Two of the main Passover customs in food in the Ashkenazic world center on whether or not one uses crumbled matzahs in their food. Here are some delicious home recipes that incorporate both these customs. I grew up in a home where my mother, a great cook, used matzah meal, and then I got married and began making Passover across the ocean with a 'new' set of customs with no matzah meal at all. So I have recipes that span both types of Passover food preparation. The first recipe is one my mother gave me and the others are 'non-gebrochts' as they don’t have any matzah meal in them.

Matzah Meal "Rolls"
Makes about 11-12 "rolls"

  • 2 cups matzah meal
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 T. sugar
  • 1 cup hot water
  • ½ cup oil
  • 4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C.

Combine the matzah meal, salt, and sugar; set aside.

In the mixing bowl, add the hot water and the oil. Add in the dry ingredients. Start to beat it together, adding the eggs one at a time. It should turn into a thick batter.

My mother (from whom I learned this recipe; I use it during the year as we ourselves don’t "bruhck" on Pesach) says to let the batter stand for 15 minutes at this point, before forming the rolls. However, I did it straight from the bowl and it worked just fine.

Make your hands slightly wet and form small, oblong or round rolls. Lay them out on a lined baking tray, with a small amount of space between them. These rolls shape very similarly to regular kneidalach or matza balls in shaping them. The main difference is that these will be baked.

Bake for 50 minutes, until they are slightly cracked and golden brown, top and bottom. Let them cool on a wire rack.

Slice them open and enjoy!

This next recipe is admittedly a bit of work, but the results are so special that I just felt I had to include it here. It's not every day that it is Pesach and it's not everyday that I would take the time to make such a 'kugel'…

Tri-Layered Vegetable Kugel
Serves 10

For each layer, boil the ingredients, drain, and mash them in three separate bowls.

    Bowl 1: Carrot/Sweet Potato layer:
  • 4 carrots
  • 1 large sweet potato
    Bowl 2: Potato Layer
  • 5 potatoes, peeled
    Bowl 3: Green Zucchini Layer
  • 6 firm, large green zucchinis
  • 1 large potato
    Also:
  • 4 large onions, diced
  • 3 T. olive oil

Sautee the onions in the olive oil until golden. Divide this evenly among the three bowls and add it in to each bowl.

    Also add to each bowl:
  • 2 eggs (ie, 6 eggs total)
  • 3-4 T. potato starch, each bowl
  • 2 T. mayonnaise each bowl
  • 1 tsp. salt, each bowl
  • Very small pinch of pepper, each bowl

Mix each combination until all ingredients are incorporated. Take out a 10 inch round pie pan with removable sides, a springform pan, and coat it very lightly with a very small amount of oil.

Pour in the potato layer, and smooth it around. Pour on top the orange layer, and smooth it around. Add on the green layer, smooth it down. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until firm and set and somewhat browned on top. Present this on a beautiful serving platter, cut one slice out to show off its layers, and serve.

Now, I can't imagine that anyone thought they couldn't make onion soup on Pesach. Onions are the number one vegetable, seconded only by potatoes, that we use so much of on Pesach. But did you know it could taste so good??

Onion Soup
Serves 6-8

  • 5-6 large onions, diced
  • 1/4 cup oil or butter
  • (butter, of course, tastes better but we all know it adds in the calories)
  • 2 – 3 T. potato starch, softened with 4-5 T. cold water
  • 11 cups water for the soup
  • 2 – 3 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper (up to 1/2 tsp. pepper if you like it more peppery)
  • 1/2 cup dry or semi-dry white wine
  • 3 T. onion soup mix

Sautee the onions in the oil/butter for 15 – 20 minutes, until they are softened and just starting to turn light brown. Dissolve the potato starch and water in a little bowl, then add it into the onions and mix. Add in all the water, the salt, sugar, pepper and wine. Put some of the soup liquid into a small bowl, add the soup mix to it and dissolve it together. Then add this back into the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, and then lower the flame to simmer and allow it to cook for 2 hours. Freezes well.

For a cheesy soup, add in a small handful of grated parmesan, mozzarella or yellow cheese to each person's bowl as you serve it. And a sprig of fresh parsley in the center of each person's bowl is an added garnish.

And here's another cool (and I mean that word both ways this time!) soup idea that I made up when trying to think up new ways to serve some soft fruit…

Mango & Strawberry Soup Blend

    For the mango part:
  • 4 medium sized, overripe soft mangos, peeled and pitted
  • 3 tsp. unflavored gelatin
  • 3 T. apple juice concentrate
  • 4 T. seltzer

Blend this together in a food processor until smooth and thick. Pour it out into waiting glasses and refrigerate until the next step is done.

    For the strawberry part:
  • 1 package frozen strawberries (16 oz.)
  • 2 cups pineapple tidbits, drained, juice reserved
  • 1 cup real orange juice
  • 1/2 cup seltzer water
  • A bunch of small ice cubes

Place the strawberries and pineapple tidbits into the food processor. Add the pineapple juice and puree until smooth. Pour this off into a bowl and add the rest of the liquids. Mix together to form your "soup".

Directly before serving, remove the glasses with the mango mixture from the refrigerator. Pour on top of the mango, enough strawberry soup to fill the glass until 1 inch below the top. Place one ice cube inside each glass and a straw. Serve and watch your guests ooh in delight! You can even these with a round slice of fresh orange hung on the edge of each glass.

I personally enjoy such things as dessert drinks after a hot Yomtov (or Shabbos) day meal. All I do is serve some chocolate cake on a platter in the center of the table and then serve each guest a glass of this "soup". It's very special and a great way to end a beautiful meal. And if you want a great chocolate cake recipe for Pesach, well, you'll have to look it up online in Aish's recipes from 2008, or get it from my Pesach gluten free cookbook!

Have a great Passover,
Tamar Ansh