Matzo Ball Soup

This is really another "favorite things" post because the secret to my matzo ball soup is Manischewitz Matzo Ball Mix. I've tried (twice) to make matzo balls from scratch and I must be doing something wrong because they always turn out to be sinkers, instead of floaters. I guess that's okay if you like your matzo balls dense and chewy, but I prefer light and fluffy, so I keep coming back to the mix. And it makes great matzo balls, so I'm inclined to stick with it. I do think it's crucial to make your broth from scratch though. And I like to cook the matzo balls directly in the broth, instead of water. I love how they soak up all that chickeny goodness.

MATZO BALL SOUP

Yield: 10 servings (approx. 20 matzo balls)

Chicken Stock:

1 whole chicken (about 6 lbs.), cut into 8 pieces

2 celery ribs, roughly chopped

4 carrots, roughly chopped (plus 5 more for serving in soup, if desired)

2 medium onions, unpeeled, trimmed and halved

1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise

1 handful of parsley, with or without stems (about 3/4 cup)

1-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped

zest peeled from 1/2 lemon (not grated)

1 dried bay leaf

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

5 quarts cold water

Matzo Balls:

1 box Manischewitz Matzo Ball Mix (use both packets)

4 large eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Chicken Stock:

1.      Bring all ingredients to a boil in a large, heavy stock pot. Skim froth. Reduce heat and gently simmer, uncovered, skimming froth occasionally, for 3 hours.

2.      Pour broth through a fine-mesh sieve (or cheesecloth) into a large bowl and discard solids. Cool stock completely, uncovered. Once cool, chill (covered), in the refrigerator.

3.      Skim off the fat (once chilled, it rises to the top and is easy to scoop off). This is schmaltz (the Yiddish word for chicken fat).

Matzo Balls:

1.      Follow the instructions on the back of the matzo ball mix box (use both packets, 4 eggs and 1/4 cup oil). But instead of water, bring chicken stock to a boil. Be sure not to salt your chicken stock before you cook your matzo balls (otherwise they’ll soak up a lot of salt and get too salty). Continue to follow the instructions for forming and cooking the matzo balls.

Soup:

1.      If you like your soup with carrots, peel them and chop into 2-inch pieces. Add to the hot broth and cook until tender (about 8 minutes).

2.      Season broth with salt and pepper to taste (DO NOT season the broth before cooking the matzo balls or they will be too salty).  Ladle soup and matzo balls into bowls; serve hot.

Belle & Evans organic chicken

chicken cut up and in the pot

everything else added

stock cooking (I let it go all day)

I forgot to take photos of straining the stock, but obviously
I did. Once cooled, I put the stock in 1-quart containers
and chilled overnight so the fat would rise to the top.

scooping off the schmaltz (chicken fat)

You can save the schmaltz in the refrigerator or freezer and use for cooking.

You can see this rich, delicious stock is kind of gelatinous when
cold. It will melt and become liquidy again when you heat it up.

matzo ball mix box

cooking instructions on the back

cracking an egg

adding oil

I tried adding schmaltz once instead, but when you're already
cooking the matzo balls in chicken stock, it's overkill.

adding the matzo meal mixture

mixed

formed into a ball

I often make mine two or three times
bigger and they still come out great.

boiling chicken stock

matzo balls cooking

ready

cooked matzo ball

matzo ball cross section

mmm...so comforting

ingredients

Not too bad, but I would like to successfully
make fluffy matzo balls from scratch one day.

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Tzimmes with Dumplings

By now I'm sure you've realized that this whole week has been Rosh Hashanah recipes. And I don't know about you, but for me, it's been a real eye opener (or closer maybe). I've come to the realization that Jewish food is not pretty, at least not from a photography standpoint (It's okay, I can say it, I'm Jewish). To be fair, it might just be the dishes I chose. Each one was mushier and clumpier than the next. This tzimmes is no exception.

But looks aside, tzimmes is sweet and delicious. It's usually just cooked vegetables and fruit. I have seen recipes with meat added, but I've never tried that. If you're already familiar with tzimmes, you might be asking yourself, what's up with the dumplings? I know tzimmes doesn't usually have them, but that's the way my grandmother made it and I grew up thinking that was normal. Later when I tried to find a recipe with dumplings, I found out it isn't. But I like them. Especially with a little onion. It adds a nice savory note so the dish isn't sickeningly sweet.

TZIMMES WITH DUMPLINGS

(Yield: 8-10 side dishes)

2 medium-large sweet potatoes, cut into 1 ½-inch chunks

8 carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks

1/2 lb. dried fruit, such as apricots, raisins, cranberries, prunes (apricots halved)

1/2 cup maple sugar (or light brown sugar)

dumplings:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

a few pinches black pepper

1 egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1/2 small onion, finely minced (about 1/2 cup)

1.      Put sweet potatoes, carrots, dried fruit and maple sugar in a large oven-safe pot and add enough water to reach just over the top of the vegetables. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

2.      While the vegetables cook, prepare the dumplings. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg, buttermilk, melted butter and onions; pour into the dry ingredients and mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick like biscuit dough and sticky (add more buttermilk if too dry).

3.      Preheat oven to 325° F.

4.      Spoon 1-2 cups of the hot liquid from the pot into a measuring cup.  Make very small dumplings (about 1 inch each) and place them on top of vegetables in the pot.  Pour the hot liquid over.

5.      Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until dumplings are golden brown.  Break up the dumplings using a spatula or knife. Mix to combine and let sit for 10 minutes (the dumplings will soak up more of the liquid). Serve hot.

Freezes well (stir in some water if needed when reheating).

adapted from: www.fizzylogic.com/users/bulbul/kitchen/tzimmes.html

chopped carrots

chopped sweet potato

dried cranberries, apricots and golden raisins

maple sugar

water added

I tried making it with apple cider once and it was way too sweet.

simmering

mixing chopped onion with buttermilk, egg and butter

adding the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients

dumpling dough

removing some of the hot cooking liquid

adding the dumplings

don't worry about them touching (you'll break them up later)

pouring the hot cooking liquid over the dough

ready to bake

baked

close up

breaking apart the dumplings

mixed

on a plate

See what I mean (not exactly the
Cindy Crawford of the food world).

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