Description
At the start of the pandemic, when everything was uncertain, I brought my two kids to live with my eima. She made matzah ball soup at the end of each chaotic week. It grounded us all and gave everyone something to look forward to. This matzah ball soup is a huge comfort, and filled with love.
Yield: 20 matzah balls, 10 bowls of soup
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 2 hours
Ingredients
Scale
For the Chicken Soup:
4 chicken thighs with bones and skin
2 parsnips, peeled and whole
1 sweet potato, peeled and whole
2 stalks of celery
1 onion, peeled and whole
10 cups water
1–2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 fresh dill sprigs
For the Matzah Balls:
4 tablespoons butter (or margarine)
¼ cup chicken soup broth
4 eggs
1 cup matzah meal
1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Chicken Soup:
- Combine chicken, vegetables, and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for one hour.
- Add salt and sugar. Stir to blend and continue to cook for 15-30 minutes, until the chicken is tender.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Remove from heat. Add dill. Cover and let sit to allow flavors to meld.
Matzah Balls:
- While soup boils, melt butter (or margarine) in a medium sized microwavable bowl.
- Add the broth and allow to cool slightly.
- Using a fork, beat the eggs into the butter-broth mix.
- Pour in the matzah meal and salt and stir with a fork to incorporate. Batter will be thick and grainy.
- Add more matzah meal if it appears thin. Refrigerate uncovered for one hour or more.
Assembly:
- Remove chicken, vegetables, and dill from the soup pot. Bring soup back to a boil.
- Pinch golf ball sized amounts of matzo ball mixture and roll into balls – there should be enough to make 20. If you prefer larger matzah balls, double the size to make 10.
- Drop the matzah balls into the boiling soup.
- Return to a boil. Cover and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for one hour until the matzah balls are fluffy.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.