Matzo Ball Soup Recipe - My Family's Favorite Soup! (2024)

FAQs

What is matzo ball soup made of? ›

Serve a few matzo balls into a soup bowl and pour a few ladles of chicken stock, chicken, carrots, and celery over top, and garnish with fresh dill and sliced green onions.

It may sound a bit strange and unusual for some, but vinegar is a common ingredient in some soup recipes, and there is a good reason for it. If you think about it, vinegar is really a flavor-enhancer (umami). That's why it is so often used in cooking, sauces, and salad dressings. The same is true with soups.

Add to that the benefits of vitamins A, C, and D in the broth, the anti-inflammatory properties of the soup vegetables, and a boost of energy from the carbohydrates in the matzo balls, and you've got a recipe for feeling better!

There's something accidentally elegant about a bowl of rich golden chicken broth, surrounding a salty, savory, deeply fluffy, almost souffle-d matzo ball, needing nothing more than some last minute celery and of course, so much dill (probably needs more dill).

Traditionally, Jews avoid eating leavened foods made from grains during Passover, known in Hebrew as “chametz.” Matzo is served at the Passover seder, and essentially replaces other bread-like foods throughout the eight-day holiday.

The extra level of scrutiny — and the labor-intensive process required to make handcrafted matzah — is largely what accounts for its high price: anywhere from $20 to $60 for a single pound.

"Ground paprika, turmeric, nutmeg, ground ginger, and other powdered spices add a touch of color and spiciness to broths," she says. As a general rule, use fresh herbs at or near the end of cooking and dried herbs and spices early on. This helps you get the flavors you're looking for in the right balance.

For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.

Yes, matza is hard to digest, and consuming lots of it can cause indigestion and constipation.

How long can matzo balls stay in soup? ›

How long can matzo balls sit in the soup? While matzo balls can cook in the soup, they tend to cloud the chicken broth. Try not to let the matzo balls sit in the soup longer than an hour or they may begin to absorb too much of the soup and fall apart. If separated from the soup, cooked matzo balls last about 5 days.

If you were to add the matzo balls directly to the broth, they would make the broth starchy and sludgy. It's important to poach them separately to avoid a cloudy broth. And if you were to simmer them for too short or too long of a time, you would lose that consistent texture.

We give you the choice: Using schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) produces the most flavorful matzo balls, while vegetable or canola oil offer convenience. Optional seltzer helps to aerate the matzo balls so that they're light and tender, while optional baking powder allows you to make insanely light and fluffy ones.

Carefully lower matzo balls into boiling water with a slotted spoon, adjusting heat as needed to maintain a low simmer. Cover pot and simmer over low heat, checking occasionally to make sure water isn't boiling too rapidly, until balls are very puffed and light in color, 30–40 minutes.

Matzo is itself typically made of wheat flour mixed with some water, and salt and sometimes olive oil for flavor. It's rolled very thinly and baked quickly at a high temperature. Talmudic tradition dictates that matzo should be completed in under 18 minutes, from mixing the dough to fully baked.

The lightest matzo balls will taste almost entirely of broth, with a very subtle matzo flavor.

Matzo balls are a form of dumpling, but instead of a biscuit-type dough, they're made with matzo meal, a traditional Passover ingredient. As they cook in the broth, matzo balls lighten and become fluffy.

Matzo ball mix is a pre-packaged mixture of matzo meal, spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, celery seed, etc.), and preservatives. It also contains sodium bicarbonate and monocalcium phosphate– both active ingredients in baking powder to make the balls lighter.