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
(12) Dora, March 30, 2015 6:19 AM
3-layer kugel
At what temperature are we baking this? Do we preheat oven?
(11) Leah, April 2, 2012 4:48 PM
do you peel the zucchini
(10) Anita Rudin, April 17, 2011 12:24 PM
Also my mither's recipe
I make this all week of Pesach. You can add cinnamon in the batter and cinnamon and sugar on top and shape into doughnuts. Fantastic!
(9) Malka Shaw, April 11, 2011 6:28 PM
the mango-strawberry soup
Im excited to try this one- although I may use as a dessert with some type of whipped cream topping - but I wanted to also ask the author how this has come out making in advance and then freezing? as per Alissa while ihavent made that particular kugel- it is my experience that ALL kugels freeze nicely- that is the advantage of kugels for yom tov
(8) Alissa, April 11, 2011 9:39 AM
Question about freezing
Does anyone know if the tri-layered vegetable kugel be frozen ahead of time?
eli, April 17, 2011 6:02 PM
when you reheat the kugel it will be soggy,not a good idea,speaking from experience
(7) karen mallov, April 6, 2011 9:15 PM
no oven temperature in recipe
Whalt oven temperature is used in the tri-color vegatble kugel recipe?
(6) miriam, April 6, 2011 4:55 PM
great recipes
thanx a million!
(5) Ady, April 6, 2011 7:32 AM
Our first Passover
This, we hope will be our first Passover this year of which it will be a starting point on which to develop from. I know that it won't be anything like most of you would do, but we will grow as we go. Thank you Aish for your articles and idea's and of course the food, both spiritaul and that of the stomach. Thanks again, Shalom.
(4) Cassandra Brown, April 5, 2011 6:30 PM
My first Passover
This year I'll celebrate my first Passover and I want to include the rolls and both soups. The recipes sound delicious! I can almost smell the rolls cooking through the computer screen. Oy!
(3) Anonymous, April 5, 2011 6:25 PM
healthy Passover food
The recipes sound delicious but the majority are not very healthy. Surely you capable and clever ladies can come up with substitute recipes which would use `from scratch` ingredients and not ready made soup mixes or bottled and canned juices full of chemicals. Surely you can come up with recipes containing less carbs.
(2) Sherine Levine, April 5, 2011 5:56 PM
Recipe comments
1. The rolls sound good, but i think the flavor needs ramping up. When I try them, I might add some vanilla or perhaps orange zest. 2. RE Onion Soup: fat is fat. There's no more calories in butter than oil. But oil doesn't have the cholestrol, and of course, it's parve. Chag Kasher V'Samayach!
(1) rf, April 5, 2011 5:37 PM
great recipes, superb directions
Ihave seen many versions of the tri-color kugel recipe, but this made it so clear and easy --and foolproof! All Tamar's recipes are delish, but you can also see her sensitivity & consideration and thinking how best to help others! Inspiring!