APÉRITIF:
I know next to nothing about Passover, but I do know that I love matzo. I like eating crispy squares of it slathered with soft, salted butter and transforming it into a crunchy, caramelized, chocolate-coated dessert. I really like when it’s pulverized into a flour, mixed with eggs and herbs and chicken fat and rolled into springy balls that float around a brothy bath. Matzo is the blankest of blank slates—it can be breakfast, lunch, a snack, dinner, a dessert— anything you want it to be. It’s also widely available (read: has been moved to the shelf right next to checkout) right now for Passover, which is why we’re serving you matzo every which way this week.
ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
SO YOU’RE KEEPING K FOR P?
Matzo Brei: When I was about 13, I spent one weekend in Connecticut getting to know my two newest young cousins (read: playing nonprofit babysitter). It also happened to be during Passover, and this side of the family happened to be a little more religious than mine. At this point I was a bit of a picky eater *shocking I know*, a budding lactose-intolerant and wannabe-vegetarian. Turns out much of what their family ate was cold cuts and dairy products, so that weekend I turned to some form of matzo for every. single. meal. Matzo with butter, matzo with peanut butter and jelly, matzo with eggs. With each meal I felt the absence of my dearly beloved bread and grew less and less satiated with the stuff. But when Sunday morning rolled around, finally a beam of light: buttery matzo brei. It was the first meal that intentionally contained matzo, and something about that was deeply satisfying. It’s also pretty yummy. For the shabbos goys among you, matzo brei is somewhere between a matzo scramble and pancake. I enjoy mine on the eggier side, so I like Miss Alison’s take, but while we’re at it, why not go for this Food52 option and add some brown butter? Some people top with salt, others drizzle with maple syrup, to which I say, porque no los dos? -CK
Chicken-Stuffed Matzo Ball Soup: If you’re a paid subscriber (hint, hint) you learned that my family’s “secret” matzo ball recipe is—in theory—none other than the one printed on the Manischewitz matzo meal box. The real issue: what happens in practice. My mother and grandmother both had their tricks, adding a different proportion of egg, different amounts of schmaltz (always freshly skimmed from homemade chicken soup), a different amount of time resting in the fridge. As I venture into trying to make my own (something I admittedly still haven’t tried), my tactic will not be to make the matzo balls I grew up on. Nostalgia is a trap, and I will never make them exactly how I remember. Instead, I will make my own version, with more dill, probably with the addition of seltzer, and certainly more heavy-handed with the salt. That’s why I love this recipe from FOTN (friend of the newsletter) Rebecca Firsker. It’s totally and unabashedly not traditional. Tiny meatballs stuffed inside matzo balls! Genius! And vaguely reminiscent of Italian wedding soup—we’ll call it Jewish wedding soup. -CK
Matzo Brittle: Matzo crack, matzo bark, matzo toffee—call it what you want. (I prefer ‘matzo brittle’.) For those who are unfamiliar with the treat, it’s a sweet, salty, crunchy cracker that is alarmingly easy to make and disturbingly difficult to stop eating. Deb’s recipe is a simple and standard (and perfect) one to follow. I am usually scared away from any recipe that requires me to make caramel, but I must admit it’s worth it here—there is simply no activity more exhilarating than quickly covering shards of matzo with this hot, toasty, bubbling toffee and immediately showering everything with chocolate chunks or chips. I love watching the chocolate become warm and glossy, and then using an offset spatula (or the back of a big spoon) to spread it across the sugary sheets of matzo. Sprinkling toasted almonds, hazelnuts, pecans or pistachios is how I like mine, though I’m intrigued by this take on using the chocolate chips (and different kinds of them!) as the topping. -GS
Matzo Icebox Cake: My favorite things in this world are soft, fluffy, creamy desserts, cake—any and every type, and eating things straight from the fridge. Taking cold bites of whatever the Tupperware containers that live in my fridge are filled with brings me as much joy as a tall, frosted layer cake or a bowl of freshly whipped, lightly sweetened, slightly salted whipped cream. With this new knowledge in mind (plus my love letter to matzo in today’s intro), I’d like you to imagine my reaction to an icebox cake (a cake that is made in and served straight from the fridge) with layers of malted whipped cream, sheets of matzo and a silky chocolate ganache. Spoiler: It was the same reaction I had listening to ‘Peaches’ for the first time a week ago. The recipe comes from Jessie Sheehan, an expert on icebox cakes, who claims it tastes like a malted black and white shake. I’m looking forward to the cool, creamy, sweet bites of this that I plan on taking all week long. -GS
TAKEOUT:
In leavened-carb news, we beg of you, please stop making everything bagel desserts. Ice cream, cookies, now cheesecake?! Leave Bagels alone! Speaking of bagels, we were very relieved to learn one of our fave places is run by good peoples.
I recently joined Natasha Pickowicz’s DEMI chat, Never Ending Salon, and have enjoyed it immensely so far. I’ve taken away a substantial number of recipe bookmarks for my next few weeks of baking, a truly never ending supply of inspiration from incredible home and professional bakers, and finally, one absolute certified game changer. As you may know, Gaby and I are not always the best recipe followers. We substitute, we halve, we brown, we salt. This recipe divider has changed everything. Not only can you halve or third or quarter recipes (very pandemic-friendly if you’re cooking for a small pod), you can even adjust them to different pan sizes. No more wondering if it’s really a big deal if you only have a pie dish and a 9” springform but the recipe calls for two 6” cake pans, and no more raw centers (here’s lookin’ at you, Gab).
We love the boat. It’s our favorite boat-related news since Boaty McBoatface. Please send us all the boat memes.