Nothing in the world beats a good bowl of chicken soup, especially when it's spring time. Matzo Ball soup is a good old-fashioned, simple comfort food.

Regardless of your religious inclinations, it's impossible to ignore the warm revelation that a good matzo ball soup has to offer. It is referred to by many as "the Jewish penicillin" because matzo ball soup is known for its cold-curing properties. It will cure what ever ails you.

This soup is delicious. The matzo balls are light and fluffy. There are two matzo ball camps: those that like them heavy and leaden at the bottom of a bowl and those that like them light and fluffy–these are the latter, and in my mind, the better ones.

Happy childhood memories are made of magic and homemade matzo ball soup.  Eating a bowl of matzo bowl soup always brings me back to those days when I was growing up and life was simpler.  It is also one of my family’s favorite part of the meal.  After experimenting with many different matzo ball recipes, my mom and I still love the Manischewitz Matzo Ball mix better than any other. I like to eat my matzo ball soup with noodles.  I use yolk-free egg noodles (fine) and followed the directions on the package. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Happy cooking and eating!

Ingredients:

  Broth

• 1 3-4 pound chicken
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 leeks, chopped and thoroughly washed
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 4 sprigs flat leaf parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 Matzo Balls

• 1 box Manischewitz Matzo Ball Mix
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preparation:

Place chicken in a large stock pot and add cold water to cover by 3 inches. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Skim off impurities that rise during the first 15 minutes of boiling, add celery, carrots, onion, leeks, garlic, and parsley. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chicken is cooked, about 45 more minutes.

Carefully remove chicken from pot and take meat from bones, reserving meat for another use. Return bones to pot of broth, and simmer for 1 hour more. Skim off and discard fat.

For matzo balls: follow instructions on package.

To serve, place broth over medium-low heat. Add matzo balls and optional cooked noodles into the broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer until matzo balls are thoroughly heated, and serve. Serve with Mandlen Soup nuts.  Enjoy!