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Recipe

A Bite To Eat With Alice: Matzah ball soup

Prep time: 
10
Cook time: 
115
Skill level: 
Medium
Serves: 
4
A bowl of matzah ball soup with three balls, greens and other veggies

The soup is garnished with fresh parsley and dill. (ABC News: David Sier)

Alice Zaslavsky is the host of A Bite To Eat with Alice, weeknights at 6pm on ABC TV and anytime on ABC iview. Alice is the resident culinary correspondent for ABC News Breakfast and ABC Radio, a food literacy advocate, bestselling cookbook author, and creator of Phenomenom, a free digital toolbox helping teachers slip more serves of veg into the curriculum.

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John Safran, Australian writer, filmmaker and comedian known for his distinctive and often provocative work, joined Alice in the kitchen.

Safran loves Jewish food and wanted to show Alice it could be delicious by bringing in matzah balls to use in this dish.

A plate with just-rolled matzah balls on it

The less you fiddle with the matzah balls, the fluffier and lighter they’ll be.  (ABC News: David Sier)

This recipe appears in A Bite to Eat with Alice, a new nightly cooking show on ABC iview and weeknights at 6pm on ABC TV.

Find the full list of recipe credits here.

A Bite To Eat With Alice: Matzah ball soup

Prep time: 
10
Cook time: 
115
Skill level: 
Medium
Serves: 
4

Ingredients

For the broth:

For the Matzah balls:

Method

  1. For the broth, boil a kettle's worth of water. Pop chicken into a colander in the sink and pour the just-boiled water over it to blanch. Transfer the drained chicken to your biggest pot with the 3L of (preferably filtered) water and bring to the boil quickly, then drop to a simmer, skimming assertively for at least the first 10 minutes (it'll look scummy, but don't worry – it won't cloud unless you let it boil for too long). Simmer for half an hour.
  2. To make the matzah balls, break the eggs into a bowl and add the warm water. Beat together with a fork until there is an even, creamy consistency. Pour in melted schmaltz or butter and stir gently with a fork to incorporate then set aside. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl then make a well in the centre and pour the egg mix in, stirring gently with your fork until combined, being careful not to over-mix. With water-dampened palms, roll tablespoons of mixture into walnut-sized balls (around 20g), popping them onto a plate/tray, ready for boiling. The less you fiddle with these, the fluffier and lighter they'll be. Pop your mix in the fridge while you get your boiling broth ready.
  3. After the broth has simmered for 30 minutes, scoop out the chicken bits, strip them of any meat, then pop the bones back into the stock pot along with the garlic, ginger, peppercorns, parsley and dill stalks. Bring to the boil once again, skimming occasionally and simmering for another half hour. Shred the meat while you wait, and reserve.
  4. Meanwhile, to cook the matzah balls, add enough water to fill your second-largest pot, leaving enough room for the matzah balls to expand and float. Season as you would pasta water and bring to the boil. Pop the balls into the pot, leaving them to boil until all the balls float to the top. Lower the temperature to a rolling simmer for 30-40 minutes, without any interruption (no stirring, thanks!).
  5. Strain the broth through a metal colander or chinois, discarding bones and aromatics. Return the broth back into the pot, add the vegetables and bring the lot back to the boil again then simmer for a final 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
  6. Remove matzah balls from water with a slotted spoon and pop straight into your soup bowls, around 2-3 matzah balls per serve. Add in some shredded chicken to each soup bowl. Pour over your chicken soup and garnish with fresh parsley or dill.
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