Also known as Jewish Penicillin, this matzo ball soup is a staple for Passover and the ultimate home comfort dish. It is worth the effort of making your own chicken stock but if time does not permit, kosher stock and pre-cooked chicken can be used. Outside of Passover, you can substitute the matzo balls for noodles or tagliatelle for an equally comforting chicken noodle soup.
Ingredients (serves 4)
6 chicken thighs (bone and skin on) – 2 large brown onions – 4 large carrots – 3 celery sticks – 4 sprigs of thyme – 120g matzo meal – handful fresh parsley – 1 large egg – kosher salt – pepper – 2 tbsp olive oil
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Arrange your chicken thighs in a roasting tin with one of the onions, chopped into thick wedges.
- Drizzle the chicken and onion with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and season with the salt and pepper. Remove the thyme leaves from two of the sprigs and scatter over the chicken and onion.
- Roast the chicken and onion for 30-40 minutes until the chicken skin is browned and the juice from the meat runs clear when skewered.
- Remove the crispy chicken skin and shred the meat from the chicken thighs and set aside to cool. Once the chicken meat has cooled, keep this refrigerated until 5 minutes before you are ready to serve the soup.
- Place the roasted onions, chicken thigh bones, chicken skins and juices from the roasting tin into a large pan. Rinse out the roasting tin with a little water and pour the contents into the pan. Fill the pan with 1½ litres of water, ensuring that there is enough water to cover the chicken thigh bones.
- Roughly chop one of the carrots and one of the celery sticks into large chunks and add these to the pan along with the remaining thyme sprigs.
- Place the pan on a high heat and bring the water up to the boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover the pan and allow to simmer for at least two hours. Drain the stock through a sieve into a jug so that the fat settles at the top of the jug.
- Peel and finely chop the remaining onion. Peel the remaining carrots and chop into small dice (approx. 1 cm) along with the remaining celery.
- Skim 2 tbsp of the fat from the top of your chicken stock and mix this into the matzo meal to make your matzo balls. Finely chop the parsley and stir half of this into the matzo mixture and add the egg to combine all ingredients into a smooth paste (add a little water if the paste feels too dry). Split the mixture into 12 small balls and place on baking paper in the fridge until 30 minutes before you are ready to serve the soup.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the finely chopped onion and stir occasionally until the onions have softened and are translucent (this should not take longer than 5 minutes).
- Add the diced carrot and celery to the onions and sauté for a further 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, bring up to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Taste the stock and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Add the matzo balls and simmer the soup for 25 minutes. Finally add the shredded chicken and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Serve the matzo ball soup immediately in soup bowls, dividing up the matzo balls evenly. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley.