Use Up Your Matzah

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It 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?

(tomertu / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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 experiences 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 approximately 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.

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 parchment 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 chocolate 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 decorations 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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