Ask A Los Angeles Expert: Best Matzo Recipes For Passover

Passover is the time to not only get your mind right spiritually, but to also make sure your body is getting the right nutrients. There are several great recipes that include matzo out there, but one chef's that stand out from the crowd are those of Elana Horwich. Her Jewish meals look so delicious, and they are easy to make. Check out some of them below and grab your pen and notepad to jot down your favorites.

Elana Horwich is a cooking and food-sensitivity expert who is an ambassador for delicious, healthy, consciously prepared meals. She specializes in Jewish, contemporary Californian and Italian cuisine. She was recently named "Recipe Expert" for YouBeauty.com, the website of celebrity health advocates Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen. Her work can be found all over the internet, which includes mainstream sites such as the Huffington Post, Good Day LA, KCAL, KNBC and KTLA. Horwich also runs her food blog, Meal and a Spiel, full-time. She lived in Italy for nearly five years.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup matzo meal
• 4 eggs
• 4-5 tablespoons duck fat or schmaltz**, at room temperature 2 tablespoons chicken broth (or water)
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt plus more for salting cooking water
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon dried ginger
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped herbs (celery leaves and/or parsley and/or chives and/or cilantro and/or dill)

To Cook the Matzo Balls:

• 1 quart homemade or boxed chicken broth
• 1 carrot
• 1 celery stalk some parsley or dill to throw into cooking water

Directions:

1. Whisk eggs, 1 ½ teaspoon salt, pepper, ginger and chopped herbs in a bowl until well mixed.
2. Stir in matzo meal and chicken broth, or water.
3. Add duck fat or schmaltz and stir in well.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge overnight.

The Day Of:

1. In a large pot, set 5 quarts of water along with the boxed or homemade chicken broth, carrot, celery and parsley or dill over a high flame and cover until it comes to a boil.
2. Add a small handful of salt to the boiling water/broth as if it were pasta water...it should taste salty like the sea.
3. Using wet hands, form the matzo meal into imperfectly shaped balls- so they look homemade- about 1 ½ inches in diameter.
4. Place each one in the boiling water/broth. Stir to make sure they don’t stick.
5. Cover and cook for 50 minutes.
6. Cut one open to make sure it is fully cooked. If not cook them for a few minutes more.
7. Lift out of water with a slotted spoon and place one or two in a serving bowl.
8. Ladle homemade chicken broth into each bowl.
9. Optional: garnish with a little chopped parsley or dill.

Ingredients:

• 1 20 oz can garbanzo beans
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from about 3 lemons
• 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¾ teaspoon + ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• paprika
• ground pepper
• toasted pine nuts, optional

Directions:

1. Add the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, water, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, cilantro, cumin and ¾ teaspoon kosher salt to the food processor. Run until smooth. Add more water if needed for more creaminess.
2. Place hummus in a bowl, top with remaining olive oil, salt, ground pepper and paprika to liking. And toasted pine nuts if using.
3. Ideally: Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for an hour to chill and so flavors can meld.

Ingredients:
(*denotes gluten-free option)

• 1 lb. flat wide egg noodles or Tinkyada Brown Rice Lasagna Noodles*
• 8 eggs
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• ⅛ teaspoon coconut extract or vanilla extract (optional)
• ¼ cup + ¼ cup raw honey
• 2 cups raisins
• 1 cup red wine (not manischewitz)
• 1½ tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves
• ⅛ tsp. pumpkin pie spice or ground nutmeg
• 2 cups cereal (Gluten-free Corn Flakes*, Millet Rice Flakes, Plain Ezekiel Cereal)
• ¼ cup Virgin Unrefined Coconut Oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
3. While water is boiling...add wine, rasins and spices to a pan and cook over a low flame for about 7 minutes. Remove from flame when most wine has evaporated and any liquid remaining is syrupy. If you taste the raisins, they will be quite bitter from the spices...that is ok.
4. If using the rice pasta lasagna, break it apart into large pieces...aim to quarter the sheets, but they will splinter into different sizes. This is ok.
5. When water has boiled, throw in a handful of salt and the pasta. Cook until just before al dente...or a minute or so before instruction cooking time...even less if using brown rice pasta.
6. Drain when finished.
7. In a mixing bowl, add the eggs, coconut milk, extract if using and a generous ¼ cup of the raw honey.
8. Use an electric mixer to beat for a minute or two.
9. Add the raisins and the noodles to the egg mixture. Pour into a 9x13” casserole dish.
10. Add the cereal, coconut oil, ¼ cup raw honey and a pinch of cinnamon if you like into a food processor. Pulse into well mixed.
11. Spread cereal mixture on top of noodle casserole.
12. Bake for 40 minutes.
13. Serve warm or cold. Delicious out of the fridge!

Ingredients:

• 2 granny smith apples
• 1 pear
• 7 dried figs (or 7 pitted prunes or a handful of raisins)
• 1 ½ cup shelled walnuts
• 8 pitted dates
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 orange, the juice and the zest
• 1 bottle of good Moscato.

Directions:

1. Cut apples and pears into equal size large chunks.
2. “Pulse” in food processor until finely chopped, being careful not to overdo it so they don’t become mushy. Put in a large bowl. (If you don’t have a food processor, this recipe can be a reminder of the times when we were slaves in Egypt. The good news is, hand chopped food tasted better.)
3. In your food processor now “pulse” the figs, prunes or raisins until they are finely chopped and add them to the apples.
4. Pulse the walnuts until they are finely chopped and add them to the fruit.
5. Zest the orange using a microplane grater, a zester or the small holes of a regular grater. Add to mixture.
6. Juice the orange into the food processor, along with the dates, cinnamon and cup of the moscato. Pulse until fully pureed.
7. Add to the fruit and nut mixture. Stir.
8. Add another cup of moscato to mixture and stir.
9. Put mixture into a cooking pot over medium heat until it reaches a boil. Then turn heat to low and let simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
10. Put back into bowl and let cool. Cover and put in fridge until ready for use.
11. Right before serving, add another “glug” of moscato to the charoset for a little freshen up and there you go! Dayenu.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quinoa
• 4 cups water
• 1 ¼ cups finely chopped fresh mint
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh parsely
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh basil
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 15 cherry tomatoes (heirloom when in summer season) quartered
• 2 scant teaspoons salt
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• the juice of 2 lemons
• the zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon wheat free-tamari (or good soy sauce)
• 1 teaspoon Coconut Aminos or Braggs Aminos, in health food stores)- or another 1/2 teaspoon wheat-free tamari

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa with water in a automatic rice cooker. Otherwise follow package instructions.
2. When done, remove lid to let cool slightly.
3. WHILE STILL WARM, add olive oil and salt and stir.
4. Add fresh herbs. Stir.
5. Add lemon and lemon zest.
6. Add tomatoes. Stir.
7. Add tamari (soy sauce) and coconut aminos. Stir.
8. Let sit for at least an hour for flavors to harmonize

Related: Stonefire Grill's Justin Lopez Talks Quinoa