S8 Ep16: Beyond the Seder Plate— Springing into Season with Matzo Recipes with Ashley Albert and Jeremy Nelson
“I love matzo! I eat matzah year-round as a snack.” —Ashley Albert
“The goal is to do something out of the box that people wouldn't normally do to give matzo a rebrand.” —Jeremy Nelson
Passover is a joyous springtime holiday that celebrates freedom and renewal. At the heart of the Passover seder meal and ritual is matzo, an unleavened flatbread that represents the hurried departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt. Made simply of flour and water, matzo takes center stage during the week-long celebration as a symbol of the oppression the Jews endured.
However, modern chefs and food entrepreneurs are putting a fresh spin on matzo, rebranding it as a versatile ingredient for light and healthful spring recipes. Companies like The Matzo Project are keeping matzo traditions alive while introducing new ways for people to celebrate Passover with healthful, innovative recipes.
The Matzo Project Founder, Ashley Alberts returns to the Essential Ingredients Kitchen along with Floura’s Chief Product Officer, Jeremy Nelson to share new recipes and partnerships that are continuing to push the boundaries of what's possible with Matzo.
Tune in as Justine, Ashley, and Jeremy share the beginnings of The Matzo Project, Jeremy’s journey as a plant-based chef, a recipe for Mexican Matzo Ball soup from Chef Fany Gerson, exciting new potential products from Ashley and Jeremy’s collaboration, and more.
Connect with Ashley:
Ashley Albert is an accomplished American voice actress, singer, and entrepreneur, born in 1973 in Miami Shores, Florida. With a multifaceted career spanning various industries, Ashley has left an indelible mark on each endeavor she undertakes.
However, Ashley's entrepreneurial journey took an unexpected turn when she revisited a long-dormant idea from her past. In collaboration with her old friend Kevin Rodriguez, Ashley resurrected her concept of artisanal matzo, inspired by a childhood encounter with her neighbor's pizza shop. What began as a nostalgic reminiscence evolved into "The Matzo Project," a thriving enterprise that revolutionized the traditional Jewish cracker.
With unwavering determination and a commitment to quality, Ashley and Kevin embarked on a journey to redefine matzo, infusing it with innovation and culinary excellence. Their meticulous attention to detail, coupled with a bold and unconventional approach to branding, propelled The Matzo Project to unprecedented success. From humble beginnings in a small bakery in Coney Island to securing coveted placements in prestigious establishments like Zingerman's and earning recognition from cultural icons like Oprah Winfrey, The Matzo Project has become a testament to Ashley's entrepreneurial vision and Kevin's dedication.
While Kevin oversees the day-to-day operations of The Matzo Project, Ashley remains actively involved, infusing her unique perspective and creative flair into every aspect of the business. As she reflects on the remarkable journey they've embarked upon, Ashley's pride in their accomplishments is palpable, serving as a testament to the power of perseverance, creativity, and the enduring bond of friendship.
Connect with Matzo Project:
Connect with Jeremy:
Make it staJeremy Nelson is a Michelin-starred chef from San Francisco and the Chief Product Officer at Floura. He has over 15 years of experience in the culinary industry with a background in plant-based and health-supportive cooking. At Floura, he applies his culinary expertise to develop delicious, nutritious products using upcycled fruits and vegetables. Jeremy is passionate about connecting with others through food and creating options that are good for both humans and the planet. In his role, he oversees product developent and ensures Floura's recipes deliver on taste, nutrition, and sustainability.
Episode Highlights:
00:59 Beginnings: The Matzo Project
04:17 Meet Chef Jeremy
06:12 Matzo and Ricotta Dumpling Recipe
07:45 Mexican Matzo Ball Soup Recipe
08:38 Matzo All Year Round
Resources:
Podcast
Tweets:
It’s about to get crunchy on this week’s episode as @jreichman interviews Ashley Alberts, The Matzo Project Co-Founder and Plant-Based Michelin Chef Jeremy Nelson. Tune in as they reimagine Passover classics and push Matzo to new heights! #podcast #entrepreneurship #socialgood #inspiration #impactmatters #NextGenChef #EssentialIngredients #Season8 #TheMatzoProject #PassoverDishes #Tradition #Innovaation #springRecipes #Food
Inspirational Quotes:
06:56 “In general, Passover foods are very heavy even though it's a ritual of spring.” —Ashley Albert
07:13 “The goal is to do something out of the box that people wouldn't normally do to give matzo a rebrand.” —Jeremy Nelson
09:12 “I love matzo! I eat matzah year-round as a snack.” —Ashley Albert
10:00 “Every year we bring back some of the old, so there's always something old and something new.” —Justine Reichman
Transcriptions:
Justine Reichman: Welcome to Essential Ingredients. I'm your host, Justine Reichman. And with me today is Ashley Albert and Jeremy Nelson. Thank you guys for joining me.
Ashley Albert: Thanks for having us.
Jeremy Nelson: Thanks for having me.
Justine Reichman: So happy to have you guys here. Today, we're talking about Passover and the food that connects with Passover, the tradition, and specifically matzah and all the different things we can do with matzah. Ashley and I were having conversations that we use matzah for like the whole week. What other recipes can we make and encourage other people to do? Before we get going, Ashley, would you mind introducing yourself?
Ashley Albert: Goodness. Okay. Well, I am the Co-Founder of The Matzo Project, which is an artisanal matzah company. We make all of our stuff in Brooklyn. It's simple, clean ingredients, dairy free vegan all the good stuff, how we make soup, bulimic flats and crackers. And that's what I do.
Justine Reichman: And what inspired you?
Ashley Albert: I had a friend I lived with in New York, and I had a next door neighbor whose family was getting rid of a pizza place and they had a pizza oven. And I said, oh, you should keep it, they live on city Island, and make the city Island matzah factory. And she did not take me up on that idea. One year later, I was out with a summer camp friend of mine, Kevin Rodriguez, and he wanted to get into food. He didn't know what he wanted to do, but he wanted to do something. He said he wanted to get into gelato. He said he found a place. He was going to go apprentice in Italy, and he was going to become a gelato maker. And I was like, Kev, I've never had a gelato emergency. I'm gonna get gelato but couldn't find it. This is not a problem. And he was like, oh, I really think this is the thing. So I said, okay, we're gonna go to every gelato place that you can think of in the city. And at the end of the day, if you can tell me what you would do differently, then I will help guide you towards gelato success. And at the end of that, we walked around a rainy February afternoon. I don't think we saw a single person all day eating gelato. One scoop of gelato. Maybe someone came in for coffee, it was just tumbleweeds. And at the end of the day, it was like, I can't start to do a lot. But I was like, no, it's a terrible idea. And then just in that moment, I don't know why I remembered this idea that I had 20 years ago for that next door neighbor. I was like, you know what? You start an artisanal matzah company. And he was like, yes, I love it. I'm doing it. And he went home and started rolling out matzah, and he would drop off little brown bags that were numbered with different oils, different salts and different flowers. And we hit on the recipe. And then he was like, great. Now what? I was like, oh, gosh. He knew it was a good idea, but he didn't quite know what to do with that idea. And so then, I really was just like, send me a box. Goodbye. And now, here I am.
Justine Reichman: Yeah. Thanks for sharing that. Very funny. I really liked the journey, especially now. But I'm curious, what's the matzah emergency?
Ashley Albert: We're having one right now. We're like, what do you do with matzah? We have lots of chips that are made like a cinnamon sugar flavor that's on JetBlue. It's just a snack.
Justine Reichman: I was so proud to say that this is my friend.
Ashley Albert: We made little matzah bites for that one, and it's like the clown car of snacks. You keep eating them, and you can't believe that there's still more in the bag. You just keep coming back. You're like, I can't believe they're still things in here.
Justine Reichman: They're really good. I like the Everything Matzo.
Ashley Albert: That's our bestseller.
Justine Reichman: Jeremy, you're a chef. I know that you focused a lot on plant based food in the past. And now, you have new projects. Would you tell everybody a little bit about yourself?
Jeremy Nelson: My name is Jeremy Nelson. I'm a chef. And right now, I'm doing a food startup. I'm the Chief Product Officer of Gold Flora. And we're focusing on taking a lot of the trimmed fruits and vegetables out of our waste stream, and making high nutrient value ingredients with them.
Justine Reichman: And if you want to learn more about that, we have a whole nother episode on that. But in the meantime, we're gonna focus on Matzo.
Jeremy Nelson: I didn't want to make it too much about me.
Ashley Albert: Read stuff on The Matzo.
Jeremy Nelson: Oh, no, definitely. Yeah, that's a great idea.
Justine Reichman: So can you talk a little bit about your background though? Because the reason that we really wanted to be able to collaborate is because, first of all, you're a great chef. Second is you have a history with doing really better for you and plant based foods. And so we thought of this holiday when we have to eat what many of us refer to as cardboard. But now, because we have The Matzo Project, we are relieved of that. Slightly relieved, and we wanted to collaborate and come up with some different recipes. So I'd love for you to just share a little bit about that journey for you so that when we do collaborate, people understand the connection.
Jeremy Nelson: I do have a background in plant based and also fine dining. I've worked at quite a few Michelin Star restaurants, and my style is kind of fusing together all these experiences that I've had in the past. But definitely an emphasis on vegetables and wild foods in particular.
Justine Reichman: The connection between your background and what we're doing for you is very nice for us to be able to share with people some of the ideas we have as a way to expand what we use matzah for. So what are we making today?
Jeremy Nelson: Today, we're making a Matzo and ricotta dumpling. So this is a ricotta gnocchi recipe that I've made a lot in the past. It's very delicious. We're really just subbing the flour for The Matzo Project matzah. It's the matzah ball mix that we're putting in there, and it's going to be really good with some English peas, and a little bit of Fiscalini cheddar, which is a local cheese maker in the Central Valley. It's really amazing. Some pea shoots and keep it pretty simple. Yeah.
Ashley Albert: Funny because you don't think about Passover, in general. Passover foods are very heavy. Even though it's sort of a ritual of spring, the food itself feels modern to make it focused on local, fresh, spring ingredients. I love that idea. that
Jeremy Nelson: That was kind of the goal, to do something out of the box that people wouldn't normally do to give matzah kind of a rebrand.
Ashley Albert: We're working on it.
Justine Reichman: It's the rebrand. For a week, people are not eating leavened bread. Or they just want to be able to incorporate it because they're celebrating it, and it's tradition. I think that's a great way to expand the repertoire in the kitchen. And then Ashley, you had talked about a friend of yours that's a chef that had a great recipe. Can you talk to me a little bit about that?
Ashley Albert: Brooklyn girl. She owns dough donuts. She has a law in New York, Kenya, which is a political company. And she has a new donut place that I can't remember the name of right now, but is really good. And she had this recipe, I think it was in the New York Times originally, and it's a Mexican matzah ball. She puts cayenne pepper in it, and a little spice in the way that is unexpected. And she's an incredible chef. We're going to try out her recipe too.
Justine Reichman: How many nights in Passover? It's a week.
Jeremy Nelson: Everyone's looking at me.
Ashley Albert: I don't eat matzah. I mean, I eat bread. I like to do that. We had a Passover dinner and my mom came and brought her like, she was just bringing like Jewish food. And it was like, Mom. I'm really more of a heritage Jew. I only go to Passover, to people's houses, and I love matzah. But I eat matzah year round as a snack, not really so much as I like ritualistic.
Justine Reichman: I'm with you. I enjoy hosting the holidays going to houses as you both know. Last year, it's our anniversary now.
Ashley Albert: First week, we were here in San Francisco, in the bay.
Justine Reichman: I love to make all these different foods. And the truth is traditionally, I don't even eat gluten. I don't eat eggs. I don't eat any of these things, but I enjoy making it for everyone else because it's part of the tradition of history. Not in a religious way, but more of a tradition than it is religious for me. So I love to share them because every year, I create new recipes. And every year, we bring back some of the old. So there's always something old and something new. So should we get cooking in the kitchen?
Ashley Albert: Let's do it.
