YES, its Still Pesach, but even if it weren’t, treating matzo like Sardinian carta di musica is kinda delicious

Weirdly, I’m introducing my Pesach rosemary matzo by talking about Christmas. Christmas, you see, was where I fell in love with Carta di Musica, the thin crisp paper-like bread of Sardinia.

It was a number of years ago and I was spending Christmas with my friend, Antonietta. We–hubs and I–were arriving Christmas Eve, leaving the day after Boxing Day. There were no trains these days–Christmas in the UK isn’t just one day, its a string of days with so many businesses and transportations shut down that we were invited to settle in with Antonietta and her family, eat and drink, watch movies and open prezzies. While not EVERTHING closes the way it once did–you couldn’t even get a pint of milk for tea for days after the 25th–still, offices shut down, little business is done, and mostly you hang out. If you have family you might spend time with them, if you are a Christmas “orphan” that is, no family, you hang with friends. (These days I hang with my dogs, but then I celebrate each and every festival with them; they are very festive pooches).

Scrolling back the years, though, we spent Christmas with Antonietta who may have lived in the UK for decades but so Italian you think about bringing your passport when you go visit. In true Italian Christmas style her offerings were lavish: piles of beautiful cured meats, bowls of olives, plates of seafood, vegetable tarts, a turkey scented with truffle. She made risotto. There were cheeses. And in British style we ate, and then noshed on leftovers for the next few days. And each time we thought about a nosh, Antonietta said: “Wait! Lets have some carta di musica to go with it!”

She would take several rounds of the paper-thin flatbreads that look much like the parchment upon which music is traditionally written, pop them individually into a very hot oven to toast golden for a few minutes then drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with fresh rosemary then coarse salt. When all the sheets were done she piled them onto a plate and we ate them with whatever was left from Christmas dinner. At the end of our several day visit there was still leftover turkey, prosciutto, vegetable tarts, leftover everything in fact. Except carta di musica; there wasn’t a sheet left.

I was thinking of this the past week of Pesach, the holiday when Jews are commanded to forgo leavened bread and eat only unleavened, ie matzo. Many get tired of matzo after a few days; even those who normally love matzo reach the very end of their tolerance, let alone love. The Jews I know who “keep Pesach” that is, eat no levened bread but only matzo, among other things, usually need to take a little break when the holiday is over. For many, its awhile before matzo starts looking appealing again. But for myself? I just keep looking for new ways to eat matzo.

And today, it still being Pesach albeit the last stretch, I was thinking of tasty things to do with matzo until bread was back on the scene. Suddenly I remembered that Christmas with Antonietta and a lightbulb went off in my head–why not toast matzo, drizzle it with olive oil, sprinkle it with salt and rosemary, just like with carta di musica!

Crisp Toasted Matzo with Rosemary, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt.
Per person
Serve with a glass of wine and a bowl of olives.

1 sheet of matzo
About 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
About 2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
Several large pinches coarse or flaked sea salt

Break the matzo up into cracker sized pieces, 6 to 8 per sheet.
Place on a baking sheet under a hot broiler and lightly toast until golden light brown, first on one side, then on the second.
Immediately transfer the toasted matzo to a plate, drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the rosemary and salt, then serve.