Matzo Ball Soup

Who doesn’t love Matzo ball soup? My kids love their Grandma’s soup – They get so excited when a holiday rolls around and she makes it for them. I don’t know what my mother puts in it but they inhale it and never complain about the carrots or celery.

I had a box of Matzo left over from the last holidays (does it ever expire?) so I decided to make the Matzo balls from scratch. For some reason the ones from the box are unpredictable, sometimes light and fluffy, sometimes sink to the bottom of the bowl. I did a little research and found that a lot of recipes called for seltzer in the mix. Hmmm, maybe that is my mother’s secret….

Although I am attempting the matzo balls from scratch I am taking a shortcut on the chicken stock. I definitely don’t have time to boil a chicken with three kids running around here.

I doubt it is going to be anywhere close to the magical concoction that Grandma makes but here goes…. And sorry Mom, but I also left out the dill!

Of course one of these days I need for my mother to teach me the secret – sometime in the future I will have the time to make it like Grandma does.

Matzo Ball Soup (hectic mom version)

Ingredients:

1 cup Matzo meal(Equals 3 large crackers ground in a food processor – I left some large pieces for texture)

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp celery salt (obscure salt I had in my spice drawer that I can finally use!)

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

4 large eggs, beaten

1 Tbsp cold seltzer water

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

32 oz. Chicken Stock

1 carrot, grated

Directions:

Mix together all dry ingredients (matzo meal, baking powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder).  In another bowl, whisk the eggs and add in the seltzer and oil. Gradually fold in the dry matzo mixture; gently blend with a fork, until just combined. Place mixture into refrigerator and let set for 30 minutes.

Bring 6 qts water to boil about 5 minutes before removing matzo meal from refrigerator. When water has boiled reduce heat to a simmer.

Remove mixture from refrigerator and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and start forming the matzo balls and line them up on sheet. Use wet hands and gently form balls that are approximately 1” in diameter. They will more than double in size so do not make larger than 1”.

Gently place matzo balls in simmering water. Recipe yields about 15 matzo balls; any extra can be frozen after they have cooled. Cook, uncovered for 25 minutes.

In a large pot, heat up chicken stock and add grated carrots. When matzo balls are ready, carefully remove from water with a slotted spoon and add to soup. Let simmer for about 5 minutes and it is ready to serve. At this point, you can add cooked noodles or shredded chicken, if desired.

And the VERDICT is:

Matthew (big bro): “Better than Grandma’s!”

Dylan (lil’ bro): “MMMMMM, more”

Liam (lil’ bro): “I am not hungry”

I put some aside for my mother to taste. She loved it. When I asked for her secret she confessed that her soup usually came from Fairway Market! Of course, her secret is safe with me….

Read my blog for more kid-friendly recipe ideas: House of Bedlam