Recipe – Passover Edition: Matzah Brei

It’s Passover this week, and I’m not back home after spending the past weekend eating big Seder meals and a lot of matzah. So, I felt that it was not only a good idea to share one of my favorite Passover recipes, but an obligation to dedicate a post to this delicious Passover tradition. We usually serve it for breakfast, but it’s delicious for lunch or dinner, and even when the holiday is over. In fact, many of the diners in NYC growing up would also make matzah brei around the Passover season.

Matzah Brei, also called fried matzah by some, is almost akin to a matzah omelet, but so much better. It has great texture, delicious flavor, and is a great way to use up all that leftover matzah and eggs too! There’s a big divide about whether it should be served savory or sweet, but my family is sweet all the way! Although, this dish would also be delicious if you added some smoked salmon and onions to the egg mixture, and maybe some cream cheese on top—a play on Lox, Eggs & Onions. Sweet is really the one to beat though. Anyone else have a good matzah brei custom in their house? I’d love to hear all about it!

Ingredients:

2 sheets of matzah—say about 2 sheets per person, but you can make as much or as little as you want

3 eggs (per person)

1/4 cup of whole milk—skim is fine too, but whole gives a richer flavor

1 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons of white sugar

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/8 of a stick or 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter

1 pinch of salt

To Make the Matzah Brei:

Use your hands to break up the matzah sheets into a colander—I recommend a colander with small holes or mesh so that pieces of matzah don’t fall through
Cover the matzah with water for 45 seconds to a minute—I know this seems weird, but it helps make the matzah pliable
Drain the matzah really well
In a medium to large bowl, crack the eggs and add the milk
Whisk the eggs and milk together
Add the salt, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon of sugar
Once the mixture is homogenous, add the matzah to the liquid and toss to coat all of the matzah with the eggs
Heat a frying pan to medium heat and add butter
When the butter has melted, add the matzah and egg mixture to the pan
Use a spatula or spoon to spread the mixture and shake the pan to get as much surface area exposure to the heat as possible. You should hear a bit of a sizzle
While it’s cooking, mix together the cinnamon and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar to make cinnamon sugar. This is also great for cinnamon toast or for mixing into oatmeal!
Keep cooking until there are crispy edges and the eggs have dried up a bit—cook it to your desired consistency
Plate the matzah brei and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over. The hot matzah brei will absorb the sweetness of the cinnamon sugar. Maple syrup is also a common matzah brei topping.