spring veggie white matzo lasagna

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I am so curious to see what our opinions are re: matzo after Passover is over this year because since last year’s Passover, we have basically kept the itsy bitsy Kosher section of our grocery store in business with our aggressive year-round matzo eating habit. I ate an insane amount of it while I was pregnant, with peanut butter and jelly, with Kewpie mayo and sliced cheese, and in extra shallot-y matzo brei covered in ketchup. Matzo was my go-to 3am snack, in bed. I am pretty sure Bernie is 1/3 made of matzo. Eating matzo is different when you have the option to eat bread though, right? Which is why we never got sick of it. This week without the option though, I’m afraid we’ll get sick of it and I’ll have to find another easy 3am snack. What a dramatic life we lead! 

When it came to baby meal prep, I was told over and over to make lasagna! So a matzo lasagna, one big enough to provide enough leftovers for a few good days, was an obvious choice for Passover. And I wanted to make sure it was veggie packed, so I converted my spring vegetable quinoa hotdish in Molly on the Range to a freezer-friendly layered situation. The matzo pieces get nice and soft with the white sauce, and the flavors of leeks, chives, ricotta, and peas whisper spring! Even though it’s totally loaded up with cheese and milk, the ricotta and bright flavors add a nice sense of airiness. And there’s layers upon layers of spinach in this. So go ahead, have seconds!

Thanks to Our Family for partnering on this post and providing all of the cheese for this delicious Passover supper!

Spring Veggie White Matzo Lasagna

Makes one 9” x 13” casserole

Ingredients

Sauce

1/4 c (57g) unsalted butter

2 large leeks, chopped

4 scallions or ramps, chopped, white and green parts separated

Kosher salt

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 tb matzo meal

3 c (720g) whole or 2% milk

1 c (236g) vegetable stock

1/4 c (75g) chopped chives

1/2 c (55g) fresh or frozen peas

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp onion powder

Black pepper

Hot sauce, to taste

Filling

1 large egg

1 (15oz) container our family part skim ricotta

3/4 c (3oz) our family shredded parmesan cheese

2 c (8oz) our family shredded mozzarella

1/2 tsp kosher salt

3 c (5-6oz) fresh spinach

9 sheets matzo (I use lightly salted matzo)

Directions

If planning to bake immediately, preheat the oven to 350ºf. If prepping ahead, see directions below.

To make the sauce, in a large pot, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the leeks, the white parts of the scallions or ramps, and a pinch of salt and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, and then stir in the matzo meal and cook for another minute. Add the milk, one cup at a time, stirring until thickened after each. Add the vegetable stock and continue to stir until thickened. Stir in the green parts of the scallions or ramps, the chives (reserving a small handful for the topping), peas, nutmeg, onion powder, a few turns of black pepper, hot sauce, and salt to taste. Remove from heat.

To make the filling, in a medium bowl, mix together the egg, ricotta, 1/2 cup of the parmesan, 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella, and the salt.

To assemble, spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9” x 13” casserole pan (see specifics below on type of pan you should use if you’re planning to freeze). Layer in the following: 2 sheets of matzo, a third of the cheese filling dolloped all over, 1 cup of spinach, a layer of sauce, 2 sheets of matzo, another third of the cheese filling, 1 cup of spinach, a layer of sauce, 2 sheets of matzo, the remaining cheese filling, 1 cup of spinach, remaining sauce, and then sprinkle the top with the remaining 3 sheets of matzo broken into pieces, and the reserved parmesan, mozzarella, chives, and a few turns of pepper.

Bake, covered with foil, for 45 minutes, and then for an additional 15 minutes uncovered, or until golden brown on top. Enjoy!

To freeze: I’d recommend using a foil pan that you can place directly in the oven from the freezer. Otherwise, you can use glass or enameled cast iron pan, but it would be best to defrost it in the fridge overnight before baking to avoid cracking the pan. Once the lasagna is assembled, let it cool slightly and wrap in plastic wrap or foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, bake at 350ºf covered in foil for 1 hour 30 minutes, and then uncovered for an additional 15-30 minutes, or until golden brown on top and heated through. Enjoy!

-yeh!

photos by chantell and brett quernemoen

this recipe was created in partnership with our family!

Passover Recipe Roundup!

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Whazzup! I'm just popping in to say a quick hello before we down some extremely chametzy pizza and then zip off to Whistler for our Passover ski trip!! This is gonna be a great Passover, not only because we're going to be spending it on a cozy mountain, but also because there's a new haggadah up in here (!!!), a new seder plate from lily (bonus: lily is also a new member of #teamsavory matzo brei. welcome, lily!), and some of my favorite new Passover recipes are in the April issue of Rachael Ray Magazine. Pick up a copy, there's a Passover tater tot hotdish!!!! 

Below are a bunch of my fave Passover recipes, old and new. Enjoy! Happy Passover!

-yeh!

photos 1, 4, 11, 12, 13, and 14 by chantell and brett quernemoen!

spinach and white cheddar baked matzo brei

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passover days 1-2.5:

-ate lots of almond butter matzo sandwiches
-became not so weirded out by cauliflower rice after mum insisted on a cauliflower rice tabbouleh. with enough acid, salt, and herbs, it turns out it does not taste like mushy farts as undercooked cauliflower is so wont to do.
-stoop kicked my ass on a four mile run, i decided i should start running again but got nervous at how wildly bored i get on runs. tried to calculate how much i'd have to kickstart to fund unorthodox's increase from a weekly podcast to a daily podcast because i wouldn't get bored on runs if i could just listen to unorthodox the whole time.
-ordered our garden seeds finally! i added chioggia beets to the order not because i like eating them but because they look pretty (and because they look so pretty i'm going to learn to like eating them)
-discovered the new millennial pink dishes at ikea. also bought about 12 packs of these cute napkins. eggboy and i are planning a scandinavian tea party themed bridal shower for eggsister and these are truly perfect for it. 
-fell back in love with this roasted vegetable stock. i don't know what my beef is with parsnips but every time i see them listed on an ingredients list or menu i kind of gloss right over them as if they were a less than worthy vegetable but they're a great addition to this stock and i'm going to try to treat them with more respect
-went to tuesday night's chicago symphony performance and sat really close. close enough to wonder how truls' face stayed so matte during the dvorak cello concerto (note to self: listen to that second movement again to appreciate more of its prettiness). for the second half they played prokofiev 5, which i love for the crunch and woodblock, and while the speed wasn't as aggressive as when jaap does it, it certainly did not disappoint.
-listened to a lot of nelly furtado and san fermin! love their new albums.

currently:
-about to leave for fargo for tonight's fargo seder. i have 150 malabi macaroons in tow. 
-wondering how many days will pass before i give in and make matzo crack.

i am not yet tired of matzo brei but in the event that you are and are stressing out over what to make for brunch this weekend, i have two ideas for you. one is matzo chilaquiles, which i'll be making since i spent the better part of late march testing my other idea: this baked matzo brei. which, to be honest, probably prefers to identify as a frittata or crustless quiche since those more closely represent the texture, and i find it's usually the texture that people tire of when they're sick of matzo brei. this is basically a quiche with a matzo crust but instead of the crust on the outside, it's broken up and dispersed throughout the filling so it gets nice and soft and mingles with the cheese. my favorite part about it is the purple onions that go on the bottom of the pan when you cook it because then when you serve it, it gets flipped over and is like a savory upside down cake.

you can serve this hot or make it the night before and serve it at room temp. a handful of fresh herbs at the end make it party ready (and instagrammable??)! happy weekend everyone! 

spinach and white cheddar baked matzo brei

serves 4-6

ingredients

6 large eggs

1/2 c heavy cream

4 sheets matzo, broken into 2-3” pieces

Olive oil

2 c packed fresh spinach

Kosher salt

Black pepper

1 small or 1/2 large purple onion, thinly sliced

1/2 c herbs (any mix of cilantro, parsley, mint, and/or chives), finely chopped, plus more for serving

3 ounces white cheddar, shredded, plus more for serving

2 tsp za’atar

1/2 tsp sweet paprika

Plain Yogurt, for serving

Harissa, for serving

Fresh lemon, for serving

Sumac, for serving

clues

preheat the oven to 350ºf.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and the cream. fold in the matzo and set aside.

Heat an 8” oven-safe nonstick skillet (like a cast iron pan) over medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Cook the spinach until wilted, season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool slightly. Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, let it get hot (you can increase the heat to medium high as long as you keep an eye on it so the olive oil doesn’t burn), and then add the sliced onion and a pinch salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to brown. 

While the onions are cooking, add the herbs, cheddar, za’atar, paprika, 3/4 teaspoon salt, a few turns of pepper, and the wilted spinach to the egg mixture. When the onions are browned, spread them out evenly in the skillet and then pour in the egg mixture and spread it out evenly. Cook for 3 minutes and then stick it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until just set. Let it cool for a couple of minutes in the pan and then carefully run a rubber spatula around the edge to loosen them from the pan. Cover the pan with a plate and then turn it over to flip it onto the plate. 

Top with more cheese, a few dollops of yogurt, a bit of harissa, a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of sumac, and a handful of fresh herbs. Enjoy! 

-yeh!