My Grandma B's recipe but revised by me for cholesterol, gluten free, less fat..but my Grandma Bessinger's recipe still the same and the one that my mother used too.
Every time I eat the matzo balls I have mental pictures of my mother standing in her kitchen making the soup and the matzo balls..
But let's start at the beginning..I started looking for matzo or matzo recipes I could use. I found one at the website of Anne, a kosher celaic ( her website is the kosher celiac cooks). http://www.kosherceliaccookery.com/ and she had a link to Gluten Free Matzo by Yehuda.
http://glutenfreehotproducts.com/2011/04/yehuda-gluten-free-matzo/
I sent the link to my sister and brother..my sister loved the idea and we order 3 boxes..one for each of us to try and one to split.
My Glatt Kosher brother was another story. He replied that it would not work for Passover as it did not have a form of wheat. He directed me to another website on Chabad that discussed the matzo issue and offered a solution. He ordered a box of gluten-free oat shmurah matzahs for my sister and I . http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1814200/jewish/Can-I-Have-Gluten-Free-Matzah-on-Passover.htm
The Matzo from Yehuda came to my house. My sister, cousin Tom and I tried it. It was delicious! Even my brother and his family could eat it, as it was not only certified Gluten Free but also OU and kosher for Passover and Parve.
On the first night of Passover, I didn't bring my good Matzo :-( but would rely on the Shmurah Oat Matzo. My brother and his wife assured me over and over again that they had a GF friend that ate this matzo and did not have a reaction.
I placed my GF oat matzo under napkins and did not use the matzo cover that had years of gluten matzo in it. When it came time in the service to eat the matzo, I bit in. I like oats, I have substitute Oat flour in cooking and baking and ate oatmeal ( thanks BOB RED MILL http://www.bobsredmill.com/oats/) so I was determined to like this.
Well, it was SO BAD! How bad?? So BAD!! Dry, tasteless, texture of nothing I have ever seen before. Dog and cat food is better. REALLY BAD!
My face turned a dozen shades of red, my niece sitting next to me, said the look on my face was priceless. My son was across the table from me and just laughed and laughed. I, in turn, started giggling and covering my mouth so as not to let the laughter out and spoil the Seder. IT WAS SO BAD, that sandpaper would be better, cardboard was preferable.It was dry and inedible.. I drank a whole bottle of water to try and get the taste out of my mouth. Then ate 6 leaves of romaine lettuce with homemade horseradish...IT WAS BAD!!!! Did I ever suffer!!
At another part of the service, I tried the handmade Oat shmurah matzo..it was better..or not as BAD as the machine made had been.. How could they ruin oats???
Anyway, after the Seder, my sister asked if I was going to make soup and matzo balls..well I had forgotten all about it. So I said no, but then said YES! I would try.
Now we are finally getting to the recipe part!!
My Mom and her MOM made soup and Matzo Balls using Matzo and Matzo meal. I translated my Grandma recipe years ago. She used a pinch of this, and a bit of that and of course season to taste.
Mostly it is done with your hands..so be prepared to get really globby and season to taste.
My Grandma's recipe was:
6 each Matzo crackers
3 cups of Matzo Meal
12 eggs
Some salt, pepper, parsley flakes, paprika
1 teaspoon schmaltz ( i think) I changed it years ago to mayo.
I changed the eggs to eggbeaters or egg whites .
18 egg whites = 10 eggs
Break up the Matzo crackers and soak in water, covering the Matzo with water. When the Matzo is soggy, squeeze excess moisture by hand. I put my bowl in the clean sink and wet the Matzo.So squeezing, the water goes down the drain instead of all over.
Mix in Matzo meal, 2 eggs, mayo, some salt, pepper, parsley and paprika. ( not sure what the paprika did, my mother put it in everything.) How much salt, pepper, parsley?? I don't know, I don't used them, so you can omit.
If mixture is too loose, add more matzo meal. If too dry add more eggs. The more eggs the better it will be. Cover and set in the ice box for an hour or so. ( see I told you it was from my Grandma)
Let cold water run, wet hands and make the matzo balls. Place them into boiling soup stock. Place cover on the pot. Decrease heat and simmer for a while, still covered. Cook about 20 to 40 minutes.
Hope the balls don't become rocks.
So first i made the soup stock.
I used:
1 sweet potato
1 lbs carrots
1/3 stalk celery
1 onion
2 zucchini's
2 parsnips
Water to fill over the veggies. Usually, turn on the pressure cooker, locking the lid in place,over high heat and let it build up steam to high pressure. I then turn the heat down to medium and maintain high pressure. I cook the soup for 10 minutes. Then I turn the heat off and let the pressure drop naturally about 25 minutes. Then I taste and add spices.
As I didn't have time to play with the stock, I used Imagine stock instead of water. http://www.imaginefoods.com/products#broths. I used non-chicken broth, it is vegetarian and GF.
My mother used to use a can of tomato paste instead of the sweet potato. But I don 't do can goods, so I found a sweet potato provides color and helps thicken the soup.
I used the Yuhuda GF Matzo for the balls. I used a box, divided it in 1/2. On 1/2, I placed in a zip lock bag, and crunch and crushed it into meal using a rolling pin.
The other half, I used as I would any Matzo.
I followed the recipe and hoped it would turn out. I did need another box of Matzo for more meal. Bit I didn't have one, so my matzo stuff was eggy.. I thought about using the crunch master crackers crushed up for more meal, but decided against it. I may do that later to see what happens to the taste.
Anyway,I followed the directions and made the balls. IT WAS GOOD. Not just allergy good but really good!
So..if you want/need GF Matzo Balls.. these are the best. Ask my sister and her family.
A BIG thumbs up to this one!!
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