Recipes for Shabbat

Pesach Breakfasts

By Eileen Goltz

The best start to your day is breakfast. Mothers, teachers, health care
professionals and every health magazine being printed today all agree.
During the “regular” year, finding food stuffs (both home made and store
bought) isn’t a problem. However, during Pesach, most of us settle for
serving Pesach cookies, matzo or eggs (in one form or another) or, heaven
forbid, the “quasi” breakfast cereals that have a shelf life of 120 years.

Sure we toss in a fruit or juice to round things out but in reality; there
just aren’t any really good ready made breakfast foods for Pesach.

This lack of breakfast fare is why I’ve take up the challenge emailed to
me by several readers to come up with breakfast recipes that take less than
15 minutes to make and that can be made either several days in advance or the night before. The Passover French Toast recipe is one I’ve included in other columns but, since I get numerous requests for it each year, I thought I’d include it. The coffee cakes can be made ahead of time and frozen and the Salami Potato Omelet can be made pareve by omitting the salami and be use for a quick lunch or dinner.

PASSOVER FRENCH TOAST
This is one of my family’s favorite breakfasts and tastes just like regular
French toast!

Kosher for Passover store bought sponge cake or marble cake (or homemade) 1 -2 eggs, beaten butter or margarine

Cut cake into slices about one inch thick. Preheat butter or margarine in frying pan over low heat. Dip each side of the cake into beaten egg mixture. Place the cake dipped in egg mixture in the frying pan and brown on both sides. 1 sponge cake should make at least 10 slices.

APPLE STREUSEL CAKE (pareve)

topping
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl combine the apples and raisins with the lemon juice. In another bowl mix together the cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg. Add the sugar mixture to the apples. Mix and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the eggs until they are light and fluffy. Slowly add the sugars and vanilla to the mixture as you are beating it. By hand, stir in the oil, cake meal, potato starch, and salt. Put half of batter into a greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Spread the apple mixture on top. Cover the apples with the remaining batter. In a bowl combine the 1/4 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and nuts. Mix to combine and sprinkle the mixture on top of the
batter. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let cool on rack before cutting.
Serves 4 to 6.

PESACH STUFFED FRITTERS

Soak matzo in water to cover 3 to 5 minutes. Squeeze them dry and then place them in a bowl. Add the raisins almonds, apricots, egg yolks, matzo meal, sugar, lemon rind and juice. Mix to combine and set the mixture aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg whites until stiff, not dry. Fold the whites into the matzo mixture. Heat 1/4 oil in skillet. Drop mixture by measuring tablespoons into oil, cook gently 2-4 minutes, turning when first side is golden. Drain on paper toweling. Serve at room temperature. To make ahead of time and crisp just before serving: Arrange in single layer on paper-toweling-lined baking sheets and bake in 350 oven 5 minutes. Serves 4 to 5.

PESACH GRANOLA (pareve or dairy)
This wonderful snack makes a great breakfast cereal. Just add a little mike
and it tastes infinitely better than any of the ready made stuff.

In a large sauce pan combine the oil, brown sugar, butter and water. Warm over a low-med heat. After the butter has melted, carefully mix in the remaining ingredients. Spread on greased cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 35 minutes. Check frequently to make sure the fruit doesn't burn and mix and turn the mixture every 10 minutes.

BROILED PINEAPPLE
A slightly different way to serve citrus fruit first thing in the morning

1 pineapple
8 tablespoons brown sugar
vanilla or strawberry yogurt

Preheat the broiler. Core and peel the pineapple and then cut it into 2 inch
chunks. Place the chunks in a 9X15 glass baking dish and sprinkle the top
with the brown sugar. Place the fruit under the preheated broiler and cook
until bubbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Server immediately with a dollop of
flavored yogurt.
Serves 4.

GRAPEFRUIT CRUNCH

Preheat the broiler. Remove seeds from grapefruit halves. Cut around edges and sections to loosen; remove centers. In a bowl combine the farfel, sugar, cinnamon and butter; spread the mixture on the top of the loosened sections of the grapefruit. Broil grapefruit about 5 inches from the heat for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Serves 4.

CRISPY SALAMI* POTATO OMELET (meat)

Rinse potatoes, peel, cut in half length-wise, and thinly slice. In a 10" non- stick frying pan (with sloping sides) over medium heat, combine oil, potatoes, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and 3 tablespoons of water. Cover. With a wide spatula, turn mixture occasionally until potatoes are tender when pierced, 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and turn often until onion is lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat eggs to blend with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Add vegetable mixture and salami, stir gently, and quickly pour back into pan. Place pan over medium-low heat. As eggs set on the bottom, slide spatula under them and lift to let liquid flow underneath. Also, poke through vegetables with the spatula to let liquid egg seep down to pan bottom.

When omelet is browned on the bottom, in 7 to 9 minutes, invert a baking sheet (with at least 1 rimless side) or wide, flat plate over pan. Holding pans  together, invert onto baking sheet. Slide the omelet, browned side up, back into frying pan. With spatula, push sides of omelet to form a neat edge. Return to heat and cook until browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Slide the omelet from frying pan onto a plate. Serve warm or cool; cut into wedges. Add salt to taste. Serves 6 to 8

* You can omit the salami if you want to keep the omelet pareve.

Eileen Goltz, a professional chef and caterer, is the author of the new cookbook, Perfectly Pareve.