Enjoy a bowl of healthy, comforting Matzo Ball Soup with a rich chicken stock, carrots, celery, and onions. It's ready in about two hours.
This week’s recipe post will be a short one. Whatever virus is going around in my city, I caught it. First came sniffles and scratchy throat; I was down for the count yesterday. But before the final punch got to me, I made a pot of Easy Matzo Ball Soup on Monday, and no kidding, t helped me feel a little better today.
Traditionally, this “Jewish penicillin” takes a couple of days to make because it starts with stewing a chicken to make the broth, refrigerating the homemade stock overnight, and skimming schmaltz (chicken fat) to use in the matzo balls. But I needed soup ASAP, so I pulled some stock from the pantry and the remains of a frozen rotisserie chicken, added some aromatics and in about two hours, I had a fantastic Easy Matzo Ball Soup.
You will need the following ingredients to make my Easy Matzo Ball Soup, which yields 8 servings.
1 (32-ounce) carton organic chicken stock
4 cups of water
1 box of Manischewitz Matzo Ball & Soup Mix
1 rotisserie chicken carcass
4 stalks celery
4 carrots
1 bay leaf
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons canola oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley for garnish
If you don’t have a chicken carcass hanging out in your freezer, add two bone-in chicken thighs and a chicken breast to the stock pot.
Follow these directions to make Easy Matzo Ball Soup
Add boxed stock and water to a large stockpot. Cut two celery stalks in half, as well as two carrots with peel, into the pot. Peel onion and cut in half. Add one of the halves to stock and reserve the other half.
Add the chicken carcass (or pieces of chicken) and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Turn heat down to medium, cover and let stock simmer gently for 1 hour or until any raw chicken is cooked.
Dice two celery stalks, two peeled carrots, and the remaining half of onion. Peel and smash two cloves of garlic. Set aside.
Strain the stock — removing cooked vegetables, chicken and any bones — into a large bowl. Return strained stock to the pot. Add diced vegetables and garlic. Add the bouillon/seasoning from the boxed soup mix (I used only half of the packet, but you can add more according to your taste preference). Taste soup for the right salt content and add pepper. (I didn’t add extra salt but did add 1 teaspoon of seasoned pepper.) Cover, bring to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes.
While the soup simmers, pull or cut up the cooked chicken. Set aside.
Mix the matzo balls according to package directions (matzo meal, two eggs, 2 Tablespoons oil). Set in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
Using a spoon, scoop out chilled matzo mixture and roll between your hands into 1-inch balls. I sprayed my hands with non-stick so matzo balls wouldn’t stick to my fingers. You also can simply wet your hands before rolling balls.
Drop matzo balls into soup, along with the chicken meat, and cook for 20 minutes. Cut fresh parsley and sprinkle over each serving.
A tip from the kitchen
Store leftover chicken soup and matzo balls separately. Remove matzo balls with a slotted spoon and place in an air-tight container. Keep soup in another air-tight container. It will stay for about three days.
I don’t recommend freezing cooked matzo balls, but you can freeze the soup ahead of time. When you’re ready to enjoy, defrost the soup, bring to a simmer, mix the matzo balls and you’ll have delicious soup in about 30 minutes.
Another good chicken soup that will freeze well is my Greek Lemon Chicken Soup, This month's newsletter includes some tips for fighting the common cold with 5 essential foods. You'll find the newsletter here.
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Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.
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