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A place for random thoughts, ideas, and fun! |
I made chicken soup with matzo balls for the first time, yesterday. Well, I made chicken soup for the first time. I’ve made matzo balls many times, during Passover preparations. BUT, I’ve never tried making matzo balls without matzo meal, before. I could NOT find any in the grocery store, and did not feel like tooling all over town to find some. So I bought matzo, and made my own in the food processor. First, though . . . the soup. I looked through recipe after recipe online, trying to find one that sounded like what I wanted. I had nearly everything I needed, except for a chicken and some herbs. Chicken soup 1(4 to 5) pound chicken 2 to 3 quarts water Salt and pepper, to taste 1 parsnip 1 onion, sliced 2 carrots 3 stalks celery 3 parsley sprigs 1 dill sprig Place chicken in water and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Skim fat that rises to top with large spoon. Repeat 2 more times or as needed. Add vegetables and herbs. Cover and let simmer for 3 hours. The recipe worked really well. I added 3 carrots, rather than 2. It might have been a bit sweeter than I wanted, as a result. I’ll try sticking with the recipe, next time. The only problem I had was that the fat did not want to foam for me, which made it tough to skim. As a result, the first servings had a lot of grease on the top. Another recipe said to refrigerate overnight and skim the fat . . . but who’s got time for that when you have someone in the house who needs chicken soup!? And on to the matzo balls. So I may not have processed the matzo quite enough, or somehow I may have gotten the proportions a little off, but they were too sticky while I was forming them, and when I dropped them into the boiling water, some of them fell apart. On the other hand . . . they were the fluffiest matzo balls I’ve ever had! ![]() If you prefer your maztah balls light and fluffy, this is the recipe for you. It’s the seltzer that makes the difference. Originally from the back of a Manichewitz® box, my aunt has been making them this way for years. Matzo balls 4 eggs 1/2 cup seltzer 1 cup matzah meal 1/3 cup melted shortening (margarine) 1 tsp salt Dash white pepper Add seltzer, salt, shortening & pepper to beaten eggs. Mix well. Add matzah meal and stir thoroughly. Place into refrigerator, and let stand 20 minutes. Form into balls & drop into boiling water that had been seasoned with 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook 45 minutes. Drain with slotted spoon and cool. Place in refrigerator or freezer. Heat and add to soup before serving. |