Matzo Ball Soup with Chicken

Never in my life had I had Matzo Ball Soup until the other night. Boy, I've been missing out!

If you didn't know, matzo ball soup is made up entirely of matzo, a dry cracker, plus thankfully some other tasty (and wet) ingredients. I say thankfully because a plain matzo cracker is just about the driest, plainest thing ever created in the history of mankind. OK, maybe that's a slight exaggeration.

Anyway, the soup is actually really delicious. Spice it up by using the recipe here, which features celery and chicken in the soup, making for a complete and substantial meal in and of itself. Enjoy!

Ingredients

3/4 of an 8 ounce package of matzo crackers
1 tablespoon cup butter
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 onions, minced
2 dashes of bread crumbs
2 small cans chicken broth
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 chicken breast, sliced thin

Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

Break matzo crackers into small pieces, and place in a large bowl. Add water to cover; allow to soak for a few minutes, until soft. Drain off excess water.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and stir in drained matzos; stir until mixture is dry and slightly brown. Remove from heat, and mix in eggs, salt and pepper to taste, parsley, and onions.

Mix in just enough bread crumbs to make mixture hold together. Roll one golf ball-size matzo ball. Place matzo ball in the boiling water to test the mixture. The ball must rise to the top of the water and not break apart. If it does not rise, then too much matzo meal was added. In this case, add another beaten egg to the mixture and try again. When desired consistency is reached, roll all of mixture into golf ball size spheres.

In a large saucepan, bring chicken broth to a slow boil over medium heat; add balls, chicken, and celery to broth. Serve soup as the balls rise to the top of the broth.