Month: April 2016

Paleo Matzoh Brie

Wheat-free * Dairy-free * Gluten-free * Vegetarian * Parve * Paleo ~~

CIMG2286 CIMG2258-001

There are two distinctly different schools of thought on matzoh brie.  The first, which I think is the more common of the two, is scrambled eggs with softened (with water) torn matzoh stirred in.  Sometimes there are also vegetables and savory stuff included.

I come from the second school of matzoh brie.  Pancakes.  I actually never knew that the first school existed until I was already well into adulthood and ordered matzoh brie at a restaurant.  Image how disappointed I was to be served a plate of scrambled eggs!  I confess I might have been rude to the waitress about not bringing me the right order but the manager came to disabuse me of MY mistake.

Through all these years I have stuck to my version of matzoh brie and whenever I invite friends over during Passover, this is what I serve.  In all modesty, this is the best matzoh brie anyone has ever tasted (even this Paleo one).

The toppings are also personal preferences (read that as:  whatever your mother served it to you with).  My mom served it with cinnamon-sugar.  In this I have deviated as I really like it with maple syrup or sometimes apricot preserves.  No matter what you eat it with…these are a real treat.  Enjoy!
(more…)

Paleo Passover Potato Kugel with Shallots

Wheat-free * Dairy-free * Gluten-free * Vegetarian * Parve * Paleo ~~

IMG_9210

Last Passover my friend Hadley and I decided to have a leftovers dinner.  Since we each held a seder in our homes, we were unable to attend the other’s seder and this way we could at least taste what the other had served.

Now, not to be boastful, I am an awesome cook and the food at my seder was amazing.  We both made pot roast from brisket and used approximately the same recipe so that was a wash.  Our Tzimmes’ were both delicious in different ways – mine had a very deep richness and Hadley’s had a fresh quality to it that I liked (so much that I’ve made it for this year).

Our menus diverged at the kugels.  I made a matzoh kugel using matzoh farfel, chopped carrots, onions, celery, and parsnip.  I moistened it with vegetable broth and olive oil and seasoned it with salt, pepper, chopped parsley and dill, and poultry seasoning.  This dish has been a hit for the past 15 years – but then I tasted Hadley’s potato kugel and I was blown away.  It was the best potato kugel I had ever tasted.  The other thing about it was it’s paleo and I can eat it!

So here is the recipe with very significant changes but equally fabulous results!  Enjoy! (more…)

Light-as-Air Paleo Matzoh Balls or Heavy-as-Lead Matzoh Balls or Potato Dumplings

Wheat-free * Dairy-free * Gluten-free * Vegetarian *  Parve * Paleo ~~

IMG_8533-001

Update:  I served these, along with “regular” matzoh balls to everyone at the seder and all the guests thought these were great and I didn’t have to make two kinds anymore.

I’m not sure you can exactly call these matzoh balls since they are sort of free form dumplings…but the flavor and texture is exactly what an ideal matzoh ball should be.

This recipe came about as one of those happy accidents.  I recently bought a bag of potato flour (yes, flour – not potato starch)

IMG_8493

and I decided to try to make nockerle (heavy Hungarian dumplings that my mother would make with chicken paprikash).  Nockerle are simple to make, stir together flour, egg, salt, and sometimes oil.  Then spoon into boiling water – and that’s it.  So I did the same substituting potato flour for the all-purpose flour.  I spooned the potato mixture into the boiling water and held my breadth…they did not dissolve.  This was an excellent first step.

Nockerle are cooked for just a short period of time, but when I removed these dumplings from the water they were clearly still raw.  I returned them to the pot; covered them and cooked them for 20 minutes.  I lifted them out of the pot and took a taste…SHOCK!!! My nockerle had transformed into feather light matzoh balls (or dumplings if you take the shape into consideration)!

How to make matzoh balls light or heavy seems to be some mystical combination of factors.  I know every year my mother would use exactly the same recipe and some years they were heavy-as-lead (our family’s preference) and other years they wouldn’t even hold together and just dissolved when you boiled them.

In the case of these matzoh balls, degree of lightness is directly related to length of cooking time.  The matzoh balls have to be completely cooked through and they will be feather light (this will be a function of how large you made the matzoh balls + cooking time).  If you cut a matzoh ball in half and it is not a uniform color, they will have some degree of heaviness.

TO MAKE HEAVY-AS-LEAD MATZOH BALLS:  increase the potato flour in the Light as Air recipe by 2 tablespoons.  The “dough/batter” will be thick enough to roll into balls about the size of a walnut.  Cook, covered, in boiling water (or soup) for about 40 minutes to ensure doneness (no matter how long you cook them, they will remain darker on the inside than on the outside – a sure sign of a heavy matzoh ball).

Now here’s the catch with these matzoh balls.  If you follow the rules of Passover to a T these will not qualify as kosher for Passover even though all of the ingredients are kosher and none of them have any foods forbidden on Passover.  Why?  Because the potato flour is not certified Kosher for Passover (I could not find a potato flour that is kosher for Passover).  If, on the other hand, you observe Passover more loosely (like me) following all the rules but not concerning yourself with certification, then these will be fine for your paleo seder –  in fact they will be better than fine they will be excellent!. (more…)