ANNABEL COHEN
Special to the Jewish News
P
esachdik breakfasts are the best.
Of all the meals we eat throughout
the day, breakfast is the one in which we
crave starchy foods the most. For many,
the morning ritual begins with a bowl of cereal or
a bagel. Weekends often call for more elaborate
breakfasts, often including coffeecake and pan-
cakes.
This year, public school kids will have nearly
the entire week of Passover without school. Many
parents take this time off from work as well. That
translates into more time for breakfast. For the
first time, we now offer great Pesach breakfast
foods, often the most neglected of this holiday's
meals.
The most famous Passover morning food is, of
course, matzah brei (pronounced "bry"). Most
Jews of Ashkenazi descent remember with fond-
ness mornings with this moistened and fried
matzah. In fact, of all the traditional Pesach foods,
matzah brie is probably the food most people can't
wait to eat during the holiday.
Like many Jewish foods, there are countless
recipes for this favorite. Some call for mere mois-
tening of the matzah in water and frying it with a
bit of salt and serving.with jam spread over. Others
have Americanized it into a pseudo-French toast,
complete with egg, milk and cinnamon, and
served with maple syrup. Still others will fry
onions and add them to the mix for a savory, hot-
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from-the-pan treat.
Breakfast doesn't end with matzah brei, howev-
er. Matzah meal pancakes are earthy and nutty
tasting and infinitely versatile. Because leavening
agents are taboo (although there are now
pesachdik baking sodas), most bread-like foods call
for whipped egg whites. The results are extra-fluffy
pancakes and light coffeecakes.
While beating the whites is an extra step, it's
essential for exquisitely airy pastry. Try your hand
at some of the breakfast recipes below. With the
growing popularity of breakfast foods any time of
the day, you may wish to make a dinner of matzah
brie or serve either of the cakes for dessert.
If you still like the idea of cereal in the morn-
ing, the granola recipe is crunchy and healthy,
with its abundant nuts, seeds and dried fruit. Of
course, you could buy some of the specialty sugary
cereals offered for nearly $5 a box, but why?
FLUFFY MATZAH MEAL PANCAKES
There are numerous recipes for matzah meal pan-
cakes. Some call for eggs that aren't separated;
some call for adding cottage cheese or any number
of ingredients, such as nuts and fresh berries. Feel
free to add toasted chopped nuts, blueberries or
even a bit of "charoset" to this recipe; that pro-
duces a fluffier, less filling pancake. Or serve "as is"
with maple syrup or a sprinkling of sugar and cin-
namon.
3 large eggs; separated
1/2 t. salt
1 T. sugar
1/2 cup milk, water or orange Juice
3/4 matzah meal
vegetable oil for frying
Place egg yolks in a medium bowl and whisk
well. Add salt, sugar and milk, water or juice and
whisk well. Use a spoon to stir in the matzah meal.
Let the batter sit for 20 minutes before beginning
the next step.
Beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry, and
use a rubber spatula to fold into the matzah mix-
ture.
Heat about 1/4 cup of oil (or less if your skillet
is small or very good non-stick) in a large non-
stick skillet over medium-high heat until very hot.
Make a "test" pancake by dropping a tablespoonful
of the mixture into the hot oil, using the back of
the spoon to shape into a circle. Repeat until you
fill the pan.
Cook until lightly browned and turn over to
cook on the other side. Repeat with all the batter.
Serve hot with syrup, jam, powdered sugar, or
cinnamon and sugar. Makes 4 servings.
MATZAH BREI
Matzah brei can be as simple as frying moistened
matzah with oil in a skillet, or made into a type of
French toast, using egg and milk. Some even add
fried onions, lox, cottage cheese, cooked mush-
rooms and herbs or a combination of any of these
to the mix.
This recipe uses matzah soaked in water and
mixed with eggs and a bit of sugar and salt. Serve,
as above, like pancakes or waffles.