Matzo brei version 2.0

Balkan style matzo brei with spinach and Cascaval cheese

Disclosure: the writer was a guest of Landver Coffee in Givataim.

Here in Israel during the week of Passover holiday, practically no bread is sold or any similar baked goods. The people of Israel have to do with matzo, a form of unleavened bread made only of wheat flour and water.  Now in my family we are not religious and we stack our freezer with bread to last us the whole week, but we still eat the obligatory matzo. The best way in my opinion to eat them is in the form of matzo brei; when you take the matzoth soak them in either water or milk and then crumble them into beaten eggs and fry the mixture with either butter or olive oil or margarine or any type of fat that'll make you happy.  Every ethnic group has a version of the dish but the basic ingredients are the same.

This week I've ate a completely new and tasty version of the traditional matzo brei. It was an upgraded version which I like to call "matzo brei version 2.0."  This new and improved version of the traditional dish is a part of a Passover menu that will be served in the Café Landver chain of coffee shops.  Landver is an old company of coffee vendors here in Israel; I like their coffee shops because they serve unsophisticated but good food and excellent coffee so I was really pleased to be invited to the menu launch in the newly opened Café Landver branch in the city of Givataim, a few minutes' drive from Tel-Aviv.

Landver Cafe in Givataim

The café is a neighborly venue; its interior décor in brown and yellow retro style gives it a cozy and inviting atmosphere. The food was excellent: from the breakfast menu of omelets with mushroom and goat cheese or the rustic pasta pesto with chicken and broccoli. The highlight though was the different types of matzo brei served in the new Passover menu.  There were two savory kinds; the Balkan with spinach and caşcaval cheese and the Greeck one with eggplants and goat cheese both really delicious. The best one in my opinion was the dessert dish of matzo brei with apples and cinnamon with whipped cream on the side, very decadent!

Eggplant roles Greek style matzo brei 

   

Viennese style dessert with matzo and apples

So if you're here for the holiday visiting or traveling try one of  the Landver Café branches for a delicious leisurely branch and don't forget to order matzo brei, the price range in between 27 to 29 NIS (about 7 US dollars) per dish.

Happy Passover!