Matzo ball soup

This week marked the start of one of my family’s favorite Jewish holidays –Passover. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the holiday it celebrates the Israelites exodus out of Egypt and their subsequent wandering of the desert. The name “Passover” is in relation to the tenth and final plague commanded by God in which he instructed the Israelites to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a lamb. Upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord knew to pass over the first-born in these homes, hence the name of the holiday.

One of the most important aspects of the holiday is the traditional seder in which family and friends gather to feast and commemorate the exodus. And one of my most favorite parts of the meal is the traditional soup made with matzo (or unleavened bread) –matzo ball soup. 

I thought this would be a great opportunity to include a recipe on how to make this delicious soup which is good to eat year round –and if you’ve ever been to a deli you may have had it for yourself.

The basic recipe is simple and is as follows:

Ingredients:

2 (10 ounce) packages matzo crackers 1/2 cup butter 6 eggs salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 2 onions, minced 5 ounces matzo meal 96 ounces chicken broth

Directions:

1.	Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
2.	Break matzo crackers into small pieces, and place in a large bowl. Add water to cover; allow to soak for a few minutes, until soft. Drain off excess water.
3.	Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and stir in drained matzos; stir until mixture is dry and slightly brown. Remove from heat, and mix in eggs, salt and pepper to taste, parsley, and onions.
4.	Mix in just enough matzo meal to make mixture hold together. Roll one golf ball-size matzo ball. Place matzo ball in the boiling water to test the mixture. The ball must rise to the top of the water and not break apart. If it does not rise, then too much matzo meal was added. In this case, add another beaten egg to the mixture and try again. When desired consistency is reached, roll all of mixture into golf ball size spheres.
5.	In a large saucepan, bring chicken broth to a slow boil over medium heat; add balls to broth. Serve soup as the balls rise to the top of the broth.

If cooked well, this is one of the most comforting foods you will ever eat in your life. Try it and you’ll fall in love.