Ferla Spice Matzoh Ball Soup

Serves 8. Recipe from Leslie Goldenberg. 

Leslie is an adventuresome home cook, expert knitter, and good friend to Curio Spice. She graciously shared her recipe for matzoh ball soup and says that you can substitute our Kozani Spice for the Ferla Spice with equally good results.

For the matzoh balls:
5 tablespoons chicken fat (melted) or olive oil
4 Eggs
1 cup matzoh meal
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons Ferla Spice
4 tablespoons seltzer

2 quarts homemade chicken or vegetable broth with vegetables and/or chicken

Mix the chicken fat or olive oil with the eggs. Stir in the matzoh meal, salt, spices, and seltzer until no streaks of matzoh meal are visible. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour. This can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated overnight.

Bring a large pot of water to boil (a pasta pot is perfect).

Scoop out a ping-pong sized bit of the matzoh ball dough, roll it into a ball, and place it on a piece of wax paper. (A cookie scoop or a spoon works well.) Repeat until you’ve used all the dough. Note that the balls become much larger when cooked — feel free to adjust the size to your preference.

When the water boils, add 1 teaspoon of salt and reduce the heat to a lively simmer. Using a slotted spoon (or carefully, your hands) gently lower the matzoh balls into the water. Cover the pan and cook until cooked through, 30–40 minutes.

While the matzoh balls cook, Put the broth, chicken, and/or vegetables into a large pan. Drain the matzoh balls in a colander, add them to the soup. Bring the soup to a simmer and serve.

The cooked matzoh balls can be frozen on a cookie sheet, then popped into a storage bag for future batches of soup. Alternatively, the soup with the matzoh balls in it can be frozen.