Many of us cook all year. Some meals require more work than others. Once we make it through the Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, we can go back to non-specific menus for a few months. Then comes the next round of required cooking. I’m talking about Easter and Passover.
We’re not going to tell you how to prepare your Easter ham, or your matzo ball soup. Everyone has their go-to for those types of staples. We’re focusing more on the side dishes or alternatives.
Here are some recipes from Holly Springs residents to share with you.
Matzo—It’s Not Just for Passover
By Jonathan Rosenberg
It’s the biggest cracker you can buy at the store. Matzo, or matzah (both pronounced mot-za), has been around for thousands of years. The holiday of Passover tends to bring the boxes to the store endcaps, but it’s available all year long at most grocery stores.
The Torah (the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible — the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) states that God commanded the Israelites to eat only unleavened bread during Passover. Passover celebrates the exodus from Egypt. During Passover, the story is told that the Israelites didn’t have time to wait for the bread dough to rise when they fled, so the baked unleavened bread became what we now know as matzo.
I’m Jewish, and my wife is not. As with many couples, traditions are shared from childhood, and they combine to make a new set of blended traditions for the family. When I was growing up, we had a hot breakfast every morning. Cereal was only allowed on Saturday for lunch. I don’t know which of my parents made that rule, but I was not a fan as a kid. I was always jealous of the kids that were allowed to eat Cookie Crisp, Fruity Pebbles or King Vitaman for breakfast.
I did carry on the tradition of a hot breakfast every morning though. One can only repeat eggs and pancakes so many times, so I like to shake it up with different breakfast foods. A few times per month, I make matzo brei. Although I’ve been making it for the 30-plus years that we’ve been together, my wife just recently asked me if it was a real recipe, or just something that my parents created through experimentation.
My reaction? “Oh, it’s real! You can even order it at restaurants!”
Although my rebuttal made it sound as though it’s as easy to find on a menu as Buffalo wings, you can in fact find it on the menu at a lot of Jewish delis and some other “specialty” restaurants.
Like many prepared dishes, there are unlimited variations. It can be made sweet or savory, heavy or light on the eggs, fried or baked. I created a variation that I have stuck with for years. Maybe try it out the next time you’re looking for something new to make for breakfast on the weekend.
Ingredients:
4 pieces of matzo (You’ll find a few variations in different stores. Any flavor you like is fine. Plain, onion or everything are the most common.)
2 eggs
1/3 cup of milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
2 teaspoon dried minced onion
1 tablespoon butter or oil
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Cook the sausage in a large skillet, breaking it up into small pieces.
While the sausage is cooking, place the matzo in a large bowl. Run warm water over the matzo, fanning it out so that each piece gets a little water on it. Once this is done, break the matzo up into pieces that are roughly 2” square. It doesn’t have to be perfect. That’s just a guide.
With the pieces in the bowl, fill the bowl with enough water to cover the matzo completely. Wait 30 seconds, and drain the water while holding the matzo back in the bowl.
Add your minced onion to the matzo and mix gently.
In a separate bowl, mix eggs, milk and Worcestershire.
Pour the mixture over the matzo and mix well, making sure to cover all the matzo with the egg mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Once your sausage is done, add to the bowl with the matzo mixture and blend.
Add oil or butter to the skillet, and add the mixture.
Cook over medium heat until golden brown. It can be cooked on one side, then flipped over and cooked, or broken up as you cook it to cook evenly. It’s personal preference.
Serve warm.
MATZO CARAMEL CRUNCH
Ingredients:
4 to 6 sheets unsalted matzo
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup coarsely chopped chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate
Additional toppings, such as chopped toasted almonds, white chocolate, sprinkles, etc.
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large cookie sheet with non-stick foil or baking parchment.
Lay matzos flat, filling the pan. Cut extra pieces to fit in open spaces.
Combine the butter or margarine and the brown sugar in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil (about 2 to 4 minutes).
Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and pour over the matzo, covering completely.
Place the baking sheet in the oven and reduce the heat to 340°F.
Bake for 15 minutes, checking every few minutes to make sure the caramel is not burning. If it begins to brown too quickly, reduce heat to 325°F.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle surface with the chopped chocolate or chips. Let stand for 4-5 minutes, then carefully spread the melted chocolate over the matzo.
Scatter coarsely chopped toasted almonds, white chocolate pieces, or other toppings onto melted chocolate.
Place pan in the freezer and chill until set (about 30 minutes). Break into pieces.
Easter Brunch at home?
Easter Brunch. If you haven’t already made reservations for Easter Brunch, you’re probably too late. There’s something about that Easter Brunch that just makes us want to go out on a beautiful spring day, and indulge in that specialty brunch that you can only find one day a year.
Well if you’ve missed your opportunity to book a table, or you just prefer to enjoy the comfort of your own home, why not bring those brunch specialties to your own dining table?
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Poached Eggs
Poached eggs are commonly associated with that brunch classic, Eggs Benedict, which is a half of a toasted English muffin topped with a slice of Canadian bacon, a poached egg, and a spoonful of Hollandaise sauce. Whether you’re celebrating Easter, Passover, or a beautiful spring day, we’re going to give this classic a spin.
Poaching an egg may seem like something best left to the professionals — until you give it a whirl yourself. The process isn’t as difficult as you think, and the results are perfectly fine for your hungry people.
Ingredients:
Fresh eggs, 1-2 per person
Chicken bouillon
Water
Directions:
Bring a large pot or saucepan of water to boil. Reduce to simmer.
Stir in 1-2 teaspoons chicken bouillon until dissolved.
Place a small fine-mesh sieve over a small bowl or ramekin.
Crack one egg into the sieve so that the most liquid of the whites separates from the thicker whites.
Place the egg into a measuring cup.
Gently slide the egg into the simmering water, holding the measuring cup close to the water’s surface.
Repeat with additional eggs without crowding them in the pot.
Simmer eggs, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes or to desired doneness.
Remove with slotted spoon and season with salt and pepper to taste.
The eggs are done. Now what?
Instead of an English muffin, use a piece of toast as your base. Slather it with avocado. Nestle a poached egg in there and top it with Hollandaise. Feeling rebellious? Add a layer of bacon. This combination is becoming increasingly popular.
AVOCADO SPREAD
Ingredients:
2-3 ripe avocados
1-2 scallions, the whites and part of the greens thinly sliced
2 small sweet peppers, finely diced and seeds removed
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Mash the avocados.
Mix in scallions and sweet peppers.
Add seasonings to taste.
EASY HOLLANDAISE
Ingredients:
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
Dash of pepper
Directions:
Heat the butter slowly in a small pot just until melted. Don’t let it boil or burn.
In a blender, blend the egg yolks, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and pepper at medium-high speed until mixture lightens in color, at least 30 seconds.
Transfer the melted butter to a glass measuring cup with a spout for pouring.
Reduce blender speed to low and begin to slowly drizzle the melted butter into the egg mixture. (You can pour the butter through the opening in your blender lid. Go slow so you don’t inadvertently cook the egg yolks.)
Taste the sauce and adjust the flavor by adding lemon juice or salt. If the sauce is too thick, blend in a bit of warm water. Keep warm until ready to serve.
VANILLA FRUIT COMPOTE
No brunch is complete without a fruit salad. Use what’s in season and deliciously ripe and see what happens when you add this amazing vanilla syrup to the mix.
Ingredients:
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup water
Juice of 1 orange or 1 lemon
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 cups washed and sliced fresh fruit (peaches, pears, berries, melons, nectarines, kiwi, apples, mango…)
Instructions:
Combine brown sugar, water, and orange or lemon juice.
Bring a boil and simmer 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Pour hot syrup over fruit in serving bowl.
Chill and serve.
