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Miso Matzo Ball Soup

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The broth is deeply savory and the matzo balls, extra fluffy.
miso matzo ball soup
Chanie Apfelbaum/Totally Kosher

Matzo ball soup needs no improvement…but if you want to shake things up, try Chanie Apfelbaum’s recipe for miso matzo ball soup (from her new cookbook, Totally Kosher). It’s deeply savory and surprisingly fast to put together, thanks to miso paste and scallion-studded matzo balls.

“This is the soup recipe you need for those hectic Friday afternoons,” she writes, “when you get home late from work and need to throw together Shabbat dinner in a pinch, or for rainy days when you need a bowl of comfort food, but you don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen. The matzo balls were inspired by scallion pancakes, and in case you were wondering, they are definitely floaters, and extra fluffy at that!”

Excerpted with permission from Totally Kosher. Copyright © 2023 by Chanie Apfelbaum. Photographs copyright © 2023 by Chanie Apfelbaum. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House.


Ingredients

Scallion Matzo Balls

2 extra-large eggs

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

½ cup matzo meal

2 scallions (green parts only), chopped

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Soup

3 strips kombu (see Note), each about

5 inches long

⅓ cup white (shiro) miso paste

Toasted nori seaweed, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare the Matzo Balls: In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, canola oil and sesame oil until well combined. Add the matzo meal, scallions, baking powder, salt and pepper and stir with a spoon to combine. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

2. Prepare the Soup: Into a 6-quart pot, pour 8 cups of cold water and the kombu and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Remove and discard the kombu. In a small bowl, place the miso, add a few ladles of the hot kombu broth, and whisk until the miso is dissolved. Pour the miso mixture back into the pot, stirring to incorporate.

3. Bring the miso broth to a simmer over medium heat. With wet hands, roll the matzo ball mixture into tablespoon-size balls and carefully add them to the soup. Gently simmer, uncovered, until the matzo balls are fluffy, turning the matzo balls over halfway through cooking, 18 to 20 minutes.

4. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with toasted nori.

Notes

Kombu is an edible dried seaweed that can be found in health food stores or Asian grocers. It has lots of natural umami and adds a salty-savory quality to soups and stews. Eden is a popular kosher brand.

For a shortcut, use store-bought matzo ball mix and prepare according to package directions, replacing 1 tablespoon of the oil with toasted sesame oil. Add the scallions and proceed as instructed.

Nutrition Facts
  • 118 calories

  • 7g fat

  • 9g carbs

  • 5g protein

  • 1g sugars

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Note: The information shown is Edamam's estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.

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