Mom’s Chicken Soup with Matzah Balls

Last Sunday, I made matzah ball soup with my mom and the experience made me wonder why oh why do I only eat matzah ball soup at Passover? Perhaps that should be the fifth question posed at the Passover table.

It was a cozy little scene, punctuated by the trills and meows of Eleanor the Cat. The soup was for my buddy, also Cat, who was laid up after knee surgery. She had put in a request for the soup and dumplings, which Mom and I agreed could facilitate the healing of Cat’s meniscus.

Mom took quick action in my apartment, donning a blue bandana doo-rag. She assembled the key components while I ran out for turnips (and food for Eleanor, of course). Earlier in the day we bought several large Amish chicken drumsticks from Zabar’s because the venerable Upper West Side food purveyor didn’t seem to have anything in the way of affordable whole birds. Odd indeed. At any rate, the recipe here has been modified to include a whole chicken instead of the ad hoc parts we tossed in. But, of course, chicken soup is anything but precise, so throw in what you have on hand.

Now, for the controversy: Mom added a packet of bullion. Purists will balk, but you can’t always know how much flavor the ingredients are going to yield, so she hedged. Look, you can add it at the end or not at all, but there’s no reason to shy away from doctoring where appropriate. There is no shame in bullion.

Mom also leaves the skin on the onions. She said it contributes to a nice brown hue in the broth. I believe her. This particular soup includes carrot and celery in the final product, which you wouldn’t traditionally include during Passover, when most people serve the plainest of plain broths. But we wanted to make a whole meal out of it, so add the veggies we did! We also included egg noodles, but it’s just as good without.

Finally, I had some frozen kale, which we crumpled up and added at the end with the chopped up carrots and celery.

I produced the matzah balls, based on a Joan Nathan recipe. Nathan, late of Colicchio-Heimlich notoriety, knows her matzah. The only change I made was to substitute seltzer for water. I think it makes them a touch lighter, but not too light! You can also just follow the recipe on the matzah meal container.

I used kosher chicken fat, which I buy at Fairway, but you can also skin the fat from the top of the soup, as Nathan instructs, or render the fat from a roast chicken. Oh lord, that’s even better! People say oil is just fine, but I stand firmly behind the inclusion of fat, which adds a subtle but important richness to the dumpling. You can make a good matzah ball without fat, but a great one? Nyet.

Dill is the aromatic backbone of this recipe. Hear this: You can never add too much. My father always said dill was his favorite herb. He had fond memories of his own mother’s soup, which likely included heaping portions of dill. To get the most of your dill, do like my Aunt Susan does: Put a whole bunch of it in some cheesecloth and tie up the ends. When you remove it from the finished broth, let it cool and squeeze the bejeezus out of it right into the soup. Nectar of the gods.

Mom’s Chicken and Vegetable Soup

2 thick or 4 small carrots, ends removed and chopped in half, plus 2 more chopped in about ¼ inch pieces
2 celery stalks, cut in half, plus
1 large onion (or 2 small) quartered with skins on or off
2 small or 1 big turnip, tops removed and halved
1 whole chicken, cleaned with innards removed
Bunch of dill in cheesecloth, plus 2 tablespoons chopped for garnish
1 bullion packet or cube (optional)
¼ cup dry white wine
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
Pepper to taste
Cold water

1.    Into a large heavy-bottomed pot, place the carrot and celery halves, turnips, onion, salt, pepper and chicken. Add the wine and bullion, if desired. Fill pot with water to a couple of inches below the bird. More than that will make a thin broth. Bring to a boil.

2.    As grey scum forms, skim it off with a large spoon or paper towel. You’ll have to do this several time, over a 15 or 20-minute period. Reduce heat to low and put the pot lid on most of the way, leaving a crack. Let simmer for an hour to an hour and a quarter.

3.    Remove chicken, vegetables and dill with tongs and set aside. Pour soup through fine mesh strainer. Return broth to pot. Place cooked vegetables in strainer. With the back of a cooking spoon, press down on the veggies to squeeze out remaining liquid. Optional: remove chicken meat from bones and return bones to soup for final steps.

4.    Add chopped carrots and celery to pot. Simmer for about 10 more minutes. When dill is cool, squeeze remaining liquid into pot. Remove bones. Season to taste.

To serve, add chopped dill for garnish and, if desired, egg noodles, cooked under separate cover.

Matzah Balls
Adapted from Jewish Holiday Cookbook, by Joan Nathan

4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons checken fat, skimmed from the top of the soup
1 cup matzah meal
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 tablespoons chicken soup or water

1.    In a medium bowl, beat the egs and the fat together. Stir in the matzah meal, salt and parsley. Add the chicken soup or water. Refrigerate 1 hour or more, to permit the meal to absorb the liquids.
2.    In a 6-quart pot with a lid, bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil. Reduce the water to a simmer and drop n balls of the matzah mixture about 11/2 inches in diameter. Cover the pot and cook just at a simmer for 20-40 minutes. The longer you cook them, the softer the matzah balls will be. When they are ready, they may be placed in chicken soup to serve.

Yield: Makes about 20 balls