We are dealing with a pandemic right now, Covid 19 is here to stay we don’t know for how long. No school for kids , no gathering more than 10 people inside or outside, public places closed and people acting a bit weird buying thousands of cleaning items , toilet papers, alcohol gel , masks , gloves, etc. BUT Social distance and washing our hands are key to take control of the spread of this virus.
So with all this happening, friends emailed me and ask if I could do a FACEBOOK LIVE step by step of my famous matzah ball soup. Specially because PASSOVER is around the corner and many families will be having a ” zoom” gathering instead and they will need to cook for themselves , only the direct family allowed. I did the facebook live in 4 different videos showing every step of it and How to make schmaltz on my way too. Than I got a request for the recipe and the photos and how to get the ingredients.
I want to dedicate this recipe to my Grandfather who passed away on September 15, 2018 , PROF. DR WARWICK ESTEVAM KERR . He was born on Sep 9, 1922 and he was a man who lived by his big heart and love by science and his family. He was my rocky , my mirror who gave me the drive to fight for my dreams , to immigrate to Canada 13 years ago and to be a woman connected with science , as I studied very hard to be a physician and never forgot his words to try to always be a better Person the next day , finding a way to improve the health of my patients and be kind to who are in need. He was a honored man who was ahead of our time ! Too bad the world never understood who he really was. Here is Photo with my Uncle Americo, the University of Uberlandia named a whole building in his honor. https://badbeekeepingblog.com/2018/09/15/dr-warwick-kerr-the-man-who-created-killer-bees-has-died/
now lets learn how to do Matzah Ball soup:
ingredients for the BONE BROTH :
1 yellow onion chopped.
4 garlic cloves squeezed
1 leek sliced and immersed in water to remove the dirty
a 10 cm ginger root peeled and sliced
1 celery root peeled and chopped ( keep the green part for adding to the soup )
2 parsnips peeled and sliced
2 table spoons of sea salt
1 table spoon grounded black pepper
8 leafs of sage chopped very small
1 branch of rosemary chopped small
1 table spoon of dried Italian herbs
5 carrots peeled and chopped
2 celery chopped
12 chicken thighs with the bones washed on running water
2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil
6 liters of water
1/2 cup of fresh parsley chopped very small. ( to garnish)
How to prepare it
Get a large pan, I use a 8 liters pan. Stir fry the leeks, onions and garlic with the olive oil. Once onions are transparent add the ginger root, fry one more minute than add the chicken and pour all the spices, salt and pepper on top, mix with spoon and fry the chicken skin for about 5 minutes in medium heat, once golden add all the other vegetables and water. Wait to boil and once it s put very low heat for 2 hours. Once is done, remove all the chicken transfer to a container and wait to cool down to remove by hand all the skin, tendons, bones and only save the meat. Get that meat and transfer back to the broth. Put the cover of the pan back and leave on slow heat. Go prepare the second step :
FOR MATZAH BALLS:
I did 2 recipes for that amount of bone broth. 1 recipe not enough for my family. Kids eat 8 balls each at least.
Schmaltz (Rendered Chicken Fat) 4 table spoons of the oil.
( I freeze mine, every time I scoop out the oil that forms on the surface of a finished bone broth leave in a medium container in the fridge over night and remove all that solid yellow gel next morning and than I transfer ONLY the yellow fat in smaller containers on the freezer. When I want to use for matzah ball soup I put that container in microwave for 40 seconds to turn into oil again)
4 brown eggs ( free run chicken )
1 box of matzah ball mix ( 142 g) that will have 2 servings of matzah meal already salted . ( I used manischewitz Kosher for passover)
1 small container with 2 table spoons of olive oil.
1 tea spoon
1 big plate
How to mix : In a bowl blend 4 eggs and 4 table spoons of the Schmaltz oil. THAN add the contents of the 2 packages and stir with a fork until evenly mixed.
chill in the refrigerator in a container with a lid/cover for about 20-45 minutes .
When the broth is done and boiling used the oil to wet hands and use the tea spoon to form batter into matzoh balls , approximately 1 inch in diameter, Do not press too much, be gentle. put aside all the balls to the big plate .
separate.
Now with the bone Broth ready to go, transfer each ball to the pan and make sure the soup is boiling and put the cover on the pan. Cook for 10 extra minutes until the balls get bigger and fluffy texture.
get the Soup bowls
Transfer some of the veggies, with chicken meat, than put 4 balls and scoop the Bone broth and sprinkle the parsley on top and it is served Shabbat Dinner ! It will be a complete success and you know your immune system will be boosted to the top! We can’t guarantee that if you drink the broth you are safe to get infected with this virus, best is doing all the measures that the government of Canada posted online : https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/prevention-risks.html?topic=tilelink
But let’s say you got the virus, your immune system will be a bit more stronger when you have bone broth daily.
” Bone broth nourishes and warms the vital physiological functions that are the foundation for human health in Chinese medicine: Jing (essence/DNA), Wei qi (your protection from external pathogens), Qi (propels all body functions), and Xue (makes, carries, and stores nutrients). When we consume bone broth, we are literally and figuratively absorbing the deepest digestible elements of the animal to nourish our body’s bones, joints, blood building marrow, kidneys, reproductive system, and the brain.Bone broth is perhaps the most elegant food elixir you can consume. It is a bit like a dietary dose of Ren Shen (ginseng). Its stimulating, grounding and fortifying at the same time. ” ( Ten Kay, L.Ac.)
