Following my blog yesterday about my heritage, I thought it was only fitting for me to write about my first attempt at making Matzo Ball Soup yesterday. Normally, I love to make recipes that are fast and easy and super yummy. Well, let me warn you right now. This is not one of those fast and easy varietals. This is a soup recipe that is awesome and long and time consuming and although I loved it, will probably not see the light of day again.



However, that being said, yesterday was the perfect rainy day for me to spend the day in the kitchen. And this is my story....

First of all, let's tackle the age old debate as to whether or not the correct spelling is Matzo or Matzah. From what I have read, Matzo is the most common food spelling and Matzah is the most common religious spelling. However, Matzo Ball Soup is commonly a Passover food, which is a religious holiday, so that kind of leads us back around in a circle to the correct spelling. For the sake of this blog, I will be using Matzo, since it is a food blog after all.

In case you were wondering about the story behind Matzo Ball Soup  it is thick with history. According to Label's Table,"When Moses led the Jews from the oppression of Egypt, the Jewish people had no time to pack food or other provisions. Instead of the bread they were used to, all the Jewish people had to eat was an unleavened mixture of flour and water that turned flat when left out in the sun to bake. Out of respect for the trials of their ancestors, contemporary Jewish people forgo all leavened forms of bread during Passover. The only bread allowed is matzo—the same unleavened flour and water bread eaten by the fleeing Jews of the Old Testament."

Now, I got this recipe from BHG and this is not a completely traditional recipe as this one called for caramelized onions, but to be honest I liked the added flavor to the matzo balls. I also think the extra time and effort it took to make homemade chicken stock was totally worth it, so I would highly recommend going all out if you are going to make this recipe. In the wise words of Nike,"Just Do It!" Yes, that is a shoe company quote in a food blog. Don't judge!!

**My recipe notes are in blue.**

Ingredient Checklist

• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• ¼ cup club soda
• 1 cup matzo meal I couldn't find matzo meal and so I took matzo crackers and ground them up in the Vitamix and that worked great. Actually gave my matzo balls an earthier and nuttier flavor. I really liked it. 

 

 

 

• ½ cup chopped Caramelized Onions These are super easy to make from scratch. I sliced two sweet onions and cooked for 30 min in a 1/4 cup canola oil and some salt until golden brown.

• 1 teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 3 pound whole chicken I still hate putting my hand in a chickens ass. Just saying.
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 small carrots, chopped
• 1 medium turnip, peeled and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ cup snipped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh thyme
• 12 black peppercorns
• 1 – 2 tablespoon salt
• Thinly sliced green onions

                                                                        

                          

                                                                                                                                          

Mix the matzo balls. Whisk together the eggs and melted butter in a large bowl. Whisk in the club soda and then whisk in the matzo meal, Caramelized Onions, salt, and pepper. In case you were wondering, the club soda makes for fluffier matzo balls. My matzo balls were fairly fluffy and that is even with my home ground matzo meal so I am a believer. As the mixture thickens, tap off excess batter from the whisk and switch to a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to finish mixing into a dough. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.




                                                                                                                                          
Make the soup. Meanwhile, remove the gizzard and liver from the chicken and reserve for another use. Wash the chicken under cold water and cut into eight pieces. The beautiful thing about this recipe is it does not matter how ugly you butcher your chicken as you are going to shred it later so just hack the hell out of it. Place the chicken in a stockpot large enough to comfortably hold it; add the onion, celery, carrots, turnips, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns, and salt.

Pour in water to cover the chicken. Bring to a simmer over high heat, lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer the soup for 1 1/2 hours.

                                                                                                                                          

Cook the matzo balls. About an hour before serving the soup, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling. Spoon two or three ladles of soup into the pot of water for added flavor. Shape the matzo dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, rolling them between your palms (moisten your hands with a touch of water first). Add the matzo balls to the boiling water, cover the pot, and simmer until cooked, about 30 to 40 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the matzo balls to a paper towel-lined plate to drain; keep warm.

Finish the soup. Remove bay leaf; discard. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and allow to cool. Pull or cut the chicken from the bones and pull the meat into bite-size pieces, shredding with your hands; set aside.

 

 

 

 

 Return the chicken and matzo balls to the soup. Garnish the soup with green onions and cracked black pepper.

This was honestly a really great recipe and I highly recommend it. It is truly one of the world's best comfort foods and it was great with a crisp glass of Chardonnay. I also had the pleasure of introducing my friend Michelle to her first and last bowl of Matzo Ball Soup (well at least her last bowl made by me after slaving over the stove all day) and it was a hit! So cheers to my people!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Grandfather before WWII