The Graduate's Kitchen ManualMatzo Balls
Matzo balls are traditional East European Jewish fare. They could be classified as dumplings and are usually added to chicken soup in place of egg noodles. The challenge is to make them light and airy, although some people claim to prefer them dense and heavy. I recommend you try for light and airy, and if it doesn’t work out enjoy them anyway; you can always pretend you opted for heavy on purpose. The tricks to light ones are the rest period in the refrigerator, handling them as little as possible, and adding the broth from your soup to the mixture. If for some reason you find yourself making matzo balls and don’t have any broth available you can use unflavored sparkling water. It’s untraditional but I love adding some chopped fresh parsley or dill.
Cooking the matzo balls in your soup will make them more flavorful but you can also cook them in salted water. Use a large pot so the matzo balls will not be crowded when they cook.
Matzo meal is simply ground up matzo, the flat unleavened bread that takes center stage in the celebration of Passover. It symbolizes the haste with which the Israelites left Egypt, not even taking the time to wait for their bread to rise. You can either buy matzo meal ready to use or you can buy matzo and grind it up yourself just the way you would make any bread crumbs; you can use a blender, food processor, or enclose a couple of matzo in a plastic bag and go at it with a rolling pin or the bottom of a pan.
MAKES ABOUT 12 MATZO BALLS
Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¾ cup matzo meal
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons broth
1 tablespoon horseradish, optional
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or parsley, optional
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Instructions:
▪ Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat with a fork to combine the whites and yolks. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to blend. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 20 minutes.
▪ When you’re ready to cook the matzo balls bring your soup or a big pot of salted water to a boil.
▪ Wet your hands and using a light touch form the mixture into about 12 balls approximately 1 inch in diameter. Drop the balls into the simmering soup or water, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. The matzo balls should have expanded and be floating at the top of the liquid. You can check if they are done by inserting a toothpick and seeing if any uncooked bits stick to it.