RI native Joan Nathan's 'My Life in Recipes' a perfect way to savor Passover

For more than four decades, Joan Nathan has been writing about and exploring Jewish cuisine, not just the cooking but the culture.

In 1994, her "Jewish Cooking in America" was as much about the people as the dishes. It won a James Beard Award for Best American cookbook and earned other honors. More books followed, some with an international theme. So too, did the awards.

For her 12th book, Nathan, at 81, has written a warm and engaging memoir looking back at her life, and her foods. "My Life In Recipes: Food, Family and Memories" (Knopf Books, $45) covers her childhood in Rhode Island, her marriage and family life in Washington, D.C., and all her international travels as a journalist.

The stories are fascinating, nostalgic and hopeful. They paint the picture of a life well-lived and a career that matters.

But Nathan never forgets about the food. There are 100 recipes from old family favorites to new dishes she makes today.

"This book is my attempt to show how a meaningful life can be led through pursuing, tasting, testing, and sharing recipes."

What makes recipes so important?

Nathan describes food as a love language. Dishes that stir memories may all be different depending on one's background. But what they share is they all remind one of home, well-being and belonging. That is why people around the world keep up with and share traditions around food.

To Nathan, the Passover Seder is one of her favorites. She calls Passover "a holy day where the table becomes the altar."

Passover commemorates the Hebrews' exodus from Egypt, from slavery to freedom. The Seder reading of the Haggadah narrates the story. Everything on the Seder table is symbolic, representing this defining event of Judaism.

Here are two recipes from the Passover chapter. By the way, this book would be an excellent hostess gift should you be invited to a Seder.

Nathan shares how to make Homemade Matzo. The unleavened bread is the basis for many Passover recipes to satisfy dietary laws.

She also shares a recipe for Matzo Brei, fried matzo with eggs. She said her family always debates which is better: sweet or savory. They even had a matzo brei cook-off one year "Each thought they won, but this one, a savory version, is my favorite," she wrote.

Homemade Matzo

2 cups (about 250 grams) whole-wheat, unbleached all-purpose, or emmer or einkorn flour, or matzo cake meal, plus more for work surface

Fifteen minutes before you plan to begin, position an oven rack as high as it goes, turn the oven’s broiler to high, and put a brick or a pizza stone on the bottom rack. Preheat a baking sheet on the top rack.

When you are ready to begin, set a timer for 18 minutes, the amount of time from start to finish for a correct Passover matzo (otherwise, the matzo will theoretically ferment and is therefore not kosher for Passover).

Quickly mix the flour with ¾ cup (178 ml) water. Sprinkle a pastry surface, preferably marble, with additional flour. Then knead the dough with the heel of your hand for about 3 minutes, until it is smooth, adding more water if it’s too dry and more flour if it is too sticky. (Humidity will affect it greatly!)

Using a dough cutter, divide the dough into five equal pieces. (At this point, the more people helping, the better.) Have each of your helpers knead the pieces of dough until they’re elastic. Then use the rolling pin to make the dough very thin and very flat, in a circle, 6 to 7 inches in diameter; sprinkle the dough with flour if it is too sticky.

Roll the dough out one more time, and prick it all over with a fork to prevent any rising. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and cover it with parchment paper. Carefully transfer two pieces of the flattened dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheet; then put the sheet back into the oven, and bake for 3 to 4 minutes, until the matzo is dark brown and crisp. Watch through the oven’s window to make sure the matzo isn’t burning; if it does, lower the oven rack a notch. Repeat with the remaining dough; I hope you will have prepared and finished baking within 18 minutes!

Makes 5 matzot

Matzo Brei

Fried Matzo with Eggs

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large onions, diced

2 matzo squares

4 large eggs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1½ cups chopped fresh mushrooms and/or spinach

1½ cups diced smoked salmon

¼ cup chopped fresh dill

Heat 4 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Submerge the matzot in cold water for 30 seconds, and remove them.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, and add salt and pepper. Break up the matzot into bite-sized pieces and add to the egg mixture with the onions, and the mushrooms and/or spinach.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet if needed. Add the egg mixture, and let it cook until the eggs are just set, 2 to 3 minutes. Right before serving, sprinkle them with the smoked salmon and the dill.

Note: If you prefer it sweet, then try my daughter Merissa’s rendition, with three eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ cup milk, a pinch of kosher salt, and two matzot crushed in little pieces and soaked for a minute or two in cold water.

Serves 4

Recipes from "My Life in Recipes: Food, Family, and Memories," by Joan Nathan. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House, 2024.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Passover recipes featured in Joan Nathan's 'My Life In Recipes' cookbook