Matzah Brei: Simple Breakfast and Passover Tradition
Creative cooks don’t hate on matzah, also spelled matzo. They create delicious meals featuring recipes passed from generation to generation, for everything from kugel and matzah ball soup, to matzah blintzes and simple matzah brei.
During Passover, Jewish people remove leavened bread from their homes and their menus to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt. The Jews left Egypt so quickly that they had no time for bread to rise, and the bread they did bake was flat, hence matzah. It’s flat, simple presentation has come to represent humility.
Matzah brei (pronounced to rhyme with “fry”) is one of our favorites. Super, super simple, it’s a breakfast or brunch offering that is a cross between an egg scramble and French toast. The beauty of simple matzah brei is that you can top it any way your heart desires. Make it savory, with salt, pepper, and vegetables. Top it with applesauce or sour cream. Or both. Or join the kids and cover it with a good maple syrup.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 Matzah crackers, broken into 1-2″ pieces
Very hot tap water
2-3 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp vegetable oil
Toppings
Instructions
- Put broken matzah in a bowl and cover with hot water. Let sit f
- or only 30 seconds. Drain well.
- Beat two or three eggs and then add them to the drained matzah.Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan.
- Pour in matzah-egg mixture and stir gently, cooking until just set. Do not over cook!
The matzah brei can be formed into “pancakes,” or cooked loosely and served in a fluffy pile.
