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Matza Balls
By Aviva Goldstein
Perhaps nothing is praised so highly in the Passover Seder meal as the matza balls in the famed matza ball soup. That is with the exception of Chassidic Jews who take the easy way out and do not eat matza balls or any matza product that touches water, but then again, we can't please every one, can we?.
Every year you can hear the same complaints: "This here matza ball is as heavy as lead, they oughta use it for cannon balls." Making a light matza ball is not so hard, (pardon the pun) it just takes the right know how.
Matza balls, also known as knaidels or knaidelach, must be prepared before the soup is made. To make the perfect matza ball, follow the following recipe:
4 eggs, slightly beaten
4 tablespoons of oil
4 tablespoons of ice cold water
1 cup matza meal
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoons of pepper
Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well. After mixing refrigerate for one hour covered in the refrigerator, (where else?).
Fill a large pot with 8 cups of water and one teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. The matza balls will expand in the pot as they cook, so choose a large pot to allow for expansion. After the water comes to a boil, reduce the flame to low. Take the mixture out from the refrigerator and in your hand gently make the balls. Make sure that your hands are wet before proceeding to make the balls. Slowly add the newly formed balls to the hot water.
Cook for thirty minutes, then turn off fire, but keep the pot covered and let it cool for another ten minutes
Store the matza balls in your refrigerator until Passover. The morning before Passover make the traditional chicken soup. However, do not add the matza balls to the soup until a half hour before serving. Serve one or two balls in each soup bowl (together with the soup, of course).
Got too many matza balls? Don't worry, during the week, the left over matza balls taste delicious re-heated in the soup. Or for a delicious treat, try slicing them up and then frying them in oil.
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from the April Passover 2003 Edition of the Jewish Magazine
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