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Prague · 28 Cheshvan 5787

Shabbat this week · 16:02–17:11

Ashkenazi

Chicken soup with matzah balls

Awaiting expert review

Clear chicken broth with root vegetables and fluffy matzah-meal dumplings. A Shabbat and Passover classic.

Servings
6 servings
Prep
30 min
Cook
180 min
Difficulty
moderate
Kashrut · meatCategory by ingredients, not a certification. Details below.
For holidaysShabbatYom KippurPassover
Chicken soup with matzah balls

Ingredients

6
servings

Broth

Matzah balls

Method

  1. Step 1: Rinse the hen, place it in a large pot, cover with cold water and slowly bring to a boil. Skim off the foam until no more forms.

  2. Step 2: Add the onion, half of the root vegetables, the salt and the pepper and simmer gently, uncovered, for 2.5 hours.

  3. Step 3: Meanwhile, for the matzah balls, beat the eggs with the melted fat, water and salt, stir in the matzah meal and let the mixture firm up, covered, in the fridge for 30–60 minutes.

  4. Step 4: Remove the hen and strain the broth. Take the meat off the bones and cut it up.

  5. Step 5: Slice the remaining vegetables into rounds and cook them in the broth for 15 minutes until tender.

  6. Step 6: In a separate pot bring salted water to a boil. With wet hands, shape balls 2.5 cm in diameter.

  7. Step 7: Drop the balls into the boiling water, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 30–35 minutes; they will swell to twice their size.

  8. Step 8: Transfer the matzah balls to bowls, pour hot broth over them, add the meat and vegetables and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Tips

  • The matzah balls are not cooked directly in the broth because they would make it cloudy.
  • The broth can be made a day ahead; lift the solidified fat off the surface and use it in the matzah balls.

History and origins

MinhagAshkenazim

Chicken broth was among the most important festive dishes in Ashkenazi households; it is traditionally served on Friday evening as the first course of the Shabbat dinner.1

HistoryAshkenazim⁂ To verify

Dumplings made from crushed matzah (Yiddish kneidlach) arose as a Passover substitute for flour dumplings, and the dish caught on outside the holiday as well. The nickname "Jewish penicillin" is modern and humorous.2

Regional variations

Folk custom

The dumplings are made either "light" (fluffy, with more eggs or soda water) or "heavy" (dense); families argue endlessly about which are better.

MinhagAshkenazim

Instead of dumplings, noodles (lokshen) or mandlen (small fried balls of dough) are also added to the Shabbat broth.

Goes well with

Sources