Comfort Cooking: My Mom's Matzoh Balls

[chomiji]

I'm making matzoh balls! Even though we have no soup to put them in! I just wanted some, dammit!

When I was growing up, I could never figure out why people made jokes about matzoh balls being like cannon balls, because Mom's weren't. The secret is that her batter is actually pretty loose and runny before it's chilled. Because it's less dense, the final product is lighter as well.

Minnie's Matzoh Balls

3 large eggs
6 Tbsp water
6 Tbsp mild-flavored vegetable oil
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper [this is important - not black pepper]
3/4 cup matzoh meal

1. Beat the eggs thoroughly with the water, oil, and seasonings.
2. Stir in the matzoh meal until well blended.
3. Chill for at least 1 hr in the refrigerator (or cheat and do about 30 mins. in the freezer)
4. Meanwhile, get a large (soup-kettle size) pot half-full of salted water boiling.
5. Wet your hands with water, and form the stiffened batter into balls about 1½-2 inches in diameter - drop each one into the boiling water as you form it. Do not try to "pack" the ball together tightly - yes, it may disintegrate a teeny bit when you drop it into the water.
6. Boil for 20-30 minutes, depending on exactly how big they end up.
7. If you're serving them as soup dumplings, simmer gently in the soup broth for 15 minutes before serving. (You can also serve them plain, with butter, which is evil, considering how much oil is in there already.)

Yes, Mom's name was Minnie. And Dad's was Irving. Ahh, the dear departed days of the NYC Jewish community of the 1930s ... .

XD

Comments

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

This sounds wonderful! What sort of soup do you serve them in? (Witness my cluelessness.)

[chomiji]

The classic would be a rich chicken broth, with tender slices of carrot and bits of celery and onion from making the broth (the original soup carrots shouldn't be used, though - too much of their flavor is gone), and then maybe a sprinkling of minced parsley over the whole thing. Chopped up bits of chicken meat are optional, and some people also add egg noodles, which I think is overkill.

Like this, except those are bigger matzoh balls than I like to make.

[amai-kaminari.livejournal.com]

I love Matzoh Ball Soup! <3 When I was in college, I used to work for the Interfaith Organization. We coordinated worship services for various faiths and ran the kosher-halal kitchen. The chef was amazing! ~<3

[chomiji]

That sounds wonderful! Interfaith fusion cooking!

[amai-kaminari.livejournal.com]

It was wonderful! We even had a Japanese Tea House and Meditation Garden! I worked as a Kagi.

http://www.jgarden.org/gardens.asp?ID=608

[chomiji]

LOL! I was within a stone's throw of that last week! We were visiting Smith and Hampshire colleges.

[amai-kaminari.livejournal.com]

I loved the 5 College Valley. I also had to decide between Smith and Mount Holyoke. Smith gave me the better financial aid package, but I just felt more at home at Mount Holyoke. The "personalities" of thw two school are very different. I loved my time there, though.

[chomiji]

XD

I'll make some fresh ones for you sometime, specially, imoto-chan!

[theloomofmoira.livejournal.com]

We have a spaetzle recipe, ourselves. flour, eggs, milk. spoon it into boiling water, then we drained it and browned them in a skillet with butter and onions. Usually top them with spicy stewed tomatoes. Probably the most unauthentic spaetzle recipe in existence: Tex-Mex Spaetzle.

I see pictures of spaetzle that are these tiny little dumplings, and I wonder that we call these colossal things the size of your hand by the same name. XD

I've never had matzoh, but now I've got no excuse.

[chomiji]

So why have you got no excuse not to eat matzoh? >puzzled <

Matzoh is mostly like very plain crackers, and matzoh meal is like very fine cracker meal. I've heard of spaetzle, but I don't think I've ever had them!

[theloomofmoira.livejournal.com]

I mean, I haven't got any excuse not to try matzoh balls now that I have this great recipe of yours. Before, I wasn't sure really how to make them (besides what the directions on the package would suggest) and had never been offered any...

the spaetzles I'm used to are like dumplings, but the small ones are inbetween dumplings and egg noodles, and I've seen the small ones (or specially made long skinny ones) dressed up with cheese and onions like macaroni!

mmmmmmmmmmmmm

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Those sound tasty.

[chomiji]

Oh, they are! They are!