matzo

The minute I heard The Melt was serving a special grilled cheese in honor of Passover, I hightailed it over to the closest location. Matzo grilled cheese? It was the perfect intersection of Passover and National Grilled Cheese Month.

Part of the genius of the concept is it sounds so elemental, and it is: the sandwich is just two squares of matzo, slathered with butter and seasoned with salt, pepper, and dried herbs, then sandwiched together with sharp cheddar, and melted on a panini grill.

I'd wondered if this concept was old news, but quickly discovered it was just as novel to everyone else in the office, Jewish or not. I can't wait to re-create the same thing at home. Have you ever had matzo grilled cheese?

This Passover, I'm suggesting that you think outside the traditional Seder box. Instead of serving the expected menu, plan a meal that highlights matzo.

All of the dishes on this menu, from the starter to the side, include the cracker-like substitute for bread — even the dessert. Treat guests to homemade toffee-chocolate matzah!

It's similar to saltine toffee but uses matzo instead of saltines. It's an easy dessert that also doubles as a fun edible gift. Want the recipe? Read more.

"I don't get matzo brei," I recently admitted to a co-worker. "Is it skillet eggs? When do you eat it?" She likened it to scrambled eggs with texture, and explained that it's ideal for breakfast, either sweet, with juicy fruit or jam, or salty, with fresh herbs and vegetables. Now that I have a better sense of the dish, this weekend, I'm going to use matzo crackers to make two versions of matzo brei: one sweet, with Granny Smith apples, cinnamon, and preserves, and one savory, that's scrambled with bell peppers, onions, and dill. Which appeals more? Decide when you keep reading.

Passover begins next Tuesday, March 30, and along with it comes the ceremonious dinner known as a Seder. While the rituals surrounding the Seder are traditional, this year, I encourage you to serve a modern meal inspired by matzo. This staple can be used in all sorts of applications, and each dish on my menu incorporates it. Start with crowd-pleasing and classic matzo ball soup jazzed up with dill-horseradish pistou.

For the main course, offer roasted salmon with lemon-herb matzo crust. On the side? A cheesy spinach and matzo pie. For these delicious recipes, keep on reading.

Passover doesn't begin until the end of the month, but it's already impossible to walk into a grocery store and not find products such as matzo crackers, matzo meal, and other items that are kosher for the holiday. But, what exactly is matzo, and why does it play such a crucial role during the Jewish celebration?

Matzo is a bland, cracker-like flatbread made of white plain flour and water. It is the substitute for bread during Passover, a holiday in which Jews refrain from eating bread, leavened products, or the five grains known as barley, spelt, rye, oats, and wheat in any processed form except dry-roasting and as matzo.

There are several different types of matzo (not all of which are kosher for Passover), and a wide variety of applications for the food product. It can be eaten simply as a cracker, used as a pasta substitute in lasagna, or ground to produce coarse or fine matzo meal, which is used to make matzo balls for soup or as a breadcrumb-like binder for kugel and other casseroles. Have you ever had matzo?

Source: Flickr User ydhsu