Vegan Matzo Brei (WFPB)
by Vaishali
Matzo Brei is a classic Jewish frittata-like breakfast food often eaten at Passover. In this vegan version, soft, savory chickpea "eggs" flecked with mushrooms and rosemary contrast deliciously with shards of crispy, slightly charred matzah crackers. It's comfort food through and through. Also a soy-free, nut-free recipe, can be gluten-free.
Ingredients
1 cup chickpea flour (also known as garbanzo bean flour or besan)
¼ cup rice flour
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, minced (use less if that’s your preference)
1 tablespoon parsley, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, minced (deseed if sensitive to heat)
Salt, to taste
1 tablespoon oil for cooking (like avocado or olive)
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces crimini or Baby bella mushrooms, sliced (or button mushrooms)
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
1 + ½ sheets matzo crackers, broken into large pieces
Fresh chopped chives or parsley, for serving
Instructions
- Make the batter by placing the chickpea flour and rice flour in a bowl with the rosemary, parsley, and jalapeño pepper. Add salt to taste.
- Whisk in the water, a little bit at a time, until a smooth batter forms. You should need around 1 ¼ cups of water. The batter consistency should be somewhere between that of a crepe and pancake batter, thick but easily pourable.
- In a large skillet, heat your cooking oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic with a pinch of salt and ground black pepper. Sauté until the shallots start to soften but are not brown.
- Add the mushrooms and sauté until they are softened, about 3-4 minutes over medium heat.
- Stir in the matzah crackers. Then pour in the chickpea batter evenly over the mushrooms and crackers.
- Cook over medium to medium-high heat until the edges of the brei appear dry and multiple bubbles rise in the center.
- Start the broiler. Place the skillet carefully under for 3-5 minutes or until the top is set and the crackers are slightly charred. You need to keep a close eye at this point as the broiler can burn things up pretty fast.
- Remove the skillet from under the broiler, garnish, if desired, with fresh chopped chives or parsley, slice and serve.
Notes
- When you whisk chickpea flour with water, always start out with a small amount of water, whisk it into the flour, add a little more and so on. Doing this, and using a whisk, not a spoon or ladle, will help ensure there are no lumps in your chickpea batter.
- You can use the mung bean batter in my recipe for a Moonglet instead of chickpea batter in this recipe, for a different take and flavor.
- Find more of Vaishali’s recipes at Holy Cow Vegan.
