Matzo Ball Soup With Celery and Dill

For 50 years I have used the fat from the top of the chicken soup to make the matzoh balls. I just make the soup a day ahead of time and refrigerate it. The next day it is easy to take the fat off the top of the soup. It adds an extra dimension to the flavor of the matzoh balls.

WHAT!!! No dill, fresh naturally, in your soup! As my late grandmother would say, "A Shanda."

OMG why would you want to cook your matzo balls in water, they taste so much better if you cook them in your soup directly. They absorb the flavor of the soup. So what if you get cloudy broth, its soup. Also, adding dill to the matzo balls is a nice touch in our house.

Anyone have a good alternative for matzo meal?

Add a parsnip or two to the other veggies and it will add some sweetness and an extra layer of flavor to the broth. I also add a grind or two of nutmeg to the matzoh ball ingredients and always cover the pot and keep it at a gentle boil. You also don’t have to “sacrifice” a matzoh ball to test if it’s done. If it’s not cooked through to the center, just put it back in the pot. Depending on the size of your matzoh balls, you may have to cook them for 25 to 30 minutes. Heavenly, all year round!

You must cover the pot, simmer not hard boil. If it's uncovered the matzoh balls will be brown where exposed. At a temp of 205 degrees they are done

From my experience the matzo balls (knoedlich) must simmer in a covered pot 30-45 minutes or they will be doughy in the center. Have a sweet Passover.

I cook matzo balls way ahead of use. Freeze separately on cookie sheet over night, then package in baggies. When ready to serve, bring chicken broth to a boil, drop in matzo balls and simmer until they are done. I find the longer they simmer, the fluffier they are. Have been doing this for years .

Here are a few of my closely held secrets for light, fluffy matzoh balls:. 1. separate eggs + whisk whites to frothy peaks before gently folding in. 2. chill/wet fingers with ice cubes for forming matzoh balls. 3. do *not* compact matzoh balls as you form them, and don't worry about making perfect, tight, meatball-like spheres; instead, shape with as little pressure as possible. (If loose pieces float off them as they cook, so be it...if cloud-like, rather than dense, results are your goal.)

If you're grinding your own matzo meal from matzo boards in a food processor, it's important to achieve a similar grind to that of commercial matzo meal used in recipes like this one. A cup of the commercial matzo meal that I buy from a well-known company weighs about 125 grams (4 ¼ oz.) Grind away in your food processor, and every so often, check what a cup of your meal weighs. It will be lighter at first, and get progressively heavier as you continue grinding.

Many people are asking why the matzoh balls are cooked in a pot separately from the soup - boiling matzoh balls right in the broth means the broth will become cloudy. Though not every cook may care about broth clarity, Alison states "crystal clear" broth as one of her objectives in the intro.

I’ve been making Seder for > 30 yrs. As a “modern balibusta” I’d like to comment on the soup/matzo balls recipes: 1. The soup: I include a handful of black peppercorns added to the pot. Toss them in or wrap in cheesecloth to contain. 2. The balls: - chicken fat a must if you can. I save mine in the freezer from raw chicken trimmings and render. - use chicken soup as the liquid for flavor. - balls need cooking for minimum 45-60 min. - can make ahead and freeze balls.

You can save tons of time by doing the broth in the instant pot; 30 minutes under pressure (about 1 hour from start to finish) and you have broth that tastes like you cooked it all day. I have a basket insert for mine, so I just pull it out and am left with the broth, no fuss no muss. Actually have a pot going right now.

I love you Alison, but you need to add fresh dill to the broth with a fennel bulb. This was my Jewish Grandmother's secret. You will thank me later.

Alison, This is a classic. We will do it just as you instruct. I love the way you describe all the personal and family touches, the little secrets passed down with love and even humor. The matzo balls sound like divine inspiration. My Norwegian grandmother and my aunts would religiously create lefse the old fashioned way that would be perfect just hot with butter. Your matzo ball soup is of course better, a complete meal. But it's the ritual and the love that wins out. Cudos!