Passover Pizza

Food Editor's note:  A special thank-you goes to Norene, one of our favorite contributors to the ShalomBoston.com food page and the author of several wonderful, and practical, cookbooks (see the footer below).  This is a great dish to make for a casual dinner for family or friends or just for snacking.  It tastes like real pizza, even the crust!  It is really easy to make and you can vary it with different toppings.  Because my family is so picky, I just used a jar of plain pizza sauce, no vegetables, and a little extra mozzarella cheese (2 1/2-3 cups) and everyone gobbled it up.  Make a couple of these and freeze the leftovers – they reheat easily.  I froze individual slices and reheated them for my son in the microwave.  Who says you have to give up pizza on Passover!
 
Ingredients
3 cups matzo farfel
2 ½ cups hot water
2 eggs plus 2 whites (or 3 eggs), lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
½ cup matzo meal
11-ounce can Passover tomato mushroom sauce*
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 green & 1 red pepper, chopped
½ pound part-skim Mozzarella cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
 
 
1.  Preheat over to 375 degrees.  Place farfel in a large mixing bowl.  Add hot water and let stand for 5 minutes to soften.  Drain off any excess liquid.  Add eggs, egg whites, salt and pepper; mix well.  Use a 10" x 15" baking pan with 1" sides; spray it with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle with matzo meal.  Spread farfel mixture evenly over bottom of pan.  Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 30 to 25 minutes, until golden and firm.  Remove from oven.

2.  Cool slightly; spread with sauce.  Top with mushrooms and peppers.  Sprinkle cheese evenly over vegetables.  Return pizza to oven and bake until cheese is golden and bubbly, about 12 to 15 minutes.
 
 
Yield: 12 slices.  Reheats well.  Can be frozen.

147 calories per slice, 4.3 g fat (2.2 g saturated), 46 mg cholesterol, 9 g protein, 20 g carbohydrate, 342 mg sodium, 197 mg potassium, <1 g fiber, 6 mg calcium.

* Substitute 1 1/4 cups bottled or homemade tomato sauce or salsa, if desired.
Optional Toppings: sliced tomatoes, olives, zucchini &/or red onion.

Norene Gilletz is a valued contributor to ShalomBoston.com.  This recipe is from her book Healthy Helpings: 800 Fast & Fabulous Recipes for the Kosher (or not) Cook ($19.95 U.S., Woodland Publishing).  Norene lives in Toronto, Canada, and has several other kosher cookbooks to her credit, including one of my personal favorites, The Food Processor Bible (Whitecap Books).  See recipes, food tips, nutritional information, and more on her web site at http://www.gourmania.com.