This soup is a fantastic comfort food and would be great for an evening in with your housemates.
Picture this, Passover’s creeping up, and you’ve got no Kosher food in the house, only your grandma’s brisket recipe.
Matzo and Passover are deeply intertwined, with the traditional unleavened flatbread representing the holiday for millennia. Whether it’s because there was no time for the bread to rise before leaving Egypt, or the Hebrews deliberately had it prepared in advance of the exodus, it’s an integral part of Passover.
Matzo Soup
This matzo ball soup is a very simple comfort food dish, made of chicken stock, sliced carrots, fresh parsley or dill, and, of course, matzo balls. This traditional Jewish soup typically appears around Passover and Rosh Hashanah but, like its mainstream counterpart, chicken noodle soup, it truly should be enjoyed year-round.
How to make Matzo Soup
This comforting soup recipe comes together with two main parts, the matzo balls, and the soup. Each part cooks separately and comes together at the end for a warming meal everyone will enjoy!
What are Matzo Balls and how do you make them?
Matzo balls are light and fluffy dumplings made of eggs, vegetable oil, water, matzo meal, and some simple salt and pepper seasoning.
To make your own buoyant dumplings here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Whisk the eggs lightly in a medium bowl. Then whisk in vegetable oil and water.
- In a separate, small bowl, stir together the matzo meal, salt, and pepper.
- Gradually stir the matzo meal mixture into the egg mixture. This should result in a pancake batter-like consistency but will thicken immediately.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 4 hours.
Cook the Matzo Balls
- Bring 3.5 litres of water to boil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- With moistened hands, take 1 tablespoon of the matzo ball mixture and form into balls about 1 inch in diameter.
- Drop the balls into the boiling water so each ball falls into the pot in a different place. Be careful not to over-crowd it!
- Once all of the matzo balls are in the boiling water, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove 1 matzo ball with a slotted spoon. Cut in half to check if they’re done, which you can tell when the inside is neither dark nor wet. If your matzo ball is not done, cook an additional 5-10 minutes.
@miriamezagui Chicken matzoh ball soup #chickensoup #foodtok #jewish #cooking #soup ♬ original sound - Miriam Ezagui
Make the Soup
- While the matzo balls are cooking, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large saucepan.
- Add the carrots, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until tender, about 6 minutes.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the matzo balls to the soup. Stir in the fresh parsley and serve immediately.
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Cover image courtesy of Sarah Stierch via Wikimedia CC 4.0
