Homemade gluten-free, onion free matzo ball soup!

One of my favorite food memories is chicken matzo ball soup, a traditional food made during the season of Passover. Passover is an eight-day celebration that commemorates the amazing miracles of the Lord and how He delivered the Israelites from bondage in Egypt to freedom.

Mom would often make matzo ball soup. Matzo balls have matzo meal - unleavened flour - and float like bobbing apples when cooked in chicken soup. While I didn't grow up Jewish, the stories of Passover deeply resonated with my family because Yeshua - Jesus - celebrated Passover, with his most famous Passover meal being the last supper. Some of my favorite memories of the soup are from mom telling of how she got the matzo ball mix at some unbelievable deal and then decided to buy like 10 boxes so the family would have matzo ball coziness year-round. When it would be cold outside or someone wasn't feeling well, it would often mean mom making matzo ball soup.

This year's matzo ball soup journey is extra meaningful. Firstly, it is the first time I made matzo balls entirely from scratch. While the box mix is amazing, I somehow developed an onion allergy (including onion powder), and it is amazing how many things in America have onions, including matzo ball mix. What I discovered was homemade mix is even more amazing than the box and is super simple to make! Secondly, the reminder of how the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of those miracle days of old is still relevant today - He is still in the miracle making and deliverance work, and that is so important even more in this season.

So now with the recipe!!!

Chicken Soup (my recipe)

6-7 Medium sized diced carrots

6-7 diced celery spears

2 tsp minced garlic

Himalayan salt to taste

Freshly ground pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

4lb or so organic whole chicken

7-8 cups of water

Dill (optional)

Heat oil. Add in minced garlic and saute for 30-60 seconds on medium heat. Add in celery. Saute celery for a couple minutes until soft. Add in salt and pepper. Add in carrots and saute for a couple of minutes. Add in a little more salt and pepper. Then add in 7-8 cups or so of water and bring to a light rolling boil. Add in 4lb whole chicken with the feet side down first in the water so the hot water can quickly fill the chicken cavity. While chicken cooking in hot water, you can make the matzo ball mix (takes some time to prep and also gel together in the fridge). After 35-40 minutes, check to see if chicken is fully cooked, then remove to cool and debone and cube. Meanwhile, take the matzo ball mix out of the fridge and add the balls to the chicken soup. Then add in the cubed chicken. As applicable, add in light salt and pepper to taste as well as chopped dill.

Matzo Ball Mix

I adapted the recipe from Kosher Perfect Matzo Balls and made the following adaptations:

Used olive oil instead of schmaltz
Excluded onion powder
Used Yehuda gluten free matzo meal
Used pasture-raised eggs
Used 1/2 tsp of Himalayan salt
Used freshly ground spices from a spice retailer, which makes such a huge difference in freshness and aromatics.
You can also use a dehydrator to dry herbs and then use a mortar and pestle to hand grind. Wow, the difference is like store bought strawberries vs. home grown strawberries (as in no words can adequately describe!)