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April 6, 2012
Chicken soup for the bowl
Matzah balls, noodles or dumplings make a welcome addition.
NORENE GILLETZ
For me, Passover isn’t complete without homemade chicken soup. I love it best with a couple of plump, matzah balls, preferably ones that are buoyant, or homemade noodles. When I’m in a hurry, I serve it with quick soup dumplings, as they’re ready in moments.
My mother, Belle Rykiss (z”l), always made matzah balls that were light and puchedich (fluffy). During the year, she added baking powder to the mixture to make them as light as a cloud. (You can omit it during Passover, or use Passover baking powder.) Mom could always tell the difference between matzah balls made from a mix and those that were homemade. You could never fool my mother! Enjoy....
MOM’S MATZAH BALLS
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup matzah meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Passover baking powder
Process all ingredients in a food processor fitted with the steel blade just until smooth, about 10 seconds. Place in refrigerator for one hour, or in freezer for 20 minutes, until thickened.
Shape into small balls. Drop into boiling salted water in a large pot and cook, partially covered, for about 40 minutes.
Makes about 14 to 16, and they may be frozen in soup. Or, here’s a tip: freeze the uncooked matzah ball mixture in ice cube trays. When needed, drop frozen matzah balls into boiling water and cook partly covered for 35 to 40 minutes. Kids love them in different shapes!
LOW-FAT MATZAH BALLS
Club soda is the secret ingredient to make these kneidlach (matzah balls) light and fluffy. This recipe can be doubled easily, but be sure to use a large pot – and don’t peek during cooking!
1/2 cup matzah meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 egg plus 2 egg whites
2 tbsp club soda (or ginger ale)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp minced dill
2 1/2 quarts salted water
Combine matzah meal, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a bowl. Add egg, egg whites, club soda, oil and dill; mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Wet your hands and shape mixture into one-inch balls. Drop matzah balls into boiling water, cover tightly and simmer for 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from water with a slotted spoon and transfer to chicken soup or vegetable broth.
Makes 12 matzah balls, which may be frozen in soup or on a cookie sheet and then transferred to a plastic freezer bag. Reheat them right in the soup!
HERBED PASSOVER NOODLES
These noodles are based on my recipe for Passover blintzes and are non-gebrochts (have not come in contact with liquid).
1/2 cup potato starch
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg plus 2 egg whites (or 2 eggs)
1 cup water
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp dried basil (or 1 tsp freshly minced dill or basil)
Combine potato starch, salt, egg and egg whites. Whisk together until no lumps remain. Gradually whisk in water, oil and basil; mix until smooth. (Can be done in a food processor.) Let batter stand for 15 minutes. Batter can be refrigerated up to 24 hours in advance.
Use a crepe pan or nonstick skillet. Grease pan lightly for the first blintz, or spray pan with nonstick spray. Stir mixture well. Pour about three tablespoons of batter (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan) into the skillet. Cook about one minute, until edges are brown and top surface is dry. Flip the blintz onto its second side and cook 10 seconds longer. Turn out onto a clean tea towel.
Repeat with remaining batter, stirring occasionally to prevent potato starch from settling to the bottom. If blintzes begin to stick to the pan, grease pan with a little oil on a paper towel.
Roll each pancake up like a jelly roll and cut into 1/4-inch strips. At serving time, add to hot chicken soup.
Makes eight to 10 servings. Reheats and/or freezes well.
QUICK SOUP DUMPLINGS
These dumplings are an easy alternative to matzah balls.
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
Dash freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup matzah meal
Insert steel blade in food processor bowl. Process all ingredients until smooth, about 10 seconds.
Drop mixture from a teaspoon into simmering chicken soup. Cover and cook for four to five minutes.
Makes eight to 10 servings. Do not freeze.
CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE BOWL!
Some cooks like to add turnip or celery root to the broth.
3 1/2 lb to 4 lb chicken, cut up
10 cups cold water (approximately)
4 tsp salt
2 medium onions
4 to 6 medium carrots
3 to 4 stalks celery
1 parsnip (optional)
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch fresh dill
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Trim excess fat from chicken, but don’t remove the skin, as it adds flavor. Place chicken in a large soup pot. Add water, covering chicken completely by at least one inch. Add salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Use a slotted spoon to remove scum from the surface of the soup.
Add onions, carrots, celery and parsnip to pot. Reduce heat and simmer, partly covered, for 1 1/4 hours. Add garlic and dill and simmer 15 minutes longer. Adjust salt to taste. Season with freshly ground pepper. Remove pot from heat and cool completely.
Strain soup, reserving carrots and chicken. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, discard hardened layer of fat from surface of soup. Remove skin from chicken and dice meat for soup. Reheat soup with diced chicken and carrots.
Serve with any of the recipes above.
Makes eight generous servings. Freezes and reheats well.
Norene Gilletz is a leading author of kosher cookbooks in Canada. She divides her time between work as a food writer, culinary consultant, spokesperson, cooking instructor, lecturer and editor. Gilletz lives in Toronto, and her motto is “Food that’s good for you should taste good!” The recipes for her mom’s matzah balls and the dumplings can be found in The NEW Food Processor Bible (Whitecap Books); those for the low-fat matzah balls, herbed noodles and chicken soup in Healthy Helpings (Whitecap Books). For more information, visit her website, gourmania.com, or e-mail her at [email protected].
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