What's a picnic alternative to Matzah pizza?

April 20, 2024 7:25 AM

I'm helping to organize an event for families at a park where pizza will be served. It'll be during Passover, so it'd be nice to have an alternative for Jewish families. I'm struggling to think of an equivalent we can offer since we won't have access to a stove or even a kitchen. Suggestions?
posted by Toddles to Food & Drink (12 answers total)

I would happily eat cold matzah pizza. If you do just melted cheese + oregano, it will taste pizza-y, but be less soggy.
posted by umwelt at 7:43 AM on April 20

I don't think of pizza as a picnic food, and it never stays warm for long outside, so I think you should feel open to serving the matzah pizza cold.

If you are looking for a purchasable option and have a mix of adults and kids, I think stopping at a jewish deli and getting an array of spreads (one where I used to live had a sun dried tomato spread), cheeses, and other toppings (olives? pickles?) would be worthwhile and then you'd be sure it's kosher for passover.
posted by Narrow Harbor at 7:51 AM on April 20 [4 favorites]

Tacos? Aren't corn tortillas kosher for Passover at least Ashkenazically?

Incidentally Matzah Pizza is my favorite unleavened Inca ruin.
posted by less-of-course at 8:15 AM on April 20 [9 favorites]

I'm going to try my hand at this Matzah and Spinach Pie this week. Maybe something similar would work?
posted by gnutron at 8:17 AM on April 20 [1 favorite]

You can make polenta with lots of olive oil, add pizza toppings to it, let it set up and use it as a base for sauce and cheese, or use the sauce as a condiment. I avoid dairy and polenta satisfies my pizza cravings pretty well.
posted by theora55 at 9:25 AM on April 20

I would try bruschetta
posted by knile at 9:53 AM on April 20

Kosher meatballs with pizza sauce, kosher charcuterie tray with meats, cheeses, olives, matzah, etc.
posted by erst at 10:12 AM on April 20

kosher charcuterie tray with meats, cheeses
I don't think this is a thing that exists.

Have some fresh fruit available for anyone who wants it, and trust that people who have Passover food restrictions have probably already made their own arrangements for not fainting from hunger during the event.
posted by Daily Alice at 12:01 PM on April 20 [10 favorites]

You don’t have to make it stick out as extra Passover-ish.

-A salad bar set up with optional beans in a separate dish. (Some people have beans on Passover but others won’t so it’s best to put them separate)

-Tuna salad or whitefish salad

-Fruit or dried fruit and varied cheeses

-Nuts

-Small yogurt cups

-Olives and pickles

But yeah, Daily Alice is right, don’t combine meat and cheese on the same platter.
posted by donut_princess at 1:43 PM on April 20 [4 favorites]

Potato salad and egg salad are classic picnic foods, right?

If there are any Jewish delis around they might have actual meal-type food for Passover, not just spreads and so forth.

Does this have to be a pizza event, or could the whole thing just be the kind of buffet donut_princess described, with both bread and matzah and lots of kosher things to choose from?
posted by trig at 3:21 PM on April 20

I had delicious "cold pizza dip" at a restaurant and claims to replicate it. You could have different things to dip in it. If cheese is OK, which I don't know.
posted by sepviva at 6:42 PM on April 20

I second either going with the matzoh pizzas anyway or having matzoh and some things to choose from from a kosher source, if not a kosher deli at least the kosher for Passover shelf in your grocery store.

If the Jewish people follow the tradition of not eating kitnyot, then things like corn or polenta are not kosher for Passover and even ordinary foods like mayonnaise may contain this that aren't permitted like soybean oil or mustard.
posted by carrioncomfort at 4:23 AM on April 21 [2 favorites]