No More Matza Balls

During Passover, most everything we eat is from scratch because of the various foods that are not allowed. In addition to not being allowed to eat leavened breads, we are not supposed to eat products made from corn, rice, mustard, or legumes (e.g. beans, peanuts). While it sounds restrictive, there are a lot of creative foods that can be had. This is our first year celebrating in an Allergy-free house. While I would usually eat a lot more eggs and (wheat-based) matza during Passover, that won’t be happening this year. No more matza balls, nor matza lasagna. So time to get even more creative.

I learned that there are 5 different grains from which matza may be made. Most people eat matza made of wheat. You can now find spelt matza, and if you want to spend an exorbitant amount, oat matza, too. Of the five grains, oat is the only one that the Allergy Babe is not allergic to.

Today I attempted to make homemade oat matza. I ground gluten free oats in my food processor to make the oat flour, added salt and water, attempted to roll it out, and baked it for a brief time. The end result was not appealing. In fact, while it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever tasted, it wasn’t too far from the bottom of the list. If I tried again, it might have been better, but its not worth it to me. So at my Seder table I will have regular matza, guarding the Allergy Babe from coming in contact with it, and then vacuuming immediately after the Seder (perhaps even during).

In addition to this attempt, I also am trying to plan my overall Seder menu. While I can’t have matza balls, I can have potato kugel. However, without the addition of eggs or matza meal, I had to figure out if substitutions would work. The following is the recipe I created, which we enjoyed tonight. The title is almost longer than the recipe itself!

Gluten-Free Egg-Free Kosher for Passover Potato Kugel
4-6 russet potatoes
½ medium onion
1 tsp salt
¼ C vegetable oil
1/6 C potato starch
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
6 Tbsp water

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the flaxseed and water in a separate bowl. Let sit for at least 3 minutes.
3. Peel and then grate the potatoes. Grate the onion. Drain any liquid.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the potatoes, onion, salt, oil, starch, and flaxseed mixture. Pour into an oiled/greased 8x8 pan.
5. Bake 50 minutes, then increase oven temperature to 400 degrees for an additional 10 minutes. The top should be a medium golden brown.
6. Slice, serve, and enjoy!