Kosher Matzo
Posted
Fri, 05/07/04
I've never had the experience of eating kosher food in my life. Being raised Catholic, this comes as no surprise. A few weeks ago I was in the grocery store looking for my favorite brand of soup mix (Bear Creek Foods), when I saw a box of Matzo Ball & Soup Mix from Streit's. The container was marked as kosher for Passover. I purchased a box of the soup, and then promptly forgot about it after storing it in my cupboard. Yesterday I saw the box again, and decided to give the mixture a try.
Preparation from directions on the box is easy; in fact, the entire process took just over thirty minutes from start to finish. I mixed the package of matzo meal with two eggs and oil, and then let it stand for fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, I brought 2-1/2 quarts of water to a boil and added the packet of chicken broth. Wetting down my hands as per the package directions, I shaped the matzo meal into walnut-sized balls and dropped them into the hot broth. I covered the pot and lowered the heat to simmer and cooked for thirty minutes. I made chicken sandwiches on the side. Wilbert and I enjoyed the meal immensely. I loved the taste of the matzo balls, let alone swimming in broth. During the cooking process, the matzo balls expanded to almost double their size and were somewhat heavy but tasty all the same.
Streit's Matzo (Aron Streit, Inc.) also manufactures other kosher food for Passover and year-round use. The company has been in business since 1916, when Aron Streit opened his first matzo factory on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Aron and his first partner Rabbi Weinberger made all their matzo by hand. The business now also includes a bakery, which resides in the same four buildings on Rivington Street where Aron and his sons started baking matzos more than seventy years ago.
Their web site also contains a recipe page, which includes dishes such as Passover "Breaded" Fish Filets with Horseradish Sauce, Chicken Cutlets with Apricot Wine Sauce, Green Vegetable Kugel, Passover Granola (Farfola), Passover Mandel Bread, Passover Special Meatloaf, and Sweet Potato Tzimmes.
But what is matzo? I had no idea until I found the following information at Cooking.Com:
Matzo meal is a fine-textured meal ground from matzo, the Jewish unleavened bread. It is used as the main ingredient in matzo balls as well as in baking, as a breading for fried foods, and as a thickening agent.
And how to make Matzo Ball Soup from scratch? Try the following recipe:
Matzo Ball Soup (Kneidlach)
Chicken broth or chicken soup
To make the matzo balls, whisk together the egg yolks, chicken fat, and salt in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in the matzo meal. The mixture will be thick, so you will have to shake it out of the whisk wires. Beat the egg whites in a bowl just until stiff peaks form. Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into matzo mixture to lighten, then fold in the rest. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until mixture congeals (about one hour). After removing from refrigerator, form the matzo mixture into 12 to 14 balls, dipping balls into simmering chicken soup as they are formed. Simmer, uncovered, until the matzo balls are cooked through (one hour to 1-1/2 hours). Spoon the soup and the balls into bowls and serve at once.
Rendering Chicken fat (schmaltz): Use three cups of chicken fat and skin. Place fat and skin scraps in a heavy bottomed, non-reactive pot (cast iron, copper and aluminum might give schmaltz an unpleasant taste). Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until scraps render fat and begin to brown. Increase heat to medium. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until chicken scraps are golden brown and somewhat crispy, but not burnt. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a five minutes. Strain mixture through a colander or meshed strainer into a heatproof glass container. Cover and store in refrigerator for up to six months.
Note: Matzo is a wheat flour and water dough, rolled out cracker thin and baked until crisp. Matzo meal is similar to bread crumbs, but made from matzo. You can try scouring for a recipe to make matzo from scratch, but your best bet would be to buy it already made - preferably Streit's or Manischewitz brands, or one found in your local market.
For more kosher dishes, visit Food Fare's Jewish Recipes page.
Tags: Jewish;
Soups & Stews
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