Nothing warms the soul like a bowl of homemade matzo ball soup.
The dish, while so simple in form, is so complex in meaning.
Traditionally, matzo ball soup kicks off Jewish holiday meals, Passover in particular. As you may know, we eat matzo during Passover to represent the time in the Exodus when the Israelites were fleeing Egypt and had no time for their bread to rise. We sympathize and get a taste of slavery ourselves—literally—by only eating matzo and withholding from bread, wheat, oats, barley, etc. for a week. While the cracker itself is fairly tasteless, our ancestors got creative by inventing a flavorful chicken soup with matzo meal dumplings!
Might I add — they also call this “Jewish penicillin” for a reason. Our grandmothers claim (and we believe) that it cures anything, from a common cold to a gloomy day!
I hope it brings you meaning, whether you make a batch for a casual weeknight dinner or prepare this recipe to kickstart a festive holiday meal ahead. Enjoy.
makes 9-12 matzo balls
2 eggs
2 tablespoons chicken schmaltz
1 Manishewitz matzo ball packet
10 cups packaged chicken broth
1. In a small bowl, mix eggs and oil. Add matzo ball packet contents, and stir with a fork until combined. Chill in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes or up to a couple of hours.
2. Meanwhile, heat chicken broth in a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil.
3. Remove matzo ball batter from fridge and form into balls the size of a golf ball. These will expand when cooking.
4. Carefully drop balls into boiling soup. Cover tightly, reduce heat and simmer, about 20 minutes.
5. Spoon into bowls to serve hot; or store them in the fridge or freezer (with plenty of broth) until ready!
