Passover without maztah? Certainly not.

I confess that, as we were going to be on our own at Passover I made no advance preparations. However, Number One Daughter organised a virtual Seder from Switzerland so emergency preparations were required.  We couldn’t go shopping and the chance of any supermarket delivery was between nought and nil.

The most important part is the Seder plate, which contains all the items for the service – each loaded with symbolism.  Substitutions had to be made (and may not be approved by the Rabbi!)  Daughter doesn’t eat lamb and granddaughter doesn’t eat meat so their lamb shank-bone is replaced with a toy lamb on their plate.

What to do? Our shank-bone was replaced with a photograph of a lamb no bone of any kind being available.

Then there is the hardboiled egg, which is generally charred – waving it through a candle flame gives the appropriate appearance.

Bitter herbs are next – grated horseradish – luckily I had a piece of a horseradish root left over from some dish or other – enough to be grated for two of us. It can be supplemented with lettuce.

Charoseth was hastily made (not the delicious one I gave a recipe for earlier) but a mixture of a few nuts, some dried fruit and wine.  It would do.

Finally there was parsley – fortunately I had a few sprigs that had emerged with the sunshine.

One key ingredient was missing – matzah. This represents the unleavened bread that had to be cooked before they fled Egypt and before it had time to rise and is key to the service and the whole of Passover. There are many rules governing the making of this but the most important is that it should not rise. From the time the flour and water are mixed the baking must be completed within 18 minutes. There are two main ingredients, flour and water with a sprinkling of salt and a brush of olive oil. 

The result tasted surprisingly good – didn’t quite look the business – will know better for next time! See the footnote.

Matzah

150 gms plain flour

80 ml water (approx.)

½ teas table salt 

a little olive oil

additional flour for dusting

Heat the oven to 245C and place a heavy baking sheet in the oven.  Pour the water a little at a time into the flour stirring together with a fork until it starts to come together in a ball. Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin. Knead quickly for a minute or two until smooth.  

Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and then roll it out from the centre out until very thin. Prick each piece about 20 – 30 times with a fork to stop it rising. Flip and prick again. [1]

Place the rounds onto the hot baking sheet and place into the oven near the top. Bake for about two minutes and turn and bake for a further minute until crisp and brown.  Remove to a rack to cool. Brush lightly with oil and add a little salt. 

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[1] Where I went wrong was to use too fine a fork – the holes are there but they should be more obvious.