Matzo ball mix does not exist in the south of France, nor in Alsace. When I have seen a box, (like in Paris) there’s garlic in the mix, which I can't eat. I gave in and made them from scratch. I love matzo balls. I can eat them all year long.
This is no Tori Avey 5-page recipe; it's a weird recipe, because of the ingredients, but they turned out to be the best matzoh balls I’ve ever made. Making matzo into meal was a pain in the ass, but for a recipe of only 6 matzoh balls, it was worth it. A Seder table of 10 would have killed me, so I need to figure a better way to grind-up matzo.
I used Heumann’s “Tartines” style pain azyme for the meal. They are the closest thing to matzo I remember from the States. About 3 of these Tartine matzos make about a ¼ cup of meal in a Cuisinart, less the cracker bits that never ground up (which I ended up making into balls separately, and turned out pretty damn good).
INGREDIENTS:
A very good ¼ cup of fine ground matzo meal from matzo.
¼ tsp baking powder (optional for Passover)
½ tsp JL Ramen noodle vegetable flavor-pack powder. (the only pack I can find w/o garlic or other crap in it-and the ramen are decent. They come in a green package and I buy them at Grand Frais).
1 large egg
1 T light oil (colza/sunflower…)
Sprinkle in some frozen chopped parley (boxes are at Picard…)
Do your own stock, or use some of the flavor pack from the ramen noodles to make a stock (this is why I do not add salt to the matzo ball mix).
¼ tsp baking powder (optional for Passover)
½ tsp JL Ramen noodle vegetable flavor-pack powder. (the only pack I can find w/o garlic or other crap in it-and the ramen are decent. They come in a green package and I buy them at Grand Frais).
1 large egg
1 T light oil (colza/sunflower…)
Sprinkle in some frozen chopped parley (boxes are at Picard…)
Do your own stock, or use some of the flavor pack from the ramen noodles to make a stock (this is why I do not add salt to the matzo ball mix).
Fork-mix matzo meal, baking powder, frozen parley bits and flavor pack spices in a small bowl. In another small bowl, fork mix together the egg and oil until well blended.
Pour egg mixture into the dry mixture. Mix all together with a fork until just combined. Do not over-mix. Put the bowl of matzo ball mixture covered in the fridge and let rest at least 30 minutes.
Bring your cooking stock to a nice simmer-boil. Form the chilled matzo meal mix into 6 27g each lightly rolled balls. Keep ‘em light.
When broth is boiling, reduce to a simmer and drop the matzo balls gently into the liquid. Let cook 30-45 minutes until fluffy and soft. Keep the pot covered, turn them over only once during their cooking time. The balls are ready when they are floating and bouncing on the surface of the water. Cook longer if they seem dense or tight, that means they haven't cooked long enough. The should look soft and airy.
Mazel tov!
