The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Recipes to make for a tasty holiday
Try recipes for apple crumb pie, L.E.O. matzo brei
The weather hasn’t been spring-like, but the ads I see for food such as matzo and gefilte fish for Passover — and ham, chocolate Easter bunnies and Peeps for Easter celebrations — make me hopeful that long-awaited spring weather is ahead.
Passover begins at sundown on Monday with the first Seder, the feast that begins the eightday Jewish holiday. Both Passover and Easter include meals that celebrate tradition and beloved memories. One Passover memory I have is my maternal grandmother making her famous stuffed cabbage. My job was inserting toothpicks to hold the rolls together, and, once it was served, making sure those picks came out before eating.
During a conversation while visiting my parents in Florida a few weeks ago, we debated over breakfast which brand of matzo was the best. We spoke about the variety of the unleavened bread available today, in addition to traditional and egg, which were the varieties available “back then.” Now we can purchase organic, gluten-free, spelt, whole wheat and various flavored matzos. And, don’t forget chocolate-covered matzo, my favorite.
For many, matzo is eaten year round. Matzo and cream cheese topped with smoked salmon is a favorite of mine. A Sunday-morning comfort food I enjoy is matzo brei (broken pieces of matzo soaked in warm water, then drained and soaked in beaten eggs and milk and then pan fried in butter.
The significance of eating matzo during Passover is the biblical narrative that the Israelites left Egypt in such haste they could not wait for their bread dough to rise; the bread, when baked, was matzo.
Michele Streit Heilbrun, co-author along with David Kirschner of “Matzo: 35 Recipes for Passover and All Year Long” (© 2017, Clarkson Potter, $14.99), is no stranger to matzo. She is the co-owner of Streit’s Matzos, founded by her great-grandfather Aron Streit in 1925 on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. She writes, “It’s fair to say I was born into matzo — that it’s in my DNA. It was, and still is, the family business, and it plays a starring role in my most cherished memories. Matzo, with its ancient origins, is bursting with modern possibilities. Its journey from the Passover table into everyday food is long overdue. Consider this cookbook matzo’s makeover.”
If you are invited to a Passover Seder, a copy of this book, perhaps with a dish you prepared from it, will make a great gift for the host. If you are preparing the feast, the book will reinvent the staple with fresh ideas for incorporating matzo in your dishes. Add creative dishes like matzo granola, Caesar salad with smoked whitefish with matzo ball croutons, or matzo tiramisu to your repertoire. Check out the authors’ recipe for apple crumb pie and L.E.O. matzo brei. For the recipe for chocolate caramel matzo crunch with candied ginger, visit bit.ly/2olotBb.
I must agree with this headnote: “Tired of eating meringue-based desserts on Passover? This apple pie delivers everything you look for in a traditional version: flaky crust, crunchy topping, and scrumptious filling. This crust can be used to make everything from quiche to chicken pot pies.”
Apple Crumb Pie
INGREDIENTS
CRUST
1½ cups matzo cake meal, plus more for dusting
½ cup (1 stick) margarine or vegetable shortening
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Filling
4 pounds baking apples (such as gala, pink lady, or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons potato starch
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Topping
¾ cup potato starch
½ cup matzo cake meal
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons
light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup neutral oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. To make the crust, combine the matzo cake meal, margarine and salt in a food processor and pulse until pea-sized pieces form. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon cold water until a ball of dough forms. Using your hands, form the dough into a flat disc, wrap with plastic, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Place a large sheet of parchment paper on a clean, dry surface. Dust the surface and a rolling pin with cake meal, then roll the dough into a 12-inch-wide circle. Lift the parchment paper and flip the dough into a 9-inch pie pan. Pinch any tears back together. Press the dough so that it sits flat along the corners and sides of the pie pan, then crimp the top edge around the pie. To make the filling, toss together the apples, lemon juice, sugar, potato starch, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl until evenly coated. Place the apples in the pie crust, arranging them in even layers to avoid air pockets, and gently pushing down each layer as you fill the dish (it will seem like too many apples, but they will cook down). Bake for 45 minutes, until the crust turns golden brown and the apples have shrunk in volume by one-third. Meanwhile, make the crumb topping. In a small bowl, combine the potato starch, cake meal, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Drizzle in the oil and use a fork to mix everything together until the crumbs are the size of peas. Pull the pie from the oven, sprinkle the crumb topping over the apples, return to the oven, and continue to bake until the apple filling is soft and bubbling and the crust and crumb are both golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes more. Remove and allow the pie to cool to room temperature for at least 3 hours before slicing and serving. It will stay fresh, covered, at room temperature for up to 24 hours, or refrigerated for 4 days. Makes 6-8 servings.
The headnote to this recipe says: “Lox, eggs, and onions, or L.E.O., as the combination is commonly known, is as quintessential to Jewish food as the bagel. Right after I learned to talk, I’m sure the next thing my father taught me to do was eat L.E.O. We took this classic and married it with matzo brei to make these two iconic dishes even more beloved. My dad would be proud!”
L.E.O. Matzo Brei INGREDIENTS
4 sheets matzo
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 large sweet onion, halved and
thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
8 large eggs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces lox or smoked salmon,
cut into ½-inch-wide strips
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1½ tablespoons drained capers
INSTRUCTIONS
Run each sheet of matzo under cold running water for 15 seconds until it just begins to soften but isn’t falling apart. Break into 1½inch pieces and set aside. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion slices in a single layer and cook without stirring until they turn dark brown in spots, 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining butter, stir the onions, and continue to cook until they are evenly golden brown, 4 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Season with the salt and black pepper. Stir in the matzo and let soak for 1 minute. Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium-low. Add the egg-matzo mixture and gently stir as though you were making scrambled eggs. Once the eggs begin to set, about 3 minutes, add the lox, dill, chives and capers. Continue to stir until the eggs are cooked through but still soft, about 1 minute, or to desired consistency. Makes 4 servings. (Recipes reprinted from “Matzo: 35 Recipes for Passover and All Year Long” © 2017 by Michele Heilbrun. Photographs © 2016 by Jennifer May. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.)
Send us your requests
Which restaurant recipes or other recipes would you like to have?
Which food products are you having difficulty finding?
Do you have cooking questions? Send them to me.
Contact Stephen Fries, professor and coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College, at gwstephen.fries@gwcc.commnet.edu or Dept. FC, Gateway Community College, 20 Church St., New Haven 06510. Include your full name, address and phone number. Due to volume, I might not be able to publish every request. For more, go to stephenfries.com.