Week 35 - ארוחת בוקר - Israel

MATZO BREI

Matzo Brei is a simple breakfast made by frying Matzo (a thin cracker-like unleavened bread) with egg.  Similar to French Toast, Pain Perdu and Torrijas in execution, Matzo Brei is normally served during the Jewish holiday of Passover. (During this holiday all leavened grains are forbidden.)

You don't have to search very far to find people claiming to have the "definitive" Matzo Brei recipe on-line.  As an easy home recipe, Matzo Brei is the kind of comfort food that has thousands of variations - each of which is "the best".

Matzo Brei can be served sweet with cinnamon sugar or savoury with garlic and onions.  It also can be made with a wet consistency that almost resembles a Fritatta or it can be made more on the dry side.  We made sweet of course, (cause that's how we roll) but check out this video where renowned architect Frank Gehry talks about his preference:

After Torrijas, Matzo Brei (as prepared by me) just didn't compare.  I found it dry and lacking in flavour and upon taking a bite Jon pondered, "maybe you made it wrong?"  The truth is that maybe I did.  Maybe our preferred Matzo Brei is savoury, or maybe we would've liked it with more egg.  In any case, a recipe as popular Matzo Brei absolutely deserves another shot.

The Verdict:

For Ease of Preparation:

Matzo Brei rivals Hagelslag in simplicity.  From start to finish in under ten minutes.

For Degree of Separation:

For Guestability:

A tricky call.  As primarily a holiday breakfast, Matzo Brei seems fancy enough for guests.  And yet there is a certain austerity to it that makes me hesitate to serve it to guests.

For Sustainability:

For Costability:

At it's barest minimum Matzo Brei requires only three ingredients!  Matzo, eggs, and some kind of fat to fry it in.  Beyond which, part of Matzo Brei's charm is that it was partially developed as a way to use up extra Matzo during and after Passover - extra points for being economical.

For Overall Appeal:

I'd try Matzo Brei again.  I'd be especially interested to try it made by somebody with more cred.  So here's an open invitation - does anybody have an amazing Matzo Brei recipe they'd love to share?  (Or better yet make.)  Was your Bubbe the Matzo Brei master?  How do you like your Matzo Brei?  Let me know....

Next week we go old school as we look into what my Ukrainian ancestors ate.  Will it be delicious?

Youtube Breakfasts

While searching out new breakfasts I often come across great videos on Youtube, some of which I've already shared (Burek, Jumbo Breakfast Roll).  My favourite are videos on location because they really capture the authentic flavour and mood of the meal.  In fact, this entire blog was inspired after watching a video about a Pakistani breakfast called Halwa Puri.  Please enjoy it and others I've come across:

Halwa Puri:

I find everything about this video so fascinating.  What does this breakfast taste like?  Is it sweet, salty, spicy?  I have no idea.  And how do you eat it out of those plastic bags?  (Not to mention the mystery of how they get everything in them without making a mess!)  We've yet to try Halwa Puri, mainly because it seems like good breakfast excursion and I've yet to figure out where to buy it in Toronto. (Although I don't doubt that it's out there somewhere...)

Knefe:

You may remember Knefe from the Lebanese breakfast entry.  The first time I saw this video I immediately texted Jon to tell him that I wanted to add this machine to our kitchen...

Kaya Toast:

Kaya Toast is virtually unheard of food here in Canada, but this commercial gives a real window into it's popularity in Asia.  It almost rivals Tim Horton's with it's sappy sentiments.

Depression Breakfast:

This great-grandmother is 93 and has her own vlog about cooking on Youtube!  Incredible.  Even more incredible, she says they ate cookies for breakfast during the Depression years...

Plov:

The national dish of Uzbekistan, Plov or O'sh is eaten all times of day.  But in this video it looks like they're enjoying it in the traditional feast held the morning before a wedding.  O'sh is serious business and the men of the family pride themselves in their O'sh making skills the same way a North American man might pride himself on his BBQ-ing.  You'll notice that only men are invited to this particular occasion.  Exclusive perhaps, but these feasts have been known to feed as many as 1000 men at a time - that's a lot of rice!

Pastechi:

Okay, this video loses me around Dr. Horatio Kilpatient's appearance, but I do like getting to see a bit of Aruba and the food cart scene.

Sesame Street:

What does Cookie Monster eat for breakfast?  Watch to find out.....

Week 28 - Iran - حلیم

HALEEM

Over the past few years I've become quite enamored with Persian cuisine.  With it's abundance of herbs, unique ingredients and sweet and sour flavour combinations it draws me in every time.  So on a recent outing to Khorak Supermarket (my favourite Persian grocery store in Toronto), I was stoked to come across a pre-made container of Haleem, a traditional Persian breakfast often eaten during Ramadan.

I usually prefer to make breakfasts as home, but Haleem although simple in ingredients (wheat and turkey) requires long hours of cooking.  (Before modern kitchen appliances it was simmered all night long in large wood-fired cauldrons.)  In fact, it is such a long process to make that it is tradition to make a huge patch and then go door to door sharing it with your neighbours.  

It's a distant cousin to Khichdi, which you may recall from Week 3: Indian Breakfast.  Basically, it's a thick porridge made from meat (usually turkey) and wheat that is simmered until the texture of both becomes a homogenous mush.  It's   often garnished with clarified butter and cinnamon.

Unfortunately we found this breakfast a little underwhelming.  It was neither sweet or savoury.  The turkey taste was definitely present and so was the sweet cinnamon topping.  Perhaps it's one of those breakfasts you have to grow up with because mainly we just found it confusing.

After mentioning our Haleem experience to some of my co-workers, one of them remarked that she had made some herself that week-end!  She was generous enough to bring in some of her homemade stuff so that I could compare.

Her version was a variation from Ethiopia and was considerably more delicious that the Iranian grocery brand.  Instead of turkey it was made with goat and being from Ethiopia, the cinnamon was replaced with spicy Berbere butter.

The Verdict:

For Ease of Preparation:

For Degree of Separation:

Wheat, cinnamon and turkey are not a combo I ever imagined gracing my breakfast table.

For Guestability:

I imagine if you had guests from Persia they would adore it, but for my family, probably not.

For Sustainability:

Supposedly very calorically dense, this is a stick to your ribs kind of dish.

For Costability:

With a price similar to a box of Cheerios, Haleem was very reasonably priced.

For Overall Appeal:

I really wanted to like Haleem.  Unfortunately, it was just a little too far out of my comfort zone.  As an aside, I would like to urge everyone who hasn't sample Persian cuisine to give it a shot.

Next time - the Balkans!

Week 8 - Lebanon

KNEFE

And the mystery breakfast is......Knefe from Lebanon!

Knefe (alternatively spelled kanafeh, knafeh, knefeh, kanafa) is one of those foods that instantly entranced me.  I couldn't wait for the weekend to tackle this recipe.

Researching and shopping for our Lebanese breakfast was an eye-opening experience.  I've had my fair share of Shawarma and have even experimented at home with Za'atar and Sumac, but that didn't prepare me for the wonders at Arz Fine Foods (1909 Lawrence Ave. East).  I love visiting new grocery stores and Arz Fine Foods was a wonderland of interesting pastries (the Baklava selection - wow!), fruits, breads, and sundry items.  In fact, while shopping for ingredients to make Knefe at home, we actually came upon a cafe in the store that sold Knefe ready to eat!

Are you wondering yet what Knefe is?  Here's the scoop:  you take a soft, white cheese called Akawi and bake it sandwiched in-between layers of Kataifi mixed with butter.  (Kataifi is a very fine, shredded phyllo dough)  Then you take a fresh sesame bun called a Ka'ak Knefe and place a piece of the Knefe in the bun.  Finally you drizzle with a syrup infused with Rose or Orange Water.

Knefe in it's various forms (there's also a dessert version) is found all over the Middle East, and in Lebanon it's a classic pick-me-up after a hard night out on the town.  People don't often make this one at home but go out and get it from their local bakery instead.

The Knefe we tried from Arz was sweet! (literally)  The syrup reminded me of honey and although cheese with bread on more bread initially sounds like too much white, once you taste it you realize it's more like a breaded protein on a bun  (which isn't very strange at all).  This one got a big thumbs up from Jonny.  It was soft, sweet, warm and comforting, if a tad heavy.

The Verdict:

For Ease of Preparation:






For Degrees of Separation:





For Guestability:





For Sustainability:

Overall Appeal:






I see many more stops at Arz Fine Foods for me in the future, preferably around breakfast....

Later this week we head to South-East Asia for a double-header that features Singaporean and Filipino cuisine, stay tuned!