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Hello, my fellow Passover sufferers. We have exactly nine more Passover meals (not including any ancillary snacks) to go. We are in the home stretch, the happy hump of day of Passover, almost at the end, you look in your closets, and you realize, “Wow, I sure bought a lot of matzo meal!” Sometimes, we panic purchase, thinking we are going to bake, or cook, or create something on Passover that will be revolutionary! Perhaps we just buy too much and wind up throwing it away or saving it for next year, hoping it won’t taste any worse than when it was fresh.
Quite frankly, I still have a sealed jar of gefilte fish in a cabinet that I am embarrassed to say was purchased when Unit #2 was still in diapers (he is seven now). Can hermetically sealed gefilte fish even last that long? Ah, the thought probing questions of life, like, if a tree falls in a forest, can anyone hear it? Well can they?
Alas, I opened my closet and realized I too had an abundance of matzo meal and cake meal, so I got to work. My latest invention is the Rustic Matzah Pizza. Yes, rustic. That’s a nice word for it doesn’t look like professional pizza, or even taste like it. However, in the scheme of Passover where slapping on sauce and cheese on a piece of matzah, melting it and insultingly calling it pizza, rustic pizza is a nice change.
Now, this recipe comes with a warning. If you think this is going to taste like New York, Chicago, Papa Johns, or gourmet style pizza, then your taste buds will be sadly mistaken. However, if you are so sick and tired of matzah, gefilte fish, and leftovers, then your taste buds will be much more accepting. It’s better to set your expectations a little lower, I say, and then no one gets hurt. The crust is crunchy, dense and chewy all at the same time.
It’s easy, takes hardly any time and it’s egg free. While most of my recipes are dairy free as well, this one does contain cheese. If you want to make it dairy free, use grilled veggies in lieu of the cheese. I also made a makeshift tomato sauce, since I cannot stand the Passover marinara. I have included that in the recipe as well, though, the measurements were really to taste, but you will get the idea. I am still working on perfecting this one. So, if you are game, and ready for a change, try it and let me know your thoughts.
Rustic (I use the term loosely) Matzah Pizza
Crust Ingredients
2 cups matzo meal
½-cup cake meal
1 tsp. salt
2 TBSP starch diluted with 1-2 TBSP water
1-cup warm water
2 TBSP olive oil
1-cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Sauce Ingredients
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 TBSP of honey
Salt
Pepper
Onion Powder
Large handful of chopped parsley (great way to get rid of the extra from Seder)
½ of water
Directions
You can make this in the food processor and process until it becomes a ball, or you can mix all the ingredients with a spoon and then by hand. I used my hands just because I didn’t feel like washing out my food processor AGAIN!
Roll into a ball.
Divide into 4-5 individual pizzas. It’s hard to make this one big pizza as the dough cracks. I like the individual pizzas because everyone likes to have their own toppings sometimes. Keep the unused dough under a slightly wet paper towel while you are working to prevent it from drying out.
Flatten each ball in a circle, pressing down all the sides until flattened (as best you can). You may have to press a bit with your fingers and the edges won’t be perfect. If you have a rolling pin, you can use that as well.
Bake the crusts for 8-10 minutes at 425 until crunchy on edges.
While you bake the crusts, you can work on the sauce (of course, you can use the jar, I won’t tell).
(For the sauce, just heat all the ingredients in a small pot and stir. If it’s too thick, add a little more water. I didn’t give any measurements for the spices, as they were to taste. I like a lot of onion powder and the fresh parsley really makes it great!)
When the crusts are done, let them cool for about 5 minutes or so.
Spread the sauce in a thin circle.
Sprinkle about ¼ cup of cheese (if you have parmesan you can add that too)
Bake for about 10 minutes in a hot 425 oven
Voila….Rustic Matzah Pizza.
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