Bumuelos de Pesah – a breakfast or snack, similar to Matzah Brie, but fried in oil

4 matzot, 2 eggs, ½ tsp salt, oil or frying

Soak matzot in warm water until very soft, about 15 minutes. Squeeze out as much water as possible. Mix matzot, beaten egg and salt. Oil for frying should be about 1 inch. Form matzah mixture with a spoon into round shapes (some prefer spheres, others flatten as patties). Drop into oil and brown on both sides. Drain on paper toweling. Serve with honey or maple syrup.

Minas

The 2 recipes below are for a spinach or a chopped meat filling. You can easily improvise other fillings such as cut chicken or turkey or other vegetable combinations.

Mina d’espinaka (or minika) – a good breakfast, lunch or light dinner

4 cups of chopped spinach (if frozen, allow to defrost first) =2 16oz bags, salt, 3 eggs, 1 1/3 cups of mashed potato, ¾ cup of grated or crumbled cheese (your choice depending on taste; kashkaval is traditional but hard to come by and a bit pungent for many, alternatives are romano, parmesan or feta), 4 to 6 matzot (depending on the precise shape and size of your pan), 2 tbsp oil.

Mix chopped spinach with 1 beaten egg, 1/3 cup mashed potato and ½ cup of grated cheese.

Soak the matzot for only about 2 minutes (matzah should be flexible, but not so soft that it crumbles, this may take a little experimentation) and place on an absorbent cloth. Let stand about 15 minutes. Grease baking pan with the oil. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with the wet matzah and then fill with the spinach mixture. Cover the top with the remaining matzot. With a mixture of 2 beaten eggs and 1 cup of mashed potato and 1 tbsp of oil, cover the top of the matzot. Bake for about 1 hour or until the top is browned at 350°F.      

Mina De Carne

1 chopped or diced onion, ½ cup chopped fresh parsley, 1 lb ground beef or veal, salt and pepper, 1 ¼ cups mashed potato, 4 beaten eggs, 4 matzot, 2 tbsp oil

Add salt and pepper to taste to chopped meat. Brown in a pan the chopped onion, parsley chopped meat. When browned, add enough water to steam for 15 minutes, stirring when necessary. Mix mashed potato and eggs; add half of this mixture to the meat mixture. Grease a baking pan. Soak matzah as above and then place layers of matzah on bottom and sides of pan. Fill with meat mixture and a layer of matzah on top. Cover with the remaining egg and mashed potato mixture as above. Bake for about 1 hour or until the top is browned at 350°F.

Keftikes de prassa (Leek patties)

6-8 stalks of leek (prassa), ½ lb chopped meat (1 lb will make it richer), 2 eggs, salt and pepper to taste, ½ cup matzah meal, ½ cup oil for frying.

Wash leak carefully (as you cut, you may need to wash again to get at the insides), dice the leek, then parboil (some use the remaining water for a sauce, we use it to make a potato leek soup as a separate dish which it can be frozen). Combine chopped leek with meat, beaten eggs, ¼ cup matzah meal and salt and pepper to taste. (You may need to adjust the amount of matzah meal vs egg to get an easily formable patty depending on the size of the eggs). Place both sides of patties in remaining matzah meal and fry until brown. When cooked, allow patties to drain on paper toweling. My sisters also prepare this as a baked item, making it less oily and less fattening, in that case, bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet at 350°F for 45 minutes to an hour.

Chopped spinach can also be used in place of the leek for a variation making it kefitikes d’espinaka

Avas freska (fresh fava beans – also called horse bean because of their size.

These can be found dried (and canned) year, but having fresh them for pesach is special since that is when they are in season. They can be hard to find fresh, but ethic stores and health food store frequently carry them in season. However, while this is special for Sephardim, Ashkenazim should be aware that this is prohibited  kitniot for them.

Old recipes always began with peeling from the pod like string beans, but I have only seen them already separated for many years.

Sauté one diced onion with 3 tbsp oil and a dash of salt, then add water and bring to a boil. Add beans and cover. Cook until tender o water boils down. Stir periodically while cooking. The same preparation can be sued for lima beans which are much easier to find.

Sothra –  ideal for someone who wishes she could have pasta

2 cups of chicken soup or chicken stock, 1 cup matzah farfel, 2 beaten eggs, juice of ¼ lemon, salt to taste.

Boil chicken stock, salt. Add 1 cup of farfel and let cook like rice until fluid is mostly absorbed. Beat eggs and lemon juice together; add and mix in with sothra.

© 2003 R. Altabet