Of course my family and I love matza brei, that wonderful cross between an omelette and French toast, but I was looking for something a little different and came across this recipe a few years ago. They are light and have a sweetness from the raisins soaked in sweet wine, but are not too sweet since I also add the juice of a lemon. They don’t require anything more then a bit of cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar on top.Matthew can sit down and devour a dozen of these in a sitting, but most people will eat half of that amount. Thankfully, Matthew takes after his father and is tall and very slim so Frances and I get to cook to our hearts content without worrying about making our men fat!

Gremshelish – Dutch Matzah Fritters adapted from The Jewish Holiday Cookbook by Gloria Kaufer Greene

Yield: About 30 2.5-inch fritters; 5-6 servings

Ingredients

4.5 standard-size square matzot

3 large eggs, separated

3/4 cups finely chopped walnuts or almonds

1 cup light or dark raisins, just covered in gucky sweet Kosher wine or dessert wine for at least four hours or overnight

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

juice of 1/2 a lemon plus more to spary over the finished pancake

Grated zest of one lemon

3 Tablespoon matzah cake meal

Pinch of Kosher Salt

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1/2 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

More oil for frying

Cinnamon sugar or confectioners sugar for dusting as a garnish

Directions

1. In a medium sized bowl, beak up the matzot into small pieces and cover them with cold water. Let them soak for about 15 minutes or until very soft. Drain the matzot well and using your hands, squeeze out all excess water.
2. Mash the matzot with a fork until they are completely crushed. Then mix in the egg yolks, nuts, raisins, oil, cinnamon, lemon juice, salt, zest and cake meal. 
3.  In a separate bowl (I use my standing mixer or you could use a hand mixer), beat the egg whites until foamy. Then add either the vinegar OR the cream of tartar and continue whipping on high until stiff peaks have formed. You know it is ready when you lift the beater and the egg whited don’t fall off.
4. take a 1/4 cup of the whites and stir them through the matzah mixture to lighten the batter and then carefully fold through the remaining egg whites. 
5. In a large skillet (I like cast iron, but use what you have), heat oil that is about 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep on medium high heat.
6. Drop generous tablespoonfuls of the batter into the oil. I used a cookie scoop which made it very easy and kept the size pretty even. Fry the fritters until they are borwn on both sides, turning them once. You can keep the fritters warm in the oven on a cookie sheet while you continue making the remaining fritters. While they are on the cookie sheet or just before serving, squeeze a little additional lemon juice on top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or sift confectioners sugar over the top.