Recipe: Savory Matzo Ball Passover Patty Cakes

Savory Matzo Ball Passover Patty Cakes

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• bake :

  to cook food with dry heat, as in an oven.

• crush :

  to put pressure on a food, like a garlic clove, to break the skin and release its flavor; or to pulverize or grind a food, like a cracker, into small particles with your hands, blender, or food processor.

• fold :

  to gently and slowly mix a light ingredient into a heavier ingredient so as not to lose air and to keep the mixture tender, such as incorporating whipped egg whites into a cake batter or folding blueberries into pancake batter; folding is a gentler action than mixing or whisking.

• separate eggs :

  to remove the egg yolk from the egg white by cracking an egg in the middle and using the shell halves, the palm of the hand, or a device to keep the egg yolk in place while the egg white falls into a separate bowl.

• shape :

  to form food into a specific shape by hand or with a cutting tool—examples are cutting cookie dough into shapes with cookie cutters, forming bread dough into a roll or crescent shape, and rolling ground meat into a meatball.

• snip :

  to use scissors to cut something with quick, sharp strokes.

• whisk :

  to beat or stir ingredients vigorously with a fork or whisk to mix, blend, or incorporate air.

History of Matzo Balls!

Matzo (or matzah) balls are attributed to Ashkenazi Jews living in Central Europe in the 19th century. The soup dumplings were based on "knödel," made with bread or potato, eggs, and flour. However, to make matzo balls, they used surplus matzo meal or the leftover crumbs from the Passover matzo (unleavened bread). Other ingredients include chicken broth, chicken fat, eggs, parsley, salt, and other seasonings.

Let's Learn About Passover!

• Passover or "Pesach" in Hebrew is a major Jewish festival, occurring in the spring. It commemorates the freedom and exodus of enslaved Israelites from Egypt in the 15th century BCE. It begins the evening of the 15th day of the month of Nisan, which on our calendar, falls sometime between March 26 and April 25. 
• In the Hebrew Bible, in the book of Exodus, Moses, a Hebrew who had been raised by an Egyptian pharaoh's daughter, is commanded by Yahweh (Lord), the god of the Israelites, to demand that the current Pharaoh let the enslaved Israelites go to worship their god in the wilderness. Each time Pharaoh refuses, Moses, through Yahweh, causes a plague to happen in the land, until finally, after the tenth plague, when the firstborn of people and animals would die, including Pharaoh's son, he relents and lets them go. The firstborn of the Israelites were not harmed, as their homes were passed over if they obeyed the command to kill and roast a lamb, and put some of its blood on the sides and tops of their doorframes.
• That day, the Israelites were told to eat the roasted meat with bitter herbs and unleavened bread (bread made without yeast). From then on, they were to commemorate the day of their exodus (Passover) and celebrate a Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. During the seven days, they were not allowed to eat bread with yeast, and all yeast was to be removed from their houses.  
• Today, the festival lasts for seven days in Israel. In diaspora countries, Reform Jews celebrate seven days, whereas Orthodox and Conservative Jewish communities celebrate for eight days.
• A symbol of Passover is unleavened matzah (or matzo). It is served during the feast days and at the seder meal. The seder is a ritual dinner held on the first evening of Passover. In addition to matzah, it includes the "maror" or bitter herbs, which may be horseradish or romaine lettuce served with "charoset" (a paste made from nuts, apples, pears, and wine). Other food and drink typical of a seder include wine, "karpas" (parsley, green onion, or veggie dipped in salt water), "zeroah" (lamb shank), and "beitza" (hard-boiled egg). Chicken or matzo ball soup and gefilte fish might also be served. The word "seder" means "order," and there is a specific order for everything done during the ritual. The story of the exodus is read from the Haggadah, a special Jewish text that includes the story and the order of the seder. 
• Children are included in the Passover seder. At the beginning of the reading from the Haggadah is the "Ma Nishtana" or Four Questions. The youngest child, who is able, asks the Four Questions through song, starting with the main question, "Why is this night different from all other nights?" It is followed by specific questions to prompt why it is different. The Haggadah also contains possible responses to the questions for the seder leader and other adults to read.
• During the Yachatz, the fourth part of the seder, the leader breaks the middle of three matzahs into two pieces. Either the leader or a child wraps and hides this "afikomen," then the children find (or steal) it, and it is eaten as a symbolic dessert at the end of the meal. It is a reminder of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. 

Passover Fun for Kids!

• Passover is a kid-friendly Jewish holiday. Finding the treasure of the "afikomen" is just one of the ways to engage kids. Below are three additional ways to help young children contribute to and enjoy the table for the seder ceremony and dinner.
• Make a cup for Elijah the prophet. It is customary to leave a glass of wine on the table for his arrival. Kids can be included in the tradition by decorating cups for Elijah.
• Make a matzo house. Let kids use any leftover matzo crackers to make houses with them. They can make simple ones, like playing card houses, or decorate their matzo houses with Passover candy, like gingerbread houses. Decorate your seder table or dining room with the houses. 
• Make an activity bag to demonstrate the first 9 of 10 plagues that occurred before the exodus. An activity bag for each child could be made up of red beads or yarn (for blood); toy, finger puppet, or homemade paper frogs; plastic or paper flies (for gnats and flies); toy, finger puppet, or paper horses, cattle, sheep, goats (for the plague on livestock); skin-safe color, like lipstick (for boils); cotton balls or crumpled white paper (for hail); two toothpicks to rub together quickly or a nail file to rub on metal to mimic the sound of locusts; and sunglasses (for darkness). Kids can tell everyone about each of the plagues and demonstrate them with the toys from their bags.