(upbeat music)
Hi Rachael, happy Passover.
I'm really happy to have you in my kitchen this time,
instead of me in yours like we usually are.
It's an uncertain time, it's a strange time
for everyone in the world.
And with all that uncertainty, I'm finding that a lot of
the things I'm cooking are the things that give me comfort.
And at Passover time, even though this is not
a usual Passover, I'm making what I need most
and crave most, which is Matzo ball soup.
I'm gonna make a version that was taught to me
by my mother, and her mother taught it to her.
It starts with good quality stock.
Chicken stock, you don't have to make from scratch.
If you can, and you have the time, that's great.
I made some this morning and it's
right in here, in this pot.
You need about eight to 10 cups of it.
My stock is very simple and basic.
It's a whole chicken, cut into parts,
thighs and breasts removed, and the carcass.
And then four carrots, four ribs of celery,
two white onions peeled, and it all coarsely chopped.
Into a big stock pot, I add three and 1/2 quarts of water,
some peppercorns, some parsley or other herbs
that I wanna add if I have them lying around.
Bring it all to a simmer.
Once it's simmering for about 20 minutes,
you take out the breasts, pick the meat off the breasts,
and put the bones back in the stock.
And then let that simmer for an additional two hours
until it's reduced by about a third.
I strain it, pick all of the meat off the bones
and reserve them, I have them all right here in a bowl.
And the rest of the stock is what is the base of my soup.
Let's get cooking.
I'm starting with four eggs.
(eggshells cracking)
And as Rachael taught me, I always have a garbage bowl
right near me for easy access.
Also you might notice that I'm breaking my eggs
not on the corner of the bowl, but on a flat surface.
And this makes sure that you don't push
any shell up into the yolk or the white and break it
or get shell in your egg.
I'm gonna wash my hands and I'll come back
to give these a light scramble.
I'm just gonna scramble them very lightly
to break up the yolk and the white a little bit.
Don't need to beat them to death here.
One cup of my Matzo meal.
Teaspoon baking powder.
Two teaspoons of Kosher salt.
And finally three tablespoons of club soda,
which helps with the levity of the Matzo balls,
making sure that they're light and fluffy.
Stir it all together.
A quarter cup of fat.
I'm using schmaltz, which is chicken fat,
I rendered it earlier from a chicken that I roasted.
If you can't get chicken fat,
because it is sort of hard to come by,
you can use clarified butter, or canola oil, perfectly fine.
Just gonna coarsely chop my dill here.
I want about two tablespoons,
so it's actually not that much.
The mixture needs to chill in the fridge uncovered
for about 1/2 an hour, up to two hours.
This is a really important step because it allows
the Matzo meal and the flour that's in here to hydrate
from that fat and the club soda.
My Matzo ball mixture has chilled for about 45 minutes
and I'm ready to make the Matzo balls.
I wanna work with wet hands.
And one tablespoon at a time,
I'm just going to take the Matzo mixture out,
roll it into a ball, I still want them to stick
which is why I wet my hands.
About that size.
Make as many balls as you can.
Okay.
I have a big Dutch oven of boiling water right here.
I'm just gonna drop all of my Matzo balls, very gently.
I'm gonna cover it, make sure it's still on a gentle simmer.
And I'm gonna let them cook for about 30 or 40 minutes.
I have my simmering stock on the stove.
And to it I'm gonna add about two cups' worth of chicken.
And then I'm actually gonna cut up
some carrots and celery pieces and add them as well.
My Matzo balls are done.
They've tripled in size, but they are light and fluffy,
I assure you.
I'm gonna put one Matzo ball in the center of my bowl
and ladle my soup with chicken
and vegetables around it, together.
Let's both have Matzo ball.
Okay, ready?
It's good?
Yeah.
You know what Daddy's grandpa used to always say?
No.
If you're feeling droopy.
Have a little soupy. Have a little soupy.
(crowd cheering)