My Most Requested Recipes (2024)

When Mama Marko comes to visit, we always makeit a priority to spend bonding time in the kitchen….but it’s not always mykitchen. My dear friends, Honey and Tinaoccasionally make a special request that this dynamic cooking duo come to theirhome and make Chicken Matzo Ball Soup.

Duringmy mother’s recent Thanksgiving visit we were able to accommodate our friends’request. We packed the car with myoversized stock pots and knives and drove to Franklin to make a huge pot ofJewish Penicillin. By the end of theday, they had a counter lined with portion sized containers to fill their freezerand hopefully last them through the winter.

In a largestockpot, place the whole chicken. Toadd more flavor, I typically add the neck bone, but don’t add the liver, itwill make the soup bitter. My motheralways added short ribs to her chicken soup.Back then, short ribs were not as trendy as they are today…and we calledit “flanken,” but this meat added another layer of flavor to her special soup. Add the short ribs (optional) and pour inenough water making sure the chicken and meat are covered by at least an inchor two.

Cook over medium heat until thesoup comes to a slow boil. Lower theheat to medium low and simmer for approximately 1 hour. If you allow the broth to boil hard, the soupwill become cloudy. After 1 hour, therewill be impurities that rise to the surface.With a slotted spoon, skim the impurities into a small bowl andtoss. Add water if necessary to keep thechicken completely covered.

I like toadd my vegetables after cleaning the impurities from the soup. Once the broth is cleaned, add the wholecarrots, celery stalks, parsleyand whole onion.At this time I add salt to the broth.I begin with about a teaspoon or two, depending upon how large a pot youhave.

Cover and cook on medium low heatfor approximately another hour. Whilethe broth is cooking, prepare the noodles and matzo balls.

In a separate pot of boiling water, cook the eggnoodles according to directions on the package.Drain and set aside.

For the matzo balls, I prefer to use a matzoball mix. It tastes exactly the same asusing matzo meal and adding the additional ingredients, and I find that it is easierand readily available.

Break 2 eggs into a medium bowl. Add the vegetable oil and mix gently with afork. Do not whip. Add the contents of one bag of the matzo ballmix and gently mix. Cover with a pieceof plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes makingsure the plastic wrap is touching the mixture to prevent the batter fromforming a crust.

In a large pot with atight-fitting lid, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil with 2 teaspoons salt anda bouillon cube. To add another layer offlavor to the matzo balls, I like to season the water so feel free to add anadditional bouillon cube or other available chicken enhanced flavor packet.

Using wet hands, form small balls from thematzo meal batter, each about the size of a grape or walnut, depending on thesize of matzo balls you prefer. Mama Marko is using asmall ice cream scoop to keep them small and consistent in size. Matzo ballsswell as they absorb the water inwhich they are cooking. Once thewater boils, reduce heat and bring to a simmer.Add the matzo balls, cover the pot and cook for 30 to 35 minutes.

When chicken is done, carefully remove thechicken, short ribs and vegetables to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, discard the skinand bones and shred the meat into portion size pieces. Discard the whole onion and cut the carrotsand celery into serving size pieces.Carefully strain the stock through a sieve into another pot.

To serve the soup immediately, place a fewpieces of chicken, meat, carrots and celery into a bowl. Add noodles and several matzo balls and coverwith broth. Top with a sprig of freshdill or a teaspoon of finely chopped dill.

If you have leftover broth, freeze in containers. The next time you need chicken broth for arecipe, you now have homemade stock. Fora printer friendly copy of this recipe, go to Chicken Matzo Ball Soup.Enjoy!