matzo ball soup
A confession: In spite of my , I don’t like traditional chicken soup. Obviously, boasting such sacrilege, I am undeserving of your sympathy. Obviously, this is why, four days in, I am still on the sofa on my second box of tissues, chugging down my 20th Brita pitcher of water, my nose as red as a rail-thin starlet at 4 a.m., the bitterness of having a SuperBowl party of one only slightly mitigated by the fact that the Giants triumph–I do not embrace everyones’ grandmother’s sworn-by home remedy.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 13 of 14 ingredients — the other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 13 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Vegetable | 1 tbsp (14g) | 120 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Parsnip | 1/2 cup (78g) | 55 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Carrot | 1 medium (61g) | 25 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Dill | 5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried | 4 |
| Bay Leaf | 1 leaf (0.6g) | 2 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds chicken necks, backs and wings
- 3 celery ribs, cut into big chunks
- 3 carrots, scrubbed and cut into big chunks
- 2 parsnips, scrubbed and cut into big chunks
- 2 onions, unpeeled and quartered
- 1 head garlic, cut horizontally in half
- 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 4 quarts cold water
- –and/or–
- Any vegetables you have stashed in your Stock Bag (described above)
- 1/2 cup matzo meal
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons reserved chicken fat or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chicken stock or seltzer (which both of our mothers swear by for making the balls extra light)
- 2 to 3 quarts prepared chicken stock (recipe above)
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced
- A few sprigs of dill