Mitzvah Brei: Don't Waste Those Leftovers!

by: RonitTreatman

Sun Apr 08, 2012 at 10:52:00 AM EDT

If you host a Passover Seder or two, there is a good chance that you will have a refrigerator full of unconsumed food.  The principle of Bal Tashkhit (Kiddushin 32a) is basic to Jewish Law.  "Bal Tashkhit" means "do not destroy."  We are instructed to avoid senseless waste or damage.  When I find creative new ways to serve my Passover surplus, it feels like I am performing a mitzvah!  How can you get people to enjoy the uneaten fare from your festive meal?  Incorporate it with the huge supply of matza and eggs that are necessary to prepare for Passover.  Dress up your matza brei (fried matza) and prepare satisfying repasts for your friends and family.

More after the jump.

Vegetable Matza Brei

• 6 squares of matza
  
• 1 bunch green onions
  
• Any leftover vegetables
  
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  
• 4 eggs
  
• Salt
  
• Pepper
  
• Garlic

1. Moisten the matza with cold water.  
   
2. Break up the matza in a bowl.
   
3. Mix the eggs into the matza.
   
4. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil.  
   
5. Sautee the green onions.  
   
6. Add the leftover vegetables.
   
7. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic.
   
8. Pour the matza-egg mixture over the vegetables.  
   
9. Scramble until the egg is cooked through.
   
10. Serve immediately!

Most of us serve some sort of meat dish for the main course of our Seder.  How can we extend what is left in a delicious way?  By copying an inventive dish concocted in China: Egg Foo Young!  We will envelop our "lotus egg" in matza!

Chicken, Beef, Lamb, or Turkey Egg Foo Young Matza Brei

Sauce For The Egg Foo Young Matza Brei

• 4 tablespoons kosher for Passover chicken or beef bouillon
  
• 1 teaspoon of walnut oil
  
• 2 teaspoons pomegranate syrup
  
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
  
• 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1 1/2 cups water

1. Place all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.  
   
2. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Egg Foo Young Matza Brei

• 1/4 cup cooked chicken, beef, lamb, or turkey; cubed
  
• 6 eggs
  
• 1 bunch green onions, cut up
  
• 1 celery rib, sliced
  
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
  
• 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
  
• 1 green bell pepper, cut up
  
• Olive oil
  
• Salt
  
• Pepper

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.  Over medium heat, stir-fry the meat of your choice, ginger, green onions, celery, mushrooms, and bell pepper.
   
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
   
3. Set the mixture aside.
   
4. Moisten the matza with cold water.  
   
5. Break up the matza in a bowl.
   
6. Mix the eggs into the matza.
   
7. Add the vegetable mixture to the eggs and matza.
   
8. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan.  Pour in the matza-meat-egg-vegetable mixture.  Cook over medium heat.  When the bottom turns golden-brown, flip it over.
   
9. Serve with the sauce on the side.

Charoset, a wine-infused, sweet, crunchy fruit-and-nut paste is one of the most delicious treats on the Seder table.  How can we inventively use what is left?  Transform it into a breakfast or dessert matza brie.

Sweet Charoset Matza Brie

• 6 squares of matza
  
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  
• 4 eggs
  
• Charoset
  
• Powdered sugar

1. Place the charoset in a microwave-safe bowl.  Cover and heat for two minutes.
   
2. Moisten the matza with cold water.  
   
3. Break up the matza in a bowl.
   
4. Mix the eggs into the matza.
   
5. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan.  
   
6. Pour the matza-egg mixture into the pan.
   
7. When the bottom of the matza brei turns a golden-brown, flip it over.
   
8. When the other side has cooked through, spread the charoset over it.
   
9. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Passover leftovers present us with the opportunity to be frugally innovative.  As I reposition the foods that remain in my refrigerator, I remember a Yiddish expression that both of my grandmothers were fond of.  They would exclaim, "Du vest dos uf essen!" "You will eat this up!"  Chag Sameach!