Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls Recipe

Ingredients

For the broth:
2 onions
1 stick of celery
2 parsnips
2 carrots
1kg chicken wings
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns
For the matzo balls:
3 eggs
1 tsp ground white pepper
3 tbsp rapessed oil or chicken fat
1 chicken stock cube
210g medium matzo meal
For the soup:
2 large carrots
1 large parsnip
2 large sticks of celery
A handful of dill

Prep: 30 mins + chilling & resting | Cook: 3 hrs

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Method

1. Halve the onions and peel them. Trim and roughly chop the celery stick. Trim, peel and roughly chop the parsnips and carrots.

2. Pop the veg in a large pan. Add the chicken wings, bay leaves and peppercorns. Pour in 3 ltrs cold water. Cover with a lid and bring up to a very gentle boil. Turn down the heat so the pan is just steaming hot, and very gently cook for 2 hrs.

3. Strain the stock through a colander into a large bowl. Line a sieve with a muslin cloth and pour the stock through that into a clean bowl or tub. Let it cool, then chill overnight in the fridge. In the morning, skim off any fat. You should have around 2 ltr stock.

4. Make the matzo balls by beating the eggs with a pinch of salt and thef white pepper in a large mixing bowl. Slowly trickle in the rapeseed oil or chicken fat, whisking as you add it, then slowly whisk in 120ml water. The mixture should be foamy and airy.

5. In a separate bowl, crumble the chicken stock cube and then add the matzo meal and stir to mix. Add the matzo mix to the eggs and fold together, working quickly and lightly. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and set aside for 30 mins.

6. To shape the balls, dampen your hands with water and scoop a walnut-sized chunk out of the mix. Lightly roll into a ball and pop on a plate. Repeat till you have used up all the mix. You should have around 18-21 balls.

7. Prepare the veg for the soup: trim, peel and very finely dice the carrots, parsnip and celery.

8. Skim any solid fat off the top of the chicken stock, then pour the clear stock into a large pan. Warm the stock up so it’s just simmering. Add the chopped veg and the dumplings to the broth, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 mins. Ladle the soup into warm bowls. Drop in a few fronds of dill and serve.

9. Low & Slow
Slowly simmering the chicken stock extracts the flavour from the chicken and veg without making the stock too cloudy. You can also make this stock in a slow cooker, set to low, for 8-10 hrs. Depending on the size of your slow cooker, you may only be able to make half the quantity of stock so check how much liquid and ingredients your slow cooker will hold before starting.