|
Published April 23, 2005 in the Albany Times Union By Stacey Morris
Matzo probably won’t go down in history as an all-time favorite food. It’s brittle, dry and not exactly loaded with flavor. But then again, that’s the point. The paper-thin squares of bread are a tangible commemoration of the haste with which Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt and away from centuries of slavery more than 3,000 years ago. So hasty was the departure, there was no time for the bread baking that day to rise. Since that time, the holiday of Passover has been celebrated with a Seder, an unhurried meal of foods symbolizing the exodus interspersed with religious readings. As part of the holiday, Jews traditionally abstain from eating anything with leavening during the week leading to Passover. During that time, matzo (Hebrew for unleavened bread) takes the place of breads, crackers and cookies. For some, eating matzo is a rite they’d rather skip, either because of its insipid flavor or the fact that it can sometimes have a binding effect on digestion. Then there are those like Linda Ginsburg who adore the simple bread – and revel in finding ways to make matzo interesting. “I do like matzo,” said the Albany resident. “Especially in its pure form: a piece of matzo, a tub of softened Breakstone’s unsalted butter and salt…or Temptee cream cheese of course.” Ginsburg said the Breakstone’s and matzo ritual began during school mornings as a child, when cereal was forbidden during Passover week. “My grandmother and I would have it for breakfast along with coffee that was one part coffee, three parts sugar,” she laughed. “There’s an art to spreading butter on matzo; you have to hold it in your hand a certain way and have a lot of patience.” Now that she’s married and the mother of two, Ginsburg has found other ways to make the most of matzo – and not just during the holidays. The matzo lasagna she invented one year during Passover is such a hit with her husband and sons, they request it year-round. “You’ve got to be creative,” she said. “If you’re Kosher to begin with, you have to learn to adapt, you’re already in a mindset where you make little adjustments here and there.” It was just the sort of culinary tinkering that gave her sons the idea of matzo pizza, another dish the family eats year-round. “I made matzo pizza as a kid and soaked the matzo in water first,” Ginsburg recalled. “But my kids use extra sauce and let it soften the matzo.” So fond is her family of matzo, they even keep a sealed box in their emergency kit. Albany resident Ruth Pfaff admits she’s not crazy about matzo, but has become adept at using it creatively over the years. Her matzo stuffing reads just like a bread stuffing recipe, with a box of matzo used in place of a loaf of bread. “I always add lots of seasoning and parve margarine,” she said. “Then I bake it in a pan or stuff a chicken with it. “And my kids love my matzo kugel, I put a ton of eggs it.” Which doesn’t necessarily mean Pfaff partakes of her own matzo creations. “I don’t eat it because it doesn’t agree with me,” she said. “But I’ll eat it for the Seder.” Rabbi Elliott Marmon of Congregation Shaaray Tefila in Glens Falls remembers his mother’s matzo latkes fried in chicken fat on school mornings and matzo ball soup at evening meals, but said it’s the religious significance of matzo that’s paramount. Though he and wife Ilana tend to eat matzo throughout the year, they’re always mindful of its religious significance. “The Seder is a very potent way in which Jews have bound themselves to their religion for the past 2,000 years,” he said. Each piece of food on the Seder platter represents an element from the story of Moses: green herbs for springtime, the egg which symbolizes the Hagigah sacrifice, horseradish root for how the Egyptians embittered the lives of Hebrew slaves, the Haroset (nuts, apples wine and cinnamon) to represent the mortar used by the slaves to build Egyptian cities, saltwater to symbolize the tears of the slaves and matzo as testament to the hurried exodus from Egypt. “You can eat matzo anytime, but it becomes a religious precept to eat it during Passover,” said Marmon, who has lived in Europe, Israel and Japan. “Some liken getting rid of leavened products as getting back to basics, hungering for the simple life,” he said. “And some rabbis over the ages have compared fermentation to sin, as yeast puffs up the dough, so does sin puff a person up.” Ilana, who was raised in Israel, recalls how matzo was turned into a sweet delicacy in her home – as chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Today, she makes a simplified version by melting down chocolate, pouring it over matzo and chilling it until solid. “In Israel, we didn’t eat matzo year-round,” said Ilana. “This whole year-round thing is recent.” But for Rabbi Marmon, what’s important is that the religious connotation of the food and the holiday are remembered. “At Passover we remember the universal idea of being free from enslavement, from domination and from bad habits,” said Marmon.
Matzo Pizza 1 matzo Place matzo on greased baking pan. Smother with sauce (extra sauce will be needed to soften matzo so don’t use enough just to cover the bread). Add cheese and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. - Linda Ginsburg
Matzo Lasagna 10 matzos Mix cheese, egg and spices in a mixing bowl. Line the bottom of a greased lasagna pan with whole matzos. Sprinkle a layer of ricotta, followed by tomato sauce and mozzarella. Repeat process of layering matzo, ricotta, tomato sauce and mozzarella until three layers are made. Pour water around the edges of the lasagna. Spray large sheet of aluminum foil with non-stick cooking spray and cover lasagna tightly with foil. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Loosen foil. Lasagna will still be soupy so let it sit for 15 minutes as matzo continues to absorb the liquid. Serve without garlic bread. - Linda Ginsburg Matzo Stuffing Follow recipe for bread stuffing but substitute breadcrumbs with matzo bread 1 16-ounce box of matzo bread Break matzo bread into small pieces and soak in water until thoroughly wet. Drain and set aside in a bowl. Chop onion and celery and sauté in margarine until translucent. Mix vegetables with matzo and seasoning and use to stuff a chicken or turkey. - Ruth Pfaff
Matzo Kugel 1 box matzo bread 9 x 13 pan, greased Break matzo into pieces and soak until thoroughly wet. Drain and place in mixing bowl. Beat eggs thoroughly in separate mixing bowl then add to matzo along with remaining ingredients. Grease a square baking pan or casserole dish with spray or parve margarine. Bake at 350 for one hour. Serve hot or cold. - Ruth Pfaff Fried Matzo 1 piece matzo Break matzo into small pieces, soak in water and drain. In small bowl, beat egg. Add matzo and remaining ingredients and fry like a large pancake in parve margarine or butter. - Ruth Pfaff
|