An iconic dumpling most often seen in chicken soup but with uses far beyond. Just be sure to work the dough as little as possible, otherwise they’ll be dense and tough.
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup vegetable stock (pages 97–100) or Mushroom Stock
- (page 99)
- ¼ cup chopped or grated onion
- ¼ cup good-quality vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- About 1 cup matzo meal
How to Make It
- About 1 cup matzo meal Beat together the eggs and stock in a large bowl. If you prefer light matzo balls, separate the eggs and beat the yolks with the stock. Beat the whites until stiff and set aside.
- Stir in the onion, oil, salt, and pepper. Add the matzo meal and stir just enough to combine. If you separated the eggs, fold the whites into the dough now. The dough should be quite moist, barely stiff enough to make into balls. If it’s too moist, add a little more matzo meal.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. When you’re ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Using wet hands, shape the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter, again working them as little as possible.
- Turn the heat under the boiling water to medium-low so that it bubbles gently. Add the matzo balls to the simmering stock and cook until they are expanded and set, about 30 minutes. To serve, put several balls in each bowl and ladle the soup over.
- EGGLESS MATZO BALLS A little denser: Omit the eggs and use 8 ounces firm silken tofu. Blend the tofu, stock, onion, and oil in a food processor or blender until smooth, then combine with the remaining ingredients. Proceed with the recipe.
