If I was any kind of Jewish Food I would probably be a matzo ball; I’m a bit round and occasionally pretty salty. So it only seems appropriate for me to start my series of lists on the best Jew Foods with a matzo ball.Plus— it’s fall, and getting cooler, and Sukkot is around the corner. If you’re eating outside, you especially need a matzo ball to fortify yourself.

Plus, since I see myself as a sort of matzo ball I am extremely discerning about what makes a good one. In my opinion they should be small and airy, their broths should be chicken and not too salty. My criteria are not too harsh, so I am always shocked that more places don’t meet them, but plenty do. And so, after exhaustive research, here are my top five favorite matzo ball soups in New York. Let’s begin with the classics and then move toward the less familiar:

1. It hardly gets more classic than the 2nd Avenue Deli (multiple locations throughout the city). 2nd Avenue Deli has been around since 1954 when it was started by Abe Lebewohl, a Holocaust survivor.The deli serves the quintessential matzo ball. Their balls are usually pretty large yet also extremely fluffy. It is hard to achieve a good fluff ratio usually in a large matzo ball, but they absolutely succeed. And what of the broth— that often overlooked element that can really make or break a soup? This broth is smooth and never greasy, which sometimes happens in restaurant soups. It is also a well salted soup which is extremely important to me and others in the salt-loving lifestyle.
2. Baz Bagel (181 Grand Street, New York, NY, 10013) is the new kid on the block; but I highly recommend their matzo ball; it’s to die for. When you walk in you might find it a sickening combo of hip and kitschy, but who could hate a restaurant that prominently features Barbra Streisand in the decor?! The real highlight of their matzo ball soup is their proper use of dill and salt. I usually dislike a matzo ball soup with dill because it tends to be overused, but this soup left me pleasantly surprised.
   
3. Russ and Daughters (multiple locations) serves up some classic matzo ball realness. Their carrots are properly cut up and fully cooked which, like greasy brother, is an issue in more restaurants than it should be. They use a great mix of light and dark meat in their soup. Their balls are generously sized and well seasoned with not too much dill (thank you!) and the perfect amount of salt. Remember: salt is sort of a huge thing for me.
4. Pastrami Queen (1125 Lexington Avenue) serves a decent matzo ball soup. I enjoy it every time I eat, though it is indistinctive. Their balls are generously sized, their broth is well-flavored (i.e., heavily salted). There is just one issue: They put noodles in their matzo ball soup, which is some added bang for your hungry buck but feels rather goyish to me. Still, it’s a quality soup that is worth checking out if you are by the Lexington Avenue Line 77th street stop.
5. Mile End Delicatessen (multiple locations) shakes up the typical matzo ball soup experience, at least if you’re New-York-normative. Mile End serves the Montreal Style of Jewish Deli food. Their recipe comes from the founder Noah Bermanoff’s late grandmother. Their matzo balls are light and fluffy and really pick up the schmaltz and chicken flavor. I highly recommend checking them out.
   

And now, you can stock up! Stave off the sniffles, and kick back in a sukkah, or at home, or in front of a huge portrait of Barbra Streisand. Just like your ancestors wanted.

Photo by Laurel Natale.

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Bubbes are magical, and luckily, not mythical, creatures. Long before J.K. Rowling created Bert Bott’s Every Flavor Beans or Butterbeer, bubbes were creating matzoh ball soup to fill your stomach and warm your soul. We might not have lightning bolt scars, but we have kneidlach.

Everyone has their own version of the dish. Some make it with noodles, others like their matzoh balls the size of bowling balls, and then there are those who prefer more vegetables then liquid. Let’s not forget the timeless debate over floaters and sinkers—the question of whether matzoh balls should be fluffy and float above the soup or dense and sink to the bottom of our bowls.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what side of the argument—there’s a reason why Jewish delis may not abide by the traditions of kashrut, but observe the tradition of matzoh balls with the utmost strictness. While it is often served on Passover, the cold winter days are prime matzoh ball soup season.

Growing up, my mom would ask my sister and me each week what we wanted featured on the Shabbat menu, and matzoh ball soup was always on the top of the list. During the winter months, we told our mom that we wanted soup to warm us up. During the summer months, we claimed it was hot outside so we wanted it to be hot inside too. That’s because matzoh ball soup is magic. When you eat it in the winter, it transfers you to a better place, like your bubbe’s kitchen perhaps. So why not become her favorite grandchild and take her and that soup on an exotic vacation—like the Caribbean!

That’s exactly what this recipe does. By adding some traditional Caribbean ingredients like coconut milk and cinnamon, you’ve boarded the plane. This recipe is a play on your bubbe’s traditional soup served Friday night and a pumpkin chicken soup served in Jamaica every Friday afternoon. It has matzoh balls much like the ones you remember eating at the Seder but the ginger and fresh coriander leaves help create a new memory. Instead of just having chicken in your pot, this recipe adds some fresh pumpkin, a handful of spices, and coconut milk in order to create a refreshing new chicken broth.

The flavors in this dish are much more powerful than the traditional bland chicken soup, and show just how much can be done with a timeless classic in the modern kitchen. Caribbean food is big on strong spices that can sometimes be a bit intense for some, the coconut milk not only helps cool down the soup but also provides an interesting flavor not often found in matzoh ball soup. The soup emits a powerful aroma that will fill your kitchen not only with its scent, but with hungry customers.

Not Your Bubbe’s Caribbean Matzoh Ball Soup
Serves about 8

Ingredients:
Spiced Matzoh Ball
1\2 tsp ginger
1\2 cup unpacked cilantro, diced
4 large eggs
1\4 cup seltzer
1 1\2 tsp salt
1\4 tsp black pepper
1 cup matzoh meal

Caribbean Chicken Soup Broth
1\2 tbsp allspice
1\2 tbsp turmeric
1\2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
4 shallots, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
1 1\2 lb pumpkin, cut into bite sized pieces
3 cups coconut milk
5 cups of chicken bouillon
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. To make your matzoh balls, whip all your ingredients, except your matzoh meal, together in a medium bowl.

2. Once the ingredients are combined well, add the matzoh meal. Be careful to mix your batter evenly in order to prevent clumps of matzoh meal sticking to the sides.

3. Refrigerate your batter for at least 1 1/2 hours.

4. Once you are ready, boil a medium pot of salted water. After it reaches a soft boil, continue by creating balls out of the batter in the palm of your hand.

I recommend wetting your hands in order to prevent the batter from sticking. The balls should be no bigger than a ping pong ball in order to prevent you from serving your guests beach balls with their soup.

5. Let your matzoh balls cook in the boiling water for about 40 minutes or until they have nearly doubled in size and are floating above the water’s surface.

6. While you wait for the matzoh balls to cook, start preparing your soup. Set a large pot over a medium heat and toast your spices until they become fragrant.

7. Add the shallots and garlic to the pot. Cover the pot and cook them covered until they begin to soften.

8. Add the rest of the soup’s ingredients to the pot and allow your soup to reach a soft simmer.

9. Add your spiced matzoh balls to the pot in order for them to absorb some of the soup’s flavors.

10. Cook your Caribbean chicken soup broth for about 40 minutes, until the pumpkin has softened.

Also try:

Not Your Bubbe’s Tu B’Shevat Seder

Not Your Bubbe’s Downton Abbey Viewing Party

Not Your Bubbe’s Recipe: Almond Olive Oil Cake

The post Not Your Bubbe’s Recipe: Blizzard-Friendly Caribbean Matzoh Ball Soup appeared first on Jewcy.

We here at Jewcy are big fans of the restaurant website Immaculate Infatuation, and are always excited when people we like share their favorite places to eat in the site’s Friday Fives feature. This week highlights restaurant pics from sibling chefs Eli and Max Sussman, who just came out with a new cookbook, helpfully called This is a Cookbook.

Jewcy chatted with the wunderkind chefs (Max works at Roberta’s and Eli works at Mile End) back in December 2011, and learned this summer camp gem: “They both got their start in the Detroit suburb of their childhood. They were raised to appreciate food by an artist mother who cooked dinner every night and lawyer father who baked challah every Friday. As a result, instead of becoming counselors at their Jewish sleepaway camp, they ran the kitchen.” They also shared a pretty awesome latke recipe.

All grown up now, the brothers gave Immaculate some great restaurant recommendations. Eli’s pick for Classic NYC Establishment? 2nd Avenue Deli: “Our parents keep kosher, and our dad is a huge fan of tongue and pastrami. So whenever they come to NYC we head over to lunch and get this absurd gargantuan meat platter with bowls of matzo ball soup, a stack of pickles, and Dr. Browns all around.” Max went with Russ and Daughters, which is a choice we can get behind: “I’m a sucker for smoked and cured fish, and this is the place right here. Often imitated, never duplicated.”

Not starving yet? Check out the trailer for This Is a Cookbook:

This Is a Cookbook by Max & Eli Sussman (Official Trailer) from iBookstore on Vimeo.

Previously: Two Jewish Brothers Walk Into A Brooklyn Kitchen (And Come Out With A Latke Recipe)

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Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas is featured in Us Weekly’s “25 Things You Don’t Know About Me” feature, where she reveals that her favorite meal is none other than matzoh ball soup—or as we like to call it, Jewish penicillin. The 16-year-old gymnast also roots for the Los Angeles Lakers, likes music by Drake and Katy Perry, and says her prayers everyday. Gabby Douglas, we love you.

Previously: Gold Medalist Aly Raisman Commemorates 1972 Munich Games
Jewish Gymnast Aly Raisman’s Parents Nervously Watch Her Olympic Routine
Finding Out My Favorite Gymnasts Won Olympic Gold Medals—on Tisha B’Av

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