Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Food

Kutsher’s Tribeca Matzo Ball Soup

This recipe, from a dearly departed Tribeca restaurant, includes a turkey leg and chicken feet for additional flavor.

Broth

1 3-pound whole chicken
1 turkey thigh, leg or 2 wings
1 pound chicken legs
1 head of garlic
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped 4 sprigs fresh thyme
6-10 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
5 parsley stems

1) In a stock pot, bring everything to a simmer.

2) Cook on a low flame for six hours. If not allowed to boil, soup will remain absolutely clear.

3) Pass the stock through a fine strainer.

4) Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Kutsher’s Matzo Balls

6 ounces matzo meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup schmaltz
3 eggs

1) In one bowl, mix dry ingredients.

2) In another bowl, mix wet ingredients.

3) Combine the two and refrigerate overnight.

4) With wet fingers, make the mixture into balls about the size of a golf ball. Gently roll between damp palms to create a smooth ball. Be careful not to compact the balls too much.

5) To a large pot of water, add 2 tablespoons of salt.

6) Drop matzo balls into boiling water one at a time. Bring down to a simmer and cover.

7) Cook gently for 45 minutes.

8) Remove the matzo balls from the water. Place in a shallow pan and reserve for the soup.

To assemble:

Matzo balls
Broth
Root vegetables cooked (¼ cup celery, chopped and ¼ cup carrots, chopped, per person, works nicely)
Noodles (for Passover, noodles can be omitted or replaced with kosher for Passover noodles)
Chopped herbs like dill or parsley for garnish

1) Place matzo balls in a sauce pan and add broth to cover.

2) Bring to a simmer

3) Warm bowls.

4) In each bowl, place 2 matzo balls. Top these with your favorite cooked noodles and root vegetables.

5) Fill bowl with the hot chicken broth.

6) Sprinkle with chopped herbs, like dill and parsley, before you serve.

Makes about 20 matzo balls

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.