Is It Soup Yet?

This week is Passover week, when the world's Jews remember and celebrate the exodus from slavery to freedom. As a matter of principle it's wonderful to look back to a worse place and reflect on how things are better. One unfortunate consequence of the tradition is that the week is filled with a little too much matzoh!

A bright spot is matzo ball soup, which seems to have many fans among Gentiles as well. This shiksa makes a kick-ass brew, or so I'm told. My 76 year old mother, with her Sicilian taste buds, schleps to my house for her annual "Jewish penicillin" without fail. One of her co-workers asked for the recipe this year, and I'll share.

Matzo ball batter:

Melt 1/2 cup shortening. Whisk in 1/2 cup seltzer and 4 large eggs. Add a few dashes of black pepper. I also add a few dashes of other spices. Season as you like. Stir in 1 cup of matzo meal. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for a few hours. All day, or overnight, is fine too. Make-ahead portions of meals hold great value for me.

Turning it into soup:

Pre-mince one yellow onion and a few cloves of garlic (or more garlic if that's your preference). Pre-shred one small carrot or several baby carrots. Brown veggies in a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in large pot. Add two quarts of chicken broth (or chicken stock) and bring to a boil. Drop teaspoon sized balls of matzo batter into the soup (I use a small scoop) until the entire bowl is used. By then, they'll have all floated to the top and you can serve. If you used broth instead of stock, I recommend roasting chicken that night too, so you can siphon off about half a cup of the pan drippings and add them to the soup.

Enjoy! And happy Easter to all those who are getting ready to celebrate this weekend.