Matzoh Brei
Matzoh, eggs and very little else create a simple, quick, tasty and filling meal that can be served sweet or savory.
Servings 2 to 3
Ingredients
- 3 sheets matzoh
- hot water
- olive oil and butter, in the proportions you prefer, about 1 tablespoon total
- 4 eggs
- black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar (optional—best suited for when you're using sweet toppings)
Instructions
- Break the matzoh into chunks one or two inches square and put them in a heatproof bowl.
- In another bowl, break the four eggs, add salt, pepper and sugar if you are using it, and beat with a fork.
- Pour hot water over the matzoh shards and let sit for 30 seconds. Drain off the water, squeeze any excess out with your hands, and put the matzoh in with the beaten eggs. Stir well.
- In a nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil and butter to medium. Then pour in the egg and matzoh mixture.
- We made this two ways. In the photo, you will see a pancake-like serving. In this approach, put a hefty spoon of batter in the hot pan, let it cook on one side until it is golden brown and firm, flip over and cook the other side. Or, alternatively, and faster, is to put all the batter in the pan at once and stir-scramble until it is done, with the curds still a bit soft and wet, about a minute or two.
- Serve nice and hot with the toppings you prefer.
Kitchen Notes
More about matzoh. The perforations in matzoh are not to make it easier to break the sheets into pieces. Their purpose is to prevent the matzoh from rising. It reminds us that when we were getting out of Egypt, we didn’t even have time to let the bread rise. We had to pack up and get moving in case Pharaoh changed his mind. I think about that from time to time, these days, when we are getting plenty of object lessons in how it is with tyrants and how they are fickle and cruel in all things.
There is a special tool to make those perforations. It looks like a roller with needles sticking out of it and it’s called a riedel.
And a little more. If you’re looking for other ways to use your extra matzoh, try our aptly named Matzoh Crack. And yes, click that link—you definitely want to know about it.
Liz’s Crockery Corner. I came across this plate—one of a pair—years ago in St. Louis. I often take it out of the stack at this time of year, because it reminds me that spring is, probably, going to arrive soon, really. Unlike most of our crockery, this one is not English or American—it was made by Villeroy and Boch some time between 1874 and 1909. This pattern doesn’t have a name, just a number, 7277, and I don’t know much more about this plate than that. In that period, the enormously successful company operated nine factories in Germany and France, manufacturing dishes, sanitary porcelain, like bathroom ceramics, and beautiful decorative objects, like vases and tiles.
Fans of Liz’s Crockery Corner may recall our conversation a while back about the Aesthetic style. In Germany, something very similar came about just a bit later in time: the Jugendstil (“young style”) movement, emphasizing organic lines, floral motifs, and creation by workshopping—in which groups of designers worked with industrialists to create beautiful, useful objects for the mass market. And yes, there is a straight line from this practical side of Jugendstil to the Bauhaus.
One thing I learned in the course of researching this plate is that the Boch family was quite interesting, a blend of both successful business people and successful artists. Eugene Boch, a poet and painter, was a close friend of Van Gogh—you may have seen Van Gogh’s portrait of him, painted in 1888 in Arles, in the Musée d’Orsay.
Liz’s Crockery Corner. I came across this plate—one of a pair—years ago in St. Louis. I often take it out of the stack at this time of year, because it reminds me that spring is, probably, going to arrive soon, really. Unlike most of our crockery, this one is not English or American—it was made by Villeroy and Boch some time between 1874 and 1909. This pattern doesn’t have a name, just a number, 7277, and I don’t know much more about this plate than that. In that period, the enormously successful company operated nine factories in Germany and France, manufacturing dishes, sanitary porcelain, like bathroom ceramics, and beautiful decorative objects, like vases and tiles.
Fans of Liz’s Crockery Corner may recall our conversation a while back about the Aesthetic style. In Germany, something very similar came about just a bit later in time: the Jugendstil (“young style”) movement, emphasizing organic lines, floral motifs, and creation by workshopping—in which groups of designers worked with industrialists to create beautiful, useful objects for the mass market. And yes, there is a straight line from this practical side of Jugendstil to the Bauhaus.
One thing I learned in the course of researching this plate is that the Boch family was quite interesting, a blend of both successful business people and successful artists. Eugene Boch, a poet and painter, was a close friend of Van Gogh—you may have seen Van Gogh’s portrait of him, painted in 1888 in Arles, in the Musée d’Orsay.