Nanuet Hebrew Center’s best brei

Zachary Spiegel, left, with Esther Spiegel, who is holding the winning trophy; Joseph Schragenheim; and Mitch Spiegel, who is Zachary’s father, Joey’s uncle, and Esther’s son.

Last month, the Nanuet Hebrew Center men’s club multitasked. If ran a matzah brei cook-off competition the same morning as offered the World Wide Wrap, an international Federation of Jewish Men’s Club program that showcases the mitzvah of wearing tefillin. The busy morning also included a fundraiser with a tricky tray raffle, vendors, and a football pool trophy award ceremony; the funds are to replace the shul’s sukkah, which was destroyed in a wind storm last Sukkot.

Participants in the Nanuet Hebrew Center’s World Wide Wrap.

There were about 40 people at the cook-off, watching two teams vie for the title. Esther Spiegel of Nanuet was on one team, and her grandsons, Zachary Spiegel of West Nyack and Joseph Schragenheim of Dumont, were on the other. The audience

Esther’s gluten free matzah brei

1-pound box of gluten free matzah
7 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 medium Vidalia onion, diced
1 package of garlic basil cheese, cut up
4 ounces of everything bagel spice (if you eat kitniyot on Passover: sesame seeds, poppy seeds; if you do not: garlic and onion powder)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of olive oil

(note- the recipe also calls for 2 ounces of kosher bacon bits — save that to add to the recipe after Passover)

Run warm water over each sheet of matzah. Crumble matzahs into large bowl. Beat eggs and milk together and pour over matzah crumbles. Let soak. Heat large frying pan. Add onions and olive oil, cook until onions are translucent. Add matzah, egg, and milk mixture. While moving with spatula, add the spices, salt to taste, and cheese. Continue cooking until desired firmness.

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