flipChicken broth with matzo balls
Chicken broth with matzo balls
Why this dish? Dworkin grew up in Camden, New Jersey, in a Jewish family marked by the memory of the Shoah. Chicken broth with matzo balls — nicknamed 'Jewish penicillin' — is the totem dish of Ashkenazi Friday night tables, the dish of childhood and transmission.
A clear, golden chicken broth, long-simmered, with fluffy matzo meal dumplings (knaidlach) floating in it. The quintessential liquid comfort of Eastern European Jewish cuisine.
That's the table of my childhood, and I'm not going to pretend it doesn't matter. My grandmother came from a world they tried to erase, and this broth is what survived with her. You take an old hen — not a fancy chicken, a bird that has lived — you let it give everything it has to the water for hours. The dumplings, you want them light, not rocks: you rest the dough in the cold, you don't handle it roughly. And you serve it hot to the people you love, because it's a way of saying we're still here.
- •Stewing hen — one (broth base)
- •Onion, carrot, celery, parsnip — one each (broth aromatics)
- •Dill and parsley — a bunch (flavor)
- •Matzo meal (ground matzo) — one cup (dumplings)
- •Eggs — a few (binder for dumplings)
- •Schmaltz (chicken fat) — a few tablespoons (tenderness of dumplings)
Chicken broth with matzo balls
A clear, golden chicken broth, long-simmered, with fluffy matzo meal dumplings (knaidlach) floating in it. The quintessential liquid comfort of Eastern European Jewish cuisine.
Why this dish? Dworkin grew up in Camden, New Jersey, in a Jewish family marked by the memory of the Shoah. Chicken broth with matzo balls — nicknamed 'Jewish penicillin' — is the totem dish of Ashkenazi Friday night tables, the dish of childhood and transmission.
That's the table of my childhood, and I'm not going to pretend it doesn't matter. My grandmother came from a world they tried to erase, and this broth is what survived with her. You take an old hen — not a fancy chicken, a bird that has lived — you let it give everything it has to the water for hours. The dumplings, you want them light, not rocks: you rest the dough in the cold, you don't handle it roughly. And you serve it hot to the people you love, because it's a way of saying we're still here.
Ingredients (period version)
- Stewing hen — one (broth base)
- Onion, carrot, celery, parsnip — one each (broth aromatics)
- Dill and parsley — a bunch (flavor)
- Matzo meal (ground matzo) — one cup (dumplings)
- Eggs — a few (binder for dumplings)
- Schmaltz (chicken fat) — a few tablespoons (tenderness of dumplings)
Ingredients
- Stewing hen (or chicken thighs) — 1.5 kg (broth base)
- Onion — 1 (aromatic)
- Carrots — 3 (aromatic and garnish)
- Celery stalks — 2 stalks (aromatic)
- Parsnip — 1 (typical sweetness)
- Fresh dill — 1 bunch (flavor)
- Matzo meal — 150 g (dumplings)
- Eggs — 3 (binder)
- Schmaltz or neutral oil — 4 tbsp (tenderness)
- Sparkling water — 4 tbsp (makes dumplings light)
Method
- Place the hen in a large pot, cover with cold water, bring to a simmer and skim thoroughly.
- Add onion, carrots, celery, parsnip, and dill stems. Simmer gently for 2 to 3 hours without boiling hard.
- For the dumplings: beat the eggs with schmaltz, sparkling water, and salt; stir in matzo meal. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Strain the broth, adjust salt. Reserve some shredded chicken and carrot rounds.
- Form moist dumplings with wet hands and poach them in simmering salted water, covered, for 25 to 30 minutes; they double in volume.
- Serve the broth piping hot with 2 dumplings per bowl, carrots, chicken, and chopped dill.
How it was made : Knaidlach (matzo balls) originated in Eastern European Ashkenazi cooking, where ground matzo replaced flour, especially during Passover. Friday night chicken broth was one of the few rich meals of the week in modest families; chicken fat (schmaltz) played the role of butter, which was too expensive or non-kosher with meat.
The contemporary twist : A hint of fresh ginger in the broth and a squeeze of lemon juice at serving: 'Jewish penicillin' revamped as a winter remedy.
Andrea Dworkin · Charactorium
