Matzo brei – a Passover classic that’s good all year!

Classic matzo brie is a delicious Passover dish that’s great with both sweet or savoury toppings. But is it as steeped in ancient tradition as you think?

I should probably begin by saying that I really love matzo brei. Or rather, I love it when it’s done right. Like so many traditional Jewish dishes, there are different ways to make it, but only one of them is the correct way! According to my family at least…

<Hastily takes cover….!!>

What is matzo brie?

Matzo brei – pronounced ‘bry’ to rhyme with fry – is a dish of fried matza and eggs. It’s a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish made on Pesach (Passover) and served up for breakfast, brunch, lunch or supper!

Unless, of course, your family doesn’t eat gebrochts – ‘wet matza’ – in which case matzo brie is only eaten when it isn’t Passover! How confusing…

The name is simply a description of the dish. “Matzo” – also called matza, matzah, matzoh etc – is the large, flat, crisp, unleavened cracker eaten on Pesach (Passover). “Brei” simply means ‘fried’ in modern Yiddish. So matzo brei is simply a dish of fried matza.

History of matzo brei

Although matzo brie is traditional, it is a relatively recent innovation. The Encyclopaedia of Jewish Food states that the dish evolved in America after the adoption of machine-made matza.

Machine-made matza

The first matza machine was created in France in 1838, by Isaac Singer. It automated the dough-rolling part of the operation, making the whole process faster and more efficient. The first machines in the USA were installed by Behr Manischewitz in his Cincinnati matzo factory in 1888. Manischewitz was the first to automate the entire matza-making process. The company’s ads boasted that “no human hand touches these matzos!” By 1920, the B. Manischewitz Company was the world’s largest producer of matzo. (Read more matzo-making history here.)

UK matzo-bakers Rakusen’s opened their factory in 1900.

An economical dish

Baking matza by machine, rather than laboriously by hand, meant that the price of this Passover staple fell considerably. As a result, more people could afford to include it in their day-to-day dishes, and simple recipes like matzo brei became more popular.

So while it might not have been widely eaten – or even known! – back in the shtetl, matzo brie does have a solid 150 years or so of being cooked and enjoyed on Pesach!

Early matza brie recipes

The first English language Jewish cookbook, The Jewish Manual, published in London in 1846, includes a recipe for “Fried Matsos”, although these were simply soaked in water before frying in butter or schmaltz.

By the late 1800s, however, the soaked matza was being dipped in egg before frying. A recipe for Uerberschlagene Matzos (“overwhelmed matzas”) appears in Aunt Babbette’s Cook Book in 1889, calling for whole soaked matzah sheets to be coated in beaten egg and then fried.

Broken matza

Florence Greenberg’s (1947) recipe for “Fried Matzot” begins, “Break some matzot into neat equal pieces…”

I find it hard to imagine frying a whole sheet of matza without having it break apart, so it’s easy to see how making matza brie with broken pieces of matza was quick to catch on!

However, you don’t want to break the matza into crumbs. Pulverising it to matzo meal would result in an entirely different dish, more like chremslach or matzo meal pancakes/fritters (sometimes also called bubbelach).

In my opinion, the matza should be broken into roughly 5cm (2 inch) pieces for the best matzo brei. Don’t worry too much about it though. Matza is fragile stuff, and you will inevitably get pieces of different sizes when you break it up.

Ingredients for making matzo brei

The basic ingredients for making matzo brie are real Pesach staples! To whip up a batch for breakfast or lunch, you will need:

• Matza – of course!
• Eggs
• Milk – optional
• Salt and pepper – only if you’re making it savoury, leave them out otherwise! You can also add S&P to taste once cooked, rather than during cooking.
• Warm/hot water for soaking the matza

Then you can choose your toppings or accompaniments.

Soaking the matza

My family’s recipe for matzo brie involves soaking the broken matza twice – first a brief soak in warm water, and then a longer immersion in eggs or an egg and milk mixture. The warm water softens the matza and makes it more permeable. This means that the egg mixture can penetrate into the matza, giving the finished matzo brei a much better texture and flavour.

First, pour warm water into a shallow dish (1). Then break up the matza and add it to the warm water (2). Allow to soak for a minute (3), then drain the water away (4). Add a beaten egg (5), then leave the matza to soak up the egg before frying (6).

If you skip the initial soak in warm water, you will find that the egg mixture only adheres to the outside of the matza. The resulting matzo brie is more like hard pieces of matza mixed with scrambled eggs, and not nearly so good.

Frying your matzo brei

You can fry matzo brie in oil or melted butter, depending on whether you prefer it to be parve or milky. Either way, use a generous amount to prevent the mixture sticking to the pan, and to ensure it gets nice and crispy.

Heat the fat in a frying pan, then add the egg-soaked matza mixture and allow to cook for a few minutes without stirring or disturbing it (1). The matzo brei will crisp up and release from the pan, so that you can easily slide a spatula underneath (2). Use the spatula to flip the matzo brie over (3), then fry the other side for a few minutes until everything is cooked through (4).

Matzo brie – sweet or savoury?

Matzo brie is simply made from matza, eggs and (sometimes) milk, so it is a perfect neutral base for both sweet and savoury toppings.

We like to make it sweet at breakfast time, but savoury at lunchtime. Some of our favourite toppings include:

Matzo brei pizza

You can also make a giant matza brie using several eggs and an equal number of matza sheets. Once it’s fried on both sides, top it with tomato sauce and cheese, then pop it under the grill for a few moments and – ta-da! – matzo brie pizza!

Why you should eat matza brie all year

To be honest, we probably eat more matza brei when it isn’t Pesach, than when it is. It’s a delicious way to use up matza that’s leftover from the festival, and makes a quick and tasty, moderately healthy, all-in-one lunch or supper dish.

It contains carbs, protein, and a little fat, so you just need some vegetables, salad or fruit on the side and you’ve got a terrific well-balanced meal.

My family’s recipe for matzo brei

I hope you’ll enjoy making this to my family’s traditional recipe. And I hope you agree that, done right, matzo brie is a delicious dish for Pesach – and all year round.

My Pesach recipe ebook, containing 40 simple and delicious meat-free recipes for everything from breakfasts and lunches to mains, sides, desserts and cakes, is available as an instant download! Just click here

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