: 
Spiel
Within a twelve hour window, I received two emails asking me for a recipe for a Mushroom Matzah Kugel. I had never heard of such a thing, but once I committed to developing a recipe for it (you can get the yumminess here), I couldn’t NOT make one from more seasonal veggies that would articulate Passover and spring.
I call for frozen artichokes and peas. Why?
- Fresh artichokes are a massive pain in the tuchus to deal with. If I don’t have the patience, I assume you don’t either.
- Artichokes in the can or bottle are sitting in vinegar and this will totally change the flavor.
- Though taking fresh peas out of the pods is a way to practice the Zen and the Art of Performing Mindless Small Tasks, I also figured you were zen enough as is, or could become so with a glass of wine instead.
Most savory kugels call for at least twice as many eggs as I use and twice as much matzah. However the notion of eating all that AFTER the Hillel Sandwiches, AFTER the gefilte fish, AFTER the matzo ball soup was just too much. We are celebrating liberation from slavery- let’s not re-enslave ourselves with a matzah-rock of indigestion.
This kugel is light and DEEEE-licious. Enjoy.
MORE RECIPIES OF THIS TYPE: food blog, gluten-free, Ingredient, jewish, kosher friendly, kosher-friendly, recipes, vegetables, vegetables, Vegetarian
Meal
Ingredients:
Vigor Trigger: Click the pink for health benefits!
- 2 large yellow onions, or 3 smaller ones, thinly sliced into rings, and then those rings into quarters
- ⅓ cup + ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon +2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 pieces matzah (gluten-free matzah works well too!)
- 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 pounds frozen artichoke hearts (available at Trader Joes and other markets)
- 20 oz organic frozen peas
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg white
- 2 handful flat leaf parsley
- ½ cup chopped chives, from about 2 bunches
- 40 grinds of the pepper mill
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, preferably homemade (heated)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Prep the Matzah: Place matzahs on a baking sheet and dry out in oven, for 6 minutes. Place in a bowl and pour hot broth over. Mash down and let sit while you prep the onion and the artichokes.
- Caramelize the Onions: Place a large frypan over medium high heat for about 5 minutes until hot. Add 1/3 cup olive oil and the onions and cook until onions begin to really brown, a good ten minutes, could be more. Then lower heat to medium and cook for another 10 minutes until onions are nice and sweet. Add ½ teaspoon salt and mix. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Prep the Artichokes and Peas: Soak the frozen artichokes in warm water for about twenty minutes. Drain well. Chop the artichokes into smaller pieces, about the size of a thumbnail of a handsome large man.
- In the same pan as the onions, over medium high heat, add the rest of the olive oil, followed by the garlic, artichokes and peas. Stir well and once it gets a nice sizzle at the 2 teaspoons salt. Cook for about 20 minutes, lowering the heat to medium. When done, toss in the parsley and chives.
- In the mean time, put the matzo/broth into your food processor and blend into well mixed. Place the mush into a mixing bowl.
- Now add half of the artichoke/pea mixture and half of the onions to your food processor and pulse until finely chopped, almost but not quite a paste. Add to the mixing bowl with matzah. Add the rest of the artichoke/pea mixture as well.
- Now add the eggs and egg white to the food processor and “beat.” for a minute. Add to mixing bowl. Mixix the whole mixture together.
- Lower oven temp to 350 F.
- Place contents in a greased casserole (about 9×9 or thereabouts) and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Serve hot, at room temp or cold.
