LOKSHEN

Lokshen can be bought but the best are homemade made with love. These are my grandmothers traditional Passover Egg Lokshen “Noodles” for her Gildern Yoich (Chicken Soup) Lokshen evokes all sorts of childhood memories. While my grandmother never kept Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) she did continue with a lot of traditions from her childhood in Russia and continued as an adult in England. You may ask why would keep to some of the rules? The simple answer is tradition.

Since flour based noodles are not accepted during the Passover you can make thin crepe-like pancakes out of eggs. Allow to cool and then roll them up and cut into fine strips, forming kosher lokshen this is accepted during Passover. These noodles which taste marvellous in a chicken soup. The finer they are cut the better they taste.

My grandaunt would also add potato starch which takes even more love to make. In Truth I have learnt from all the extended family and gone my own way.

The other option is everyday Lokshen this is to make a pasta with matzo meal ground to a fine flour or you can buy matzo flour. The reason why this Matzo Lokshen cant be eaten over Passover is it would not be unleavened.

egg Lokshen Ingredients:

• 6 eggs

• ½ cup water

• kosher salt

• white pepper

• 2-3 tablespoons oil

Directions for egg Lokshen:

1. Beat the eggs and salt and pepper. Slowly add the water and keep beating until fluffy.

2. Heat oil in a frying pan to lightly cover the the pan

3. Pour in just enough of the mixture to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook 1-2 minutes, then gently flip and cook 1 minute more.

4. Tip out of the pan and allow to cool or until needed

5. lightly roll and cut into thin strips

Matzo Lokshen Ingredients:

• 3 eggs

• 2 cups Matzo flour

• 1/2 spoon kosher salt

• white pepper

Equipment:

• Mixing bowl

• Fork or dough whisk

• Pasta machine

• Baking sheet

• Clean dishtowel or hanging rack

Directions for Matzo Lokshen:

• Combine the Matzo Flour and Kosher Salt, whisk together in a medium mixing bowl.

• Empty contents onto worktop, create a deep well in the middle of the flour and crack the eggs into this well. slowly combine together combine. Begin gradually pulling in flour from the bottom. Don't rush this step. At first, the eggs will start to look like a slurry. Once enough flour has been added, it will start forming a very soft dough.

• Knead the Pasta Doug. Begin gently folding the dough on itself, flattening, and folding again. It will be extremely soft at first, then gradually start to firm up. Once it's firm enough to knead, begin kneading the dough. Incorporate more flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to you or the counter. Cut into dough, if you see lots of air bubbles, keep kneading. The dough is kneaded when it forms a smooth elastic ball and has very few air bubbles when cut.

• Rap the ball of dough in clingfilm, Rest for at least 30 minutes.Note: At this point, the pasta dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Let it come back to room temperature before rolling.

• Use a pasta rolling machine to make thin Lokshen, changing the settings on your roller to roll the pasta thinner and thinner. Roll the pasta two or three times at each setting, and don't skip settings (the pasta tends to snag and warp if you do). If the pasta gets too long to be manageable, lay it on a cutting board and slice it in half. Roll the pasta as thin as you like to go for a linguine size cutter.

• Hang the Lokshen to dry

• When ready to use salt a pan of boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 min add to chicken soup. Enjoy.

Today you can buy potato starch but you can make your own at home. Grate the potato, using the smallest set of holes on the grater into a bowl then place into the cheesecloth. twist the cheesecloth over a bowl and extract the water, empty the potato into a bowl and swill round with 300ml of water and repeat. Let the contents separate and then gently pour the water off leaving you wet potato starch. Allow to dry and store in jar with a few grains of rice. Like I said a lot of love.