Sephardic Chicken Soup With Sofrito And Herbed Matzo Balls Recipes

SEPHARDIC CHICKEN SOUP WITH SOFRITO AND HERBED MATZO BALLS

Steps:

• To make the matzo balls, bring a large pot of salted water or chicken broth to a boil over high heat. Whisk the eggs, oils, chicken fat, water, parsley, salt, garlic powder, and pepper in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, add the matzo meal and sift in the baking powder. Mix together, then fold into the eggs. Cover with plastic wrap, pressed tightly against the batter and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
• Moisten your hands lightly with water and form the matzo mixture into 24 walnut-sized balls. Carefully drop the matzo balls into the water or broth. Reduce the heat to medium and partially cover. Simmer gently until the matzo balls are cooked through, about 40 minutes. Using a skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer the matzo balls to a large bowl of cold water.
• Meanwhile, make the soup. Bring the chicken pieces and stock to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat, skimming off the foam that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, partially covered, until the chicken is tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the soup. Remove and discard the skin, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, and reserve the meat until service. Return the remaining bones back to the broth and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more to further develop the soup's flavor.
• While the soup is simmering, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, tomatoes, red and green peppers, cilantro, garlic and saffron. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables in the sofrito are tender, but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add the hot sauce, if using. Set the sofrito aside.
• When ready to serve, strain the soup and discard the bones. Return the soup to the pot and stir in the sofrito and chicken pieces. Add the matzo balls and simmer until the matzo balls are heated through, about 5 minutes. (The soup and matzo balls can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat before serving.)
• Ladle the soup, along with sofrito, chicken and matzo balls into bowls and serve hot, with an optional drizzle of the additional melted chicken fat (schmaltz).

CHICKEN SOUP WITH MATZO BALLS

Steps:

• For the matzo balls: Combine the matzo meal, salt, pepper and onion powder in a large bowl. Combine the eggs and schmaltz in a second large bowl. Very gently mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
• Bring a large pot of water to boil and season well with salt.
• Using wet hands, form the matzo mixture into 1 1/2-ounce balls. (Be gentle: overmixing can result in tough, hard dumplings.)
• Add the dumplings to the pot of water and cook until cooked all the way through, about 45 minutes. The dumplings can be held in warm water until ready to serve.
• For the soup: Sweat the onions, carrots and celery in a large soup pot with the schmaltz until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, 20 minutes. Skim any foam or bits of food that have risen to the top. Discard the bay leaves. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Just before serving, add the noodles and chicken and heat through. Place 2 matzo balls in each bowl and add the soup.

CHICKEN SOUP WITH MATZO BALLS

Steps:

• Place chicken in water and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Skim fat that rises to top with large spoon. Repeat 2 more times or as needed. Add vegetables and herbs. Cover and let simmer for 3 hours.
• Place chicken skin and onion in a saute pan over low heat. Render fat out of chicken skin. Strain and reserve fat. Discard solids. (Fat can be refrigerated up to 1 week). Lightly beat eggs then add chicken fat. Stir in matzo meal. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Add seltzer and chicken broth. Stir in, but don't overwork batter, as that will cause tough and chewy matzo balls. Cover mixture and refrigerate 30 minutes to 2 hours. Form into 2-inch balls. Drop softly with slotted spoon into chicken soup or salted water. Bring to boil. Cook 30 to 40 minutes, covered tightly (no peeking.) Serve in strained chicken soup or broth.
• Yield: 8 balls