This is a variation on a dish prepared by my Grandmother Mommie Soph: Lox, onions & eggs. It was my favorite Sunday morning breakfast, and made with enough butter so you could actually hear your arteries congealing and further… the smell of cooking salmon lasted in the kitchen for a good two days. In the past I have faithfully executed Mommie Soph’s recipe to an aromatic and textural “T”! However, I was looking for a “brunch” dish that would be both lighter in tone and also take advantage of a surplus of matzo in the house. Let me quickly say what is obvious to some, and not so obvious to others… matzo loses its appeal 20 minutes after the Seder Dinner has concluded, thereby creating an immediate surplus. For this dish matzo conveniently provides the necessary foundation to support the dish; and maybe, just maybe… justifies keeping some matzo in the house year ‘round.
I chose to open a bottle of Rosé from Provence. It’s a perfect wine for brunches and light lunches. And more to the point, it’s a way for us to mentally “open the door” to Spring! Other lighter wines that would work: Sancerre, Bordeaux Blanc and Soave Classico.
Château Sainte-Croix Rosé ’14 (Côtes de Provence,France)
There is a saying in France: Le Rosé, c’est en Provence qu’il est né… “Provence is the ‘birthplace’ of Rosé”. Travel throughout the South of France… go to the cafés & bistros and on every table you’ll find bottles of chilled Rosés being happily consumed. Regardless of the dishes being served and regardless of personal wealth, as we pivot to warmer days the wine of Europe is Rosé, and the best Rosés come from Provence. Château Sainte-Croix has been owned by 4 generations of the Pélépol family and they refer to this bottling as “100% Provence” because it represents Provence at its best! The 2014 is a classic blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault and 20% Syrah. The 2014 has a delicate shell pink hue, light floral and fruit aromas lead to an elegant palate laced with an excellent finishing minerality. Silky texture, clean finish, refreshing from first sip to last… Le printemps est arrivé!!
SMOKED SALMON FRITTATA
Ingredients
6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
A goodly amount of ice
3 olives stuffed with blue cheese
6 jumbo eggs
1½ matzo, broken into small pieces
¼ onion, chopped
3oz. smoked salmon, cut into small squares
¼ cup capers, drained & rinsed
1 tbsp water
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
Directions
1. Put gin and vermouth into a glass pitcher, fill with ice, stir vigorously while incanting, “You who know all, thank you for providing us juniper and all the other obscure ingredients responsible for creating this sacred liquid!” Strain into a pre-frozen Martini glass of admirable size. Skewer the olives on one of those tacky cocktail swords, place in glass. Immediately begin consuming. Now you can begin the food prep, and the cooking!
2. In a bowl beat the eggs, add the water & the broken pieces of matzo. Add fresh ground pepper, mix well and set aside.
3. In a small skillet stir fry onions over medium low heat just ‘til softened (and not browned). About 2 minutes. Take off heat and set aside.
4. In a large non-stick skillet coated with a healthy amount of the “butter” spray of your choice, bring heat up to high and add the egg-matzo mixture. Spread the matzo pieces evenly across the eggs, letting the mixture “set” without scrambling. About 3 minutes. Place the onions, salmon & capers evenly on the eggs. Top with fresh chopped dill, cover and take off heat. After a minute or so, slide the fritatta onto a cutting board and slice with a pizza cutter!
n.b. Matzo foreign to you? Use Carr’s water crackers as a perfect substitute. For those who feel that it is necessary, Nova Lox is excellent in place of smoked salmon. I don’t know what Mommie Soph would think about Pam spray, or other“ butter” sprays, as a replacement for a stick of butter. Be that as it may… I use spray. Theoretically this dish is meant to serve 4. But my Grandmother didn’t put too much confidence into theories, and neither do I.