Don’t Be Shy, Put the Whole Ball in Your Mouth

Editors Note: La Shana Tova! A Blessed and Sweet New Year to you all. In the Jewish calendar, fall welcomes the new year and two very somber holidays: Rosh Hashanah, the “head” of the year, which is spent wearing dark suits in a synagogue praying all day; and Yom Kippur, the day of repent, where one asks G-d for forgiveness of the past year’s sins and to be added to the “Book of Life,” basically, asking not to die this year. Yea, I know, and you thought being Jewish was all about food and kvetching. So to make up for the fact that we celebrate new years talking to G-d and not partying like you sinner Christians, we have matzah ball soup. Here is fellow Jew and pending lawyer, Jason’s take on the classic.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur remind me of great food times in my life. Us Jews are all about family, food and food. And the most famous food of all –- matzah ball soup.

Since I was old enough to sit at the adult table, I have been enjoying matzah ball soup. Today, I regularly make matzah balls and routinely freeze them for late night snacks.

But I want to let everyone know the secret to making matzah balls irresistible: Maggi Seasoning Sauce. Using Maggi sounds strange, but Maggi is dubbed as the do-all sauce for Latinos, Asians and Europeans. It adds an amazing flavor that will keep you craving matzah balls all year round (trust me, my shiksa girlfriend Lauren asks me once a week to make them.)

High Holiday Matzah Ball Soup

Ingredients

For the balls:
1 Onion
Vegetable Oil
1 Box of Matzah (plain unsalted or wheat)
1 egg
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Salt

For the soup:
2 – 49 ½ ounce Cans of Chicken Broth
1 Carrot
1 Celery Stalk

Fill up a large bowl with water. Take the whole box of matzah and let the pieces soak in water. When the matzah is soft take it out and place it into a strainer and break it up into smaller pieces and try to drain all the water out.

While you are letting the matzah soak, dice up a large onion and then sauté it in 4-5 tbsp of vegetable oil. As the onions are sautéing, put 5-7 tbsp in another deep saucepan and put the smashed matzah in. Cook the matzah on medium to medium high heat until you see the matzah clump up and turn brown. Be sure to continuously stir the matzah.

When the onions have browned, transfer them to the sauce pan with the matzah. Mix the matzah and onions together, continuously stirring, on medium heat. When you see the matzah start to more brown, the matzah is ready.

Place this mixture in a bowl and let cool for about 15 minutes.

While the matzah and onions are cooling, pour the chicken stock in a large pot. Add in thinly sliced carrot and celery. Heat the soup on high until the carrots and celery are soft, then turn down the heat from high to medium.

Once the matzah and onions are cool, mix in one egg and add a pinch of salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Mix well, and then the ball rolling begins!

Balls cook best when they are medium sized, kinda like a golf ball. After you rolled the balls, slowly drop them into the soup.

Allow the balls to cook for 15-20 minutes. They will be ready when they pop up to the top of the soup.

Serve with a couple dashes of Maggi.