Matzo-Ball Soup on Saturday

A few months ago, a friend invited us over for matzo-ball soup, something I'd never had homemade before. She made a lovely, simple and fast version: Swanson's stock, carrot chunks, shredded rotisserie chicken and, of course, matzo balls. We LOVED it, so we went out and bought some matzo, and started making it ourselves, most often with just the dumplings and the stock.

My beloved, not one to stand on ceremony, wasn't into the "ball" part of the whole operation, and tended to create delicious but gigantic (i.e. 3" in diameter) irregularly shaped whompers instead of little perfect balls, as one might normally expect. Needless to say, this led to many discussions about food presentation and appropriate dumpling size. But I shut up when I was threatened to an end to matzo-ball soup unless I made it myself.

Well, I finally did make it myself (although I admit that I did have some help), and may I just say that it was darn good. I also acknowledge that, rather than 45 minutes, it took me the better part of the day even with extra hands, so we'll go back to the fast version (although hopefully with smaller balls - is this getting crude?) when we just need a matzo hit. But on days when there's time, this is what I'll be making:

Matzo-Ball Soup with Spring Vegetables
(adapted from Gourmet, April 2007)

Toast 2 tbsp. coriander seeds in a small skillet until fragrant; set aside.
Toast 1/2 tbsp. each fenugreek seeds and black peppercorns similarly.
Once spices are cool, grind them coarsely (we used a coffee grinder) and put in a big stockpot.

Add the following to the stockpot, coarsely chopping the veggies:
2 medium leeks
4 medium carrots
4 ribs celery
5 large cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh ginger
1 bunch cilantro
2 bay leaves
3 cloves
3 1/2 lbs. chicken (we used two breasts and two legs - all organic, very nice)
3 quarts water

Bring the stock to a boil, then reduce and simmer, uncovered, for 3 hours (we only had time to simmer for 2, since we had surprise guests, and it turned out fine), skimming foam from top occasionally.

Next, make the matzo balls with a total of 1 cup matzo. We use the recipe on the back of the box, but add the following as well as the fat, salt, liquid and eggs listed there:
2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh ginger
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Mix until just blended, then cover and chill in fridge for half an hour or, if you're in a rush, as we were, in the freezer for 10 minutes. Form into small, 1- 1/2" balls with moistened hands.

Back to the stock: remove the chicken onto a plate, then strain the broth from the stock. (We ate the carrots, which were really tasty, but tossed the rest of the strained veggies. ) Bring strained broth back to a simmer, and drop matzo balls one by one into the broth. Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.

While simmering, chop the following into spoon-sized pieces:
8 baby carrots
6 baby turnips (we used a big turnip)
6 spring onions (save the greens for serving)

Add the vegetables and cook for another 15-20 minutes (you can tell if the matzo balls are done by tasting them - they should be moist all the way through). While the soup is simmering, remove the bones and skin from the chicken and shred into pieces. Add just a few minutes before serving.

Top the soup with fresh dill and the onion greens, which give it a bit of a bite on top of the stock's spiciness. This is GOOD SOUP!