Fluffy Matzo Ball Soup

This Fluffy Matzo Ball Soup will make a believer out of anyone. The Matzo Balls are soft and fluffy and easy to prepare!

Matzo is unleavened flat bread served during Passover in remembrance of the Ancient Jewish flight from Egypt in the time of the Old Testament. Matzo Ball Soup (Kneidlach in Yoich) is a traditional dish served on Passover at Ashkenazie Sedars (incredibly long meals where many courses are served, and the story of Passover is told).

When I was a child, my non-Jewish friends had never heard of matzo, let alone matzo balls. Nowadays, with the popularity of Jewish delis in New York, Chicago, and Toronto (to name a scant few), Matzo Ball Soup has developed a solid non-Jewish following and has entered everyday vernacular. For someone who’s never had a delicious bowl of piping hot Matzo Ball Soup that must sound crazy: chicken broth with flatbread dumplings delicious? Preposterous! It’s true, when made properly, Fluffy Matzo Ball Soup is flavourful, hearty, and satisfying.

My golden standard for Matzo Ball Soup has always been my Mother’s Cousin who provides her beautiful Yoich and Matzo Balls (kneidlach) every year for Passover. As with many traditional recipes she doesn’t write hers down, so I had to make do with taste memory and a bit of research.

This Fluffy Matzo Ball soup will make a believer out of anyone: airy matzo balls are flavoured with schmaltz, and cooked in a bath of homemade yoich until they more than double in size and are ready to serve. My Fluffy Matzo Ball Soup is extremely easy to prepare, and I promise that once you try it you’ll never go back.

TOTAL TIME

• Preparation Time – 5 minutes plus 1 hour to rest in the fridge
• Cooking Time – 5 minutes
• Total Time – 1 hour 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS IN FLUFFY MATZO BALL SOUP

All the ingredients for Fluffy Matzo Ball Soup are easy to source from any local grocer.

• 3/4 cup Matzo meal
• 3 tbsp Club soda
• 3 large Eggs
• 1 pinch Kosher salt
• 3 tbsp Schmaltz
• 6 cups of Yoich or Chicken Broth (My Homemade Flavourful Yoich serves as a great foundation for this soup)

WHAT IS MATZO MEAL?

Matzo meal is ground Matzo: the unleavened bread made of flour, water, and salt served at Passover. There are different types of matzo meal. I used Streit’s for this recipe, and enjoyed the nutty flavour it imparted as well as the coarser texture. Matzo meal is not the same as Matzo Cake Meal which is much finer, and used in lieu of flour. Do not use cake meal to make matzo balls.

DO I HAVE TO CHILL THE MATZO BALLS?

Yes, it’s worth the wait to chill the matzo balls. Chilling them helps to set up the balls before they take a bath in your flavourful broth. Because they are made with schmaltz, they will not be firm enough to hold together without being chilled.

WHAT IS SCHMALTZ?

Schmaltz is rendered chicken, goose, or duck fat, and is a staple in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. It’s made from slowly sautéing the skin and fat together, then collecting the liquid fat as it cooks. If you have the time, you can certainly make your own schmaltz, but I tend to buy mine from my local butcher. You can often purchase goose or duck fat from high end grocery stores as well.

CAN I USE STORE BOUGHT BROTH INSTEAD?

Unless you have access to fresh, made from scratch store bought broth, I wouldn’t. Not only is a delicious broth the backbone for the entire recipe, but it enhances the flavour of the matzo balls as well. I recommend using my Flavourful Yoich recipe.

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS

CAN I COOK MY MATZO BALLS IN WATER INSTEAD OF BROTH?

Technically yes, you can cook the matzo balls in water however I wouldn’t recommend it. The matzo balls double in size while cooking as they absorb the liquid they cook in: if they are cooked in water, they will taste watery.

CAN I USE OIL INSTEAD OF SCHMALTZ?

You can certainly use oil instead of schmaltz, however the latter is much more flavourful and will make the most delicious matzo balls.

CAN I USE CARBONATED WATER INSTEAD OF CLUB SODA?

The carbonation in club soda aerates the matzo balls and makes them light and fluffy. In theory, you could substitute carbonated water. However club soda normally contains sodium bicarbonate or sodium chloride as well, which adds a bit more flavour to the matzo balls.

EQUIPMENT FOR FLUFFY MATZO BALL SOUP

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Below is a list of the main equipment/kitchen tools needed to make Fluffy Matzo Ball Soup:

• Mixing Bowl

• Parchment Paper – I highly recommend lining your cookie sheets with parchment paper to ensure they don’t stick. Paper Chef is my favourite brand, and comes in a large format roll that is easy to cut to any size.

• Medium Cookie scoop – I recommend a cookie scoop in order to make equally sized matzo balls, and perfectly round dough balls. I love my OXO cookie scoop so much that I own it in three sizes. I use the 1 1/2 tablespoon large scoop in this recipe.

• Baking pan

• Fork

COOKING DIRECTIONS

This Fluffy Matzo Ball Soup Recipe is hearty, satisfying, and most importantly, delicious. The Matzo Balls are easy to prepare, and come together quickly. Having yoich on hand helps to make this an extremely simple dinner as long as you follow a few simple steps:

1. Chill your batter and your formed matzo balls before cooking.
2. Always cook your matzo balls in chicken both not water.
3. Use club soda to aerate your matzo ball mixture.

MAKE AHEAD STORAGE

You can prepare your yoich in advance and use either fresh or frozen broth you have previously made.

This Fluffy Matzo Ball Soup can be stored in the refrigerator eaten next day, but I would recommend storing the matzo balls separately from the broth. When you reheat your soup, heat the broth first, then add the matzo balls to warm them through.

FINISHED DISH

Enjoy this delicious Fluffy Matzo Ball Soup!

OTHER SOUP DISHES

Flavourful Yoich

Lobster Chowder with Shrimp, Scallop and Salmon

Creamy Butternut Squash and Chicken Soup

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