מצה ברייט‎ Matzah Brei

Matzah brei is “fried matzah. Wikipedia says about it:

Matzah brei (Yiddish: מצה ברײַ; Hebrew: מצה ברייט‎, matzah breit, or מצה מטוגנת, matzah metugenet, literally, "fried matzah"), sometimes spelled matzah brie or matzo brei, is a dish of Ashkenazi Jewish origin made from matzo fried with eggs.

Numerous recipes exist for this dish. Typically the dry matzo is briefly softened in hot water or milk, broken into pieces, mixed with eggs, and pan-fried in butter, oil or schmaltz. It may be formed into a cake, like a frittata, or broken up and cooked like scrambled eggs. It can be savory or sweet. It may be combined; omelet-style, with meat and other foods, or it may be topped with sauces such as apple sauce, salsa or preserves. Some eat it with sugar, syrup, or jelly.

Matzah brei is commonly eaten as a breakfast food during Passover, when only unleavened bread is permitted. However, some Jews do not eat matzah brei during Passover because they do not eat gebrochts, matzah that has come into contact with water.

Erev Pesach ('Eve of Passover'), the traditional night of the First Seder, is on Monday, April 18, 2011. While I seldom recognize the holidays too much in my family, I do have the “food roots” and need my fix of holiday food. This time of year, while my wife wants to start dyeing eggs, I crave Matzah brei.

I was going to make a run to the store this morning, as a Sunday morning would be a perfect time to have a big breakfast, when a quick look through the pantry found an unopened box of matzah. Most of you won’t have this around, but this time of year you are likely to find it in any supermarket within a stones throw of some sort of Jewish enclave. No enclave, you may have to send for it.

I proceeded to make my matzah brei. Here’s this mornings recipe:

4 sheets of matzah

5 eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil or margarine (I use olive oil)

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, break 3 sheets of matzah into small pieces.

2. Pour in hot water to soften matzah.

3. Strain mixture to remove water and leave softened matzah

4. Break up additional sheet of dry matzah and put on top of wet matzah

5. In a separate bowl, beat eggs.

6. Add eggs, salt and pepper to matzah. Mix well.

7. Heat oil in a frying pan. Cook matzah-egg mixture over medium heat

8. When lightly browned (yellowed even) on one side, turn out onto large plate or pizza pan and turn over,     back into the hot frying pan, to get the second side done.

9. Some people prefer a scrambled type mixture, in my household we always made a large omelet type presentation.

10. Feel free to eat it with jelly, jam, syrup and anything else that works for you.


My wife and I had it for breakfast, my daughter declined. “Not her favorite ethnic food”, she declared.

I can’t stop smiling, and we even have some leftovers for later!