Sweet Matzah Pashtidah (Quiche)

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Kashrut Type: Parve, Dairy, or Meat (depending on which fat you use)

It is not a dessert but a simple traditional dish that is a combination of matzot, eggs, nuts, and dried fruits. It’s fried until browned with butter or other fat.

I know this traditional dish from home – the grandmothers on both sides used to make it, each in a different version and taste. The idea, however, is similar: this is the dish that you find on the table when you return from the synagogue on Passover night, and it is there to draw attention from the delicacies in the kitchen – so that no one will be tempted to taste them before the meal.

Despite the obvious closeness between the matzah pashtidah and the famous matzah brei, this is a slightly different dish. First of all, it’s sweet and doesn’t resemble an omelette. Secondly, the role of eggs is mainly to hold the rest of the ingredients of the mixture – matzah, nuts, dried fruits, and sugar.

You can add another egg to get a more flexible texture. I like the slightly rougher, crisper texture that blends perfectly with the nuts. Walnuts or pecans and a handful of raisins will do the trick, but you can diversify. Hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, apricots or cranberries – anything goes.

The nuts, which are Passover symbols and a significant component of the dish, are a “super-food” in the full sense of the word – a treasure trove of vitamins, minerals, and healthy fat. Their special composition allows them to soothe hunger without weighing down, and also without raising blood sugar and insulin.

The prepared dish can be served hot or cold. If you leave it long enough on the warmer (be sure it is covered, otherwise it will dry out), its color becomes browner, and it gradually receives a texture reminiscent of kugel.

INGREDIENTS

(Yields 8-12 servings)
1 cup coarse matzah flour (or matzah you’ve crushed)
3 eggs
1/3 cup orange juice / water / milk
3/4 cup ground/chopped nuts and almonds
1/3 cup raisins and other dried fruits
1 tablespoon heaped sugar (preferably brown)
A pinch of salt
Oil for frying / butter / other fat

PREPARATION

1. Mix the matzah flour, nuts, raisins, dried fruits, sugar, and salt.
2. Whisk and add the eggs and orange juice/water/milk. Mix well. The result should not be liquid but relatively thick.
3. Melt the fat in a small nonstick pan.

• Dairy: Use half oil-half butter
• Parve: Use oil
• Meat: Use beef/lamb fat

4. Pour the mixture into a pan and sprinkle evenly. Fry for 2-3 minutes over a medium heat, and then transfer to the smallest fire in the stove top.
5. Cover and fry for about 10 minutes until nicely browned. Turn over, cover and fry for another 8-10 minutes.

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Shuki Galili has been marketing online and has been editing the Humus101 blog for the masses since 2006. He has served in editorial roles and as a reporter for technology and food in the daily press, news sites, and print. He is one of the founding generations of the Internet in Israel and has been involved in the establishment, development and promotion (SEO) of dozens of websites and blogs, many of them related to social activity.