Guest writer and Recipe for Gluten Free Matzo Ball Soup

I am excited to share this post with all of you. I asked a very talented woman and one of my favorite people on this earth to be my very first guest writer for the blog. I am lucky enough to sample so many of the items she makes in her kitchen in Philidelphia and work along side her in my own kitchen when she is in Rochester.

 I am always learning from her and value her opinion when it comes to..well..everything. Her name is Erin Stafford Hartigan. Erin was a semi finalist in 2011 for the James Beard award for Outstanding Pastry Chef. I know I'm bragging about her a bit, but how could I not?!

When Erin met her husband several years ago she was thrust into a new culture and quickly learned about the food and tradition that her new family held dear. Along the way she started to make these traditional foods in her own kitchen and modify them to fit certain dietary needs. Below is her account of this journey and her out of this world Gluten Free Matzo Ball Soup recipe. 

This dish is comfort food at its best. 

Thank you Erin for your time and sharing this recipe with my readers. 

"I can safely say that before I met my husband (whose mother’s family is Jewish) 8 years ago that words like Schmaltz and matzo were not part of my vocabulary.  Now,I can’t say that I’ve been completely converted, because the thought of consuming pickled Herring and various organ meats still makes my stomach turn, but I have come to love a well braised Brisket, nutty Kasha covered in brown gravy and especially a bowl of matzo ball soup.  

My basic knowledge for crafting a good soup base comes from my mixed origin coal country grandmother who taught me the value of fatty chicken wings and a healthy helping of salt to begin any stock.  My experience with matzo balls has come through trial and error and working with my husband to host a myriad of Passover and Hanukkah dinners.  

Just because you have cut gluten out of your diet doesn’t mean you can’t sit down at your Passover Seder and enjoy a steaming hot bowl of matzo ball soup.  I actually prefer the gluten free option because the mixture of potato and tapioca starches used to form the base of the unleavened bread in reality makes a lighter, fluffier matzo ball.  Best of all, this recipe is Bubby tested and approved.  L’Chaim!"

 

Ingredients

 

For the stock:

1 whole 3-4 pound Kosher chicken

1 package (about 1.5 pounds) Kosher chicken wings

2 yellow onions, quartered skin on

4 whole carrots, peeled ends trimmed

3 stalks celery

1 Tbsp. whole peppercorns

2 Tbsp. gluten free soy sauce

1 bouquet garni of your favorite herb mixture (I like thyme, flat leaf parsley, rosemary and bay leaves)

Salt to taste

 

For the matzo balls: makes 16-24 matzo balls

1 cup gluten free matzo meal (made from about 2 squares of gluten free matzo)

3 whole eggs, beaten

3 Tbsp. rendered chicken fat (schmaltz)

1 tsp. salt

¾ tsp. ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. minced chives + extra for garnish

4 Tbsp. seltzer water or club soda

 Day 1: Making the stock *Ideally, the stock would be made a day ahead of serving time to allow for cooling, straining and skimming

1.   Wrap herb bouquet in cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine.  This will prevent you from having to strain out all those pesky little thyme leaves and make for a wonderfully clear broth.

2.   Place all stock ingredients in an 8 qt. stockpot and fill with cold water until the chicken is submerged by about 3 inches.

3.   Bring to a boil on the stovetop and reduce to a simmer.

4.   I like to sink a 10-inch dinner plate onto the top of the simmering stock to keep all the ingredients submerged throughout the entire cooking process.

5.   Simmer stock on low heat for at least 4 hours.  The longer you simmer, the more flavor you can coax from the ingredients.

6.   Allow stock to cool on the stovetop.  Strain out solids using a fine mesh sieve.  Many chefs will tell you to discard the chicken meat since it has basically been boiled to its second death, but I like to pick it clean and use it to make a variety of chicken salads for lunches.

7.   Return stock to pot and refrigerate overnight.  In the morning you will be able to skim the solidified fat off the surface of the liquid leaving you with a fantastically golden, bright soup base.  You can even reserve some of the skimmed fat for making the matzo balls.

 

Day 2: Making the matzo balls

1.   Pulse gluten free matzo squares in a food processor until they are the consistency of breadcrumbs, 2 or 3 pulses.

2.   In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine matzo meal, eggs, melted chicken fat, salt, pepper, chives and club soda.

3.   Place in refrigerator and allow to chill for 30 minutes.

4.   Meanwhile, bring chicken stock to a simmer on the stovetop.

5.   Remove matzo mixture from fridge.  Run hands under cold water and make sure to rewet them frequently throughout the matzo ball process to keep sticking to a minimum.

6.   Form matzo balls that are about 2 inches in diameter and place on a lined baking sheet.

7.   Once all matzo balls are formed, carefully drop one at a time into simmering stock.  Cook no more than 20 minutes.  Gluten free matzo balls are much lighter than traditional matzo balls and will fall apart if cooked too long.

8.   To serve, ladle broth into soup bowls and include 2 matzo balls in each serving.  Garnish with chives if desired.

9.   If you are making this dish in advance and are not serving immediately, I suggest storing the stock and matzo balls in separate containers so the matzo balls don’t get water logged and turn to mush.

This is a picture of the GF Matzo Erin uses.