Pesach without matzah brei would be like Pesach without matzah itself. Which is why I am so glad that we eat gebrokts. So, so, so glad.
I could have matzah brei for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I probably would, if there weren’t so many other Pesach dishes I want to try.
The great thing about matzah brei, though, is that it totally works as a year-round dish. This could just be me, but when I was growing up, matzah brei with cheddar cheese was a regular at the Shabbos table.
A bit of an unconventional Shabbos dish? Maybe. But my siblings loved it, and so Abba made it.
But of course, no matter how cheesy he made it, there were arguments over who got the cheesiest parts. Kids will be kids, I guess. As for me, I decided the fight wasn’t worth it. I went for the other foods on the table, and left the cheesy matzah for the rest of them.
Ironically, when I wanted a recipe for matzah brei our first married Pesach, it wasn’t my father I turned to, but my father-in-law. There were two reasons for this.
The first was that my father is not the kind of person who uses recipes. He puts in some of this, some of that, and oh yeah, plenty of cheddar. But I wanted precise directions.
The second reason is that my father-in-law is known in the family for two culinary specialties: matzah brei, which he makes every Pesach, and water. (The famous water recipe had to be kept secret, sorry.)
So this matzah brei recipe — it’s easily adaptable. You could make it with mozzarella, as I do, or with cheddar or swiss or whatever floats your boat.
You can cook it in olive oil, though I love what just two tablespoons of butter do to it. And you can use whichever vegetables you like. I went with peppers and red onion because that’s what we had lying around.
So go ahead, cook up a big pan of matzah brei. You might just become the resident expert.
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Mozzarella matzah brei (with thanks to Dad)
Yield: 3-4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 dark green pepper, diced
- 1 light green pepper, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- ½ small red onion, diced
- 6 square matzahs
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- Very hot water, to pour over matzah
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet and saute vegetables until softened, about 6 minutes.
2. Break matzah into bite-size pieces and place in a large bowl. Pour very hot water over them to cover and drain well. Don’t let the matzah sit in the water, or it will become too soggy.
3. Add eggs, salt, and pepper and mix well. Add sauteed vegetables and about half the cheese; mix again.
4. Melt butter in the skillet and transfer the maztah mixture to it. Top with the remaining cheese and cook 4-5 minutes over medium heat, then flip over in sections and cook another 4-5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve hot (but it’s also good at room temp).
