the prepared baking pan, and arrange
the ingredients evenly.

In a small bowl, whisk 2 teaspoons
of sugar and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.

Sprinkle it over the top of the pudding.

Bake it for 30 minutes or until the top is
golden and the center is cooked through.

Cool the matzah for 20 minutes
before cutting it into squares, 3 across
and 3 down. Serve it with dollops of
whipped cream or ice cream.

20 APRIL 13, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Colorful Chocolate Dipped
Matzah | Dairy
Yield: 32 pieces
Equipment: 2 cookie sheets and 2
pieces of parchment paper
1 bag of mini chocolate bits
1 container of sprinkles, in various
colors and/or multicolored
1 container of silver ball sprinkles
4 pieces of matzah
12 ounces of high-quality,
semisweet dark baking chocolate
Line the cookie sheets with parch-
ment paper. Pour the chocolate bits,
sprinkles and silver balls into separate
bowls. Break each piece of matzah into
quarters. Break each quarter in half, so
you’ll have 8 rectangles per piece of
matzah. Reserve.

Break the baking chocolate into
half-inch pieces. Pour a couple of inches
of water into the bottom pot of a double
boiler. Set the top pot over it, and place
the chocolate inside. Cover the top pot
with its lid. (If you don’t own a double
boiler, you can rig one up with a medium-
sized pot, a heatproof bowl that fits into
the pot but doesn’t touch its bottom, and
a lid that fits over the bowl.) Bring the
water to a rolling boil.

Stir occasionally until the chocolate
melts. Remove it from the flame.

Dip each matzah rectangle into the
chocolate so that it covers about ⅔ or
more of each rectangle. Lift the matzah
above the pot and let the excess choco-
late drip back into the pot. Sprinkle
either chocolate bits, sprinkles or silver
balls on both sides of each rectangle.

You can mix and match these decora-
tions to create variety. Move them to the
parchment-lined cookie sheets.

When the first sheet is full, refrigerate
it. Continue until each piece of matzah
is covered in chocolate and decorated.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and until
you’re ready to serve it. ■
Linda Morel is a freelance food writer.

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Linda Morel