FROM THE  kosherkooke©
City of Refuge Publications
7101 North Mesa #235               Volume 8  Issue 4
El Paso, Texas 79912
MENORAH LIGHTS BOOKS
April 2008

         

SPONSORED BY:  The International Institute for Health and Wellness, Inc, of Orem, Utah
An affiliated institution with Rio Verde University Graduate School

A MATZO BALL SOUP TO MAKE THE BUBBES KVELL AND SHIKSAS PLOTZ.
By Eric Gillin (used with permission)
   
Matzo ball soup fueled Hollywood's Golden Age -- at the Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer com- missary, they served matzo ball soup every single day. According to Jewish Cooking in America, the recipe for the soup came from Louis B. Meyer's mother and the balls were cooked until crisp under a broiler and served in dark brown broth, which proves two things: The Jews controlled Hollywood, and you can seriously screw up matzo ball soup if you let the wrong people run the kitchen.

The history of matzo ball soup goes back farther than just Hollywood, however -- it stretches back through the European enclaves that Jews populated all the way to the Middle East. For where there is Passover, there is matzo, a dry, cracker-like, bread replacement. that we are forced to eat. And where there is matzo, there have been people trying desperately to make it more edible. In this case, they grind it up, add eggs and make kneidlach. (dumplings).

On a very basic level, matzo ball soup is merely chicken stock, oil, eggs and broken up matzo. It's not at all impossible to make, especially if you follow this extremely simple recipe, which is neither the best on Earth, nor the most authentic. (To compensate for this lack of authenticity, Yiddish words and phrases will be used when possible.) But what it lacks in uniqueness, it. makes up for in consistency. The recipe is so easy and fool proof even goyim (non-Jews) can make matzo ball soup that would make bubbe (grandma) proud. Okay, we're hungry. Genug shane! (Enough already!) For us Sephardim who often miss this universal Jewish food here is a Passover version even Maimonides would have enjoyed at Pesach while away from the Sultan's palace.

For us Sephardim who often miss this universal Jewish food here is a Passover version even Maimonides would have enjoyed at Pesach while away from the Sultan's place.
 		  
 

Kosher Kooking               Vol. 1                page 109

  
 


MOROCCAN - STYLE MATZO BALL SOUP
 

  
 
Matzo balls aren't always part of the Sephardic tradition, but a Turkish friend remembers them from his childhood Seders. They'd be sorely missed at any American Seder; boxes of Passover matzo ball mix feature a foolproof recipe for them.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 2 large or 3 medium leeks, white parts only,
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and dice
• 2 medium white turnips, peeled and diced
• 3 medium carrots, sliced
• 3 medium stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped

 
 
• 8 cups vegetable stock or water, or a combination
• 1 tsp. each: paprika and ground cumin
• 1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced ,
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups frozen peas
• Matzo balls (use package directions)
 


Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and leeks; sauté over medium heat until the leeks are limp, about 10 minutes. Add (the potatoes, turnips, carrots, celery, mushrooms, stock or water, paprika and cumin; mix well. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer gently, cover, until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer 10 minutes more.

Stir in the peas. Let stand off the heat for several hours or overnight in refrigerator to develop flavor. Reheat before serving. Serve 8 to 10
 

 
 
 		  
 

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