Trying to remember a matzoh item?

[W.DeBord]

A few years back I catered for a family on one of the Jewish holidays and the ladies made something (it was like grandmas special dish)I'm not familar with.....but I really liked it and I'd like to make it again.

I'm pretty sure it was matzoh crackers crumbled up and soaked with eggs (for a while to soften), maybe a pinch of cream too. I think it was simply seasoned with salt and pepper only and then I fried them like pancakes.

Do any of you know what the name of that dish is? I'm sure I must have missed some details, could you correct my memory? Thanks.

[blanchtoque]

Its called Matzoh brei (sp?) and I think your pretty close in the details. At least that's how I remember my step mom making it. Sometimes she would add sauteed onion.

Years later in one of my kitchen I would always have the prep cook make the family meal and he would make something very similar with left over tortilla chips.

He would recrisp the chips in the fryer then soak them with egg and some chicken stock and fry them up. Of course they were seasoned with the ubiquitous chilie powder, preferably ancho, but he would also use just a hint of clove. At the time it reminded me so much of matzoh brei.

[ September 28, 2001: Message edited by: blanchtoque ]

[cape chef]

It is indeed matzo Brei,

My grandmother and mom used to also use onions,they would soak the Matzo in milk or water ,then fry the onions add the eggs and Matzo and make one big tasty mess.
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[W.DeBord]

Wait....they drained the milk first and how much moisture they squeezed out of the matzoh was the thing the Grandma was the "expert" at...that seems to make sense?

O.k. so I soak in milk, drain. Saute some onion, cool. Mix drained matzoh with onion salt and pepper, shape into pattys and fry? Was there any condiment that you serve with it?

[cape chef]

Wendy,
I sqeeze out most of the milk from the matzo,then add it to the carmalized onions,then add the eggs.My Mom and grandmother did not form them into patties,it was more like a scramble.

Some times they would cook it in smultz and add the craklings.

Yummy stuff.
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[W.DeBord]

Thanks a bunch!!!! I'm going to make them tonight.

[Suzanne]

If you leave out the onion, you can serve it with jelly or a fruit compote as dessert (or a sweet brunch dish). Anne Rosenzweig used to serve a version at either Arcadia or The Lobster Club, with mushrooms. Very inspiring!

[W.DeBord]

I blew it. I pan fried them in canola oil like a potato pancake....that can't be right? Should I have used butter? Even though I used a fair amount of s & p and carmelized onions it was pretty nothing (maybe not enough eggs, too much matzo)....

It was so long ago that I ate these I don't think I reproduced it correctly at all. I made them the consistancy of a pancake and they were soft too (maybe I soaked them too long).....is that right? I couldn't get the edges to crisp up for texture....shouldn't they?

Any further guidance would be appreciated????

[Suzanne]

The recipes I have call for 1 egg for each matzoh (per serving). One says to break the matzoh into 2-inch pieces in a colander, pour boiling water over the pieces, drain, then add the matzoh and S&P to the beaten eggs. Fry in whatever fat over low heat until brown on the bottom, flip it, and brown on the other side.

The other recipe calls for 1/2 cup liquid to be mixed with 2 eggs and 2 broken matzohs, plus S&P (for 2 servings). Heat 3 T of fat in a pan, add the mixture and cover; cook over moderate heat about 10 minutes (until brown on the bottom), then uncover, flip, and finish cooking uncovered.

My personal preference is to soak the broken matzoh pieces in the milk/egg mixture for a long time, even overnight (refrigerated, of course). It gets very soft that way. Then I fry in butter, stirring often to make sure that all the bits get nice and crisp on the outside, while the interiors stay soft.

The choice of fat depends on the type of meal, whether dairy or meat. You can't mix the 2, so if it's a dairy meal, you can use butter or a neutral fat; if it's meat, you can't use butter. Of course, if you're not keeping kosher, you don't have to follow those rules.

BTW: when I looked up those recipes, I discovered the "brie" or "brie" means scalded, so maybe that means that the pour-over-boiling-water method is more legitimate. But de gustibus...

[chrose]

Just had some this morning. I have them usually once a week. For 1 serving I make it easy, nothing fancy.
2-3 squares of matzoh. 1-2 eggs, a little water.
Mix the eggs with about 3-4T water like an omelet and set aside.
Rinse matzoh under warm water for a moment to get all pieces wet. Break into 1/3's and continue to run under warm water until pretty well soaked but not sopping. I like mine with a little texture, not too soft.
Break into pieces and add to egg mixture, stir it up well.
Heat fry pan, add butter or margerine, about 1T and put matzoh mix in. Flatten down to about 1/2". Cook 4-5 minutes until brown and crusty. Add a little more butter and flip. Cook another 2-3 minutes and eat!!!
I like mine just like spaetzle with just salt. My father likes it doused in Maneschewitz wine, some like cinnamon and sugar (yechhh)
But that's it. Down and dirty.
Be back later with editorializing.

[W.DeBord]

I think the first thing I'm seeing that I did wrong was my egg quantity was half what Suzanne and Chrose posted.


O.k, o.k. o.k.....now is it like 50% matzoh to 50% egg/liquid? (I just used the eggs to bind what was primarily soaked, motzoh...that's why it was sooo bland)

So to have more flavor (flavor comes from fat) I should use more eggs (which are fat) and a more flavorful fat. What about bacon grease or chicken fat added to the butter in your pan? (As you can see I'm not kosher ) Plus I should have broken them up (not made patties) to resemble scrambled eggs instead of pancakes (which would have gotten more fat thru out)?

Hum....alot of variety here, I never knew....

[chrose]

Stop on by, we'll have a brunch. Some bagels & bialys with lox and cream cheese, smoked whitefish some sable, smoked salmon some matzoh brei, eggs and onions, lox and eggs. Danish, coffee and OJ.

[cape chef]

Chrose I'll be there in an hour!!!!

I'll bring the Lox and sabal
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[chrose]

Hoo wee Don't I wish!

[momoreg]

MAN that sounds good! I'm drooling over here!