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Matzah pizza (sometimes spelled matzoh pizza) [1] is a type of pizza made by baking a piece of matzo that has been topped with sauce and cheese. Because Jewish law prohibits the consumption of leavened bread during Passover, some people use matzo as a substitute for traditional pizza crusts during the holiday.
During Passover, Jewish law prohibits the consumption of food items that are made with yeast or leavening agents. [2] Given these restrictions, some individuals will make pizza by substituting matzo for traditional pizza crust. [3] However, some food manufacturers now supply traditional pizza crusts that are made with kosher-for-Passover ingredients, [4] and some recipes suggest substituting chopped matzo for yeast dough. [5] During Passover, some restaurants will also feature matzo pizza on their menus to substitute for traditional pizza. [6] [7] [8] [9]
In Philadelphia circa 1970s, Jack Brauner was having his friends over for his birthday but due to it being Passover, the family was unable to serve normal pizza. His mother, Marcia Brauner, put sauce and cheese on matzah to serve to the kids and from then on, matzah pizza has been a classic and popular dish on Passover.
Matzah pizza is prepared by covering a piece of matzo with sauce and melted cheese. [3] It can be eaten as is or baked first. In the latter case, the matzo is first softened in water; alternately, the sauce ingredients are used to soften the matzo. [10] Other traditional pizza toppings may be used in addition to cheese. [11] [12] [13] For example, chef Spike Mendelsohn suggests topping matzah pizza with figs and asparagus, peppers and feta cheese, or cherry tomatoes, olives, and rosemary, [14] while Martha Stewart recommends placing a fried egg on top of a matzah pizza. [15] Other recipes suggest using crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce, [16] and some recipes suggest substituting hummus for the sauce. [17] Some recipes recommend baking the matzo and toppings on a baking sheet, either in a conventional oven [18] [19] or in a microwave oven, [20] while other recipes recommend baking matzah pizza in a casserole pan so that the dish resembles a layered lasagna. [21] Vegan recipes suggest utilizing vegan cheese or omitting the cheese entirely. [22] [17]
Because it has large Italian and Jewish communities, the term is also occasionally used to refer to the town of Massapequa, New York. [1] [23]
Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz is forbidden.
Passover ; Biblical Hebrew: חַג הַפֶּסַח, romanized: Ḥag haPesaḥ) is a major Jewish holiday, one of the three pilgrimage festivals, that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites' escape from slavery in Egypt. Pesach starts on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan which is considered the first month of the Hebrew year. The Hebrew calendar is adjusted to align with the solar calendar in such a way that 15 Nisan always coincides with Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. The Hebrew day starts and ends at sunset, so the holiday starts at sunset the day before. For example, in 2023, 15 Nisan coincides with Thursday April 6. Therefore, Pesach starts at sundown Wednesday April 5. The word Pesach or Passover can also refer to the Korban Pesach, the paschal lamb that was offered when the Temple in Jerusalem stood; to the Passover Seder, the ritual meal on Passover night; or to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. One of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals, Passover is traditionally celebrated in the Land of Israel for seven days and for eight days among many Jews in the Diaspora, based on the concept of yom tov sheni shel galuyot. In the Bible, the seven-day holiday is known as Chag HaMatzot, the feast of unleavened bread (matzah).
Pizza is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients, which is then baked at a high temperature, traditionally in a wood-fired oven.
Kugel is a baked casserole, most commonly made from lokshen or potato. It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. American Jews also serve it for Thanksgiving dinner.
Matzah balls or matzo balls are Ashkenazi Jewish soup dumplings made from a mixture of matzah meal, beaten eggs, water, and a fat, such as oil, margarine, or chicken fat. Matzah balls are traditionally served in chicken soup and are a staple food on the Jewish holiday of Passover, though they are not eaten during Passover by those who observe a prohibition on soaking matzah products.
Manischewitz is a brand of kosher products founded in 1888 Cincinnati, Ohio, and best known for its matzo and kosher wine. It became a public corporation in 1923 but remained under family control until January 1991, when it was bought out by a private equity firm. On April 7, 2014, Sankaty Advisors, an arm of the private equity firm Bain Capital, bought the company from a group that included the investment firm Harbinger. It is the world's largest Matzo manufacturer, one of America's largest kosher brands, and the first American exporter of matzo.
Chametz are foods with leavening agents that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to halakha, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover. This law appears several times in the Torah; the punishment for eating chametz on Passover is the divine punishment of kareth.
Matzah brei, sometimes spelled matzah brie, matzoh brei, or matzo brei, is a dish of Ashkenazi Jewish origin made from matzah fried with eggs. It is commonly eaten as a breakfast food during the Jewish holiday of Passover. It can be prepared either sweet or savory.
Detroit-style pizza is a rectangular pan pizza with a thick, crisp, chewy crust. It is traditionally topped to the edges with Wisconsin brick cheese, which caramelizes against the high-sided heavyweight rectangular pan. Detroit-style pizza was originally baked in rectangular steel trays designed for use as automotive drip pans or to hold small industrial parts in factories. It was developed during the mid-20th century in Detroit, Michigan, before spreading to other parts of the United States in the 2010s. It is one of Detroit's iconic local foods.
Sephardic Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Sephardi Jews.
Israeli cuisine comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine has developed.
During the 2008 Passover season, kosher-for-Passover margarine in the United States was short in supply due to several issues, leading to a scramble among kosher consumers to obtain the staple since it features prominently in many Passover recipes.
Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz is an American rabbi and one of North America's foremost experts on kosher food production.
Pizza arrived in the United States in the early 20th century along with waves of Italian immigrants who settled primarily in the large cities of the Northeast. It got a boost both in popularity and regional spread after soldiers stationed in Italy returned from World War II.
Susan Beth Fishbein is an American Orthodox Jewish kosher cookbook author, cooking teacher, and culinary tour leader. Her Kosher By Design series of cookbooks was a runaway best-seller for ArtScroll, with over 500,000 copies sold. In 2008 she was included on the Forward 50 as one of the 50 most influential Jews.
American Jewish cuisine comprises the food, cooking, and dining customs associated with American Jews. It was heavily influenced by the cuisine of Jewish immigrants who came to the United States from Eastern Europe around the turn of the 20th century. It was further developed in unique ways by the immigrants and their descendants, especially in New York City and other large metropolitan areas of the northeastern U.S.
Matzoquiles is a Mexican-Jewish fusion dish somewhat similar to the Ashkenazi Jewish dish matzah brei, the Mexican dish chilaquiles, and the Yemenite Jewish dish fatoot samneh, and is popular during Passover.
Matzo lasagna, also known as matzagna, is a Jewish type of lasagna made by layering sheets of matzo with typically a tomato or a bechamel sauce and various cheeses. It originated from the Italian Jews and is popular in Israel, the United States, and the rest of the diaspora. It is similar to the traditional Sephardic Jewish dish mina; though the fillings differ as mina is typically made with meat or a spinach and feta filling while matzo lasagna is made with sauce and cheese.
Media related to Matzah pizzas at Wikimedia Commons
