| 1 | Place chicken in a large soup pot. |
| 2 | Cover with water and bring to a boil. |
| 3 | Lower the heat to a simmer and skim as needed. |
| 4 | Simmer 10 minutes and add vegetables and herbs. |
| 5 | Do not remove skin from onion as it adds a rich color to the soup. |
| 6 | Return to a boil briefly and then lower to simmer, cover and cook for 1 ?hours until chicken is tender and falls off the bones. |
| 7 | Remove chicken, strain vegetables and remove as much fat from the surface as possible. |
| 8 | Continue cooking briefly to reduce the soup to increase the concentration. |
| 9 | Chill soup in refrigerator until all fat congeals on the surface and can be removed with a large spoon. |
| 10 | Matzoh balls: in a bowl mix: eggs, seltzer, chicken fat, salt and pepper. |
| 11 | Gradually stir in the matzoh meal until everything is well combined. |
| 12 | Chill, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours. |
| 13 | Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. |
| 14 | With wet hands, shape the matzoh mixture into eight balls about 1 ?inches in diameter. |
| 15 | Reduce the heat to simmering and gently add the matzoh balls. |
| 16 | When the balls rise to the surface cover the pot and poach the matzoh balls in the barely simmering water for 25-30 minutes. |
| 17 | Check the matzoh balls to be sure they are cooked in the center. |
| 18 | Important note by suzy: don"t make matzoh balls larger than a large walnut as they puff up more than double in size. |
| 19 | Be sure the pot you simmer them in is large and deep enough for the balls to expand and rollover in as they cook. |
| 20 | The matzoh balls can be frozen after they are cooked. |
| 21 | Place on a teflon coated cookie sheet and place in the freezer. |
| 22 | When frozen remove and place the individual balls in a zip lock bag and store in freezer until needed. |
| 23 | Defrost directly in the soup. |
| 24 | Simmer the soup until the matzoh balls are thoroughly defrosted and hot. |
| 25 | Add matzoh balls to the hot soup and serve. |
| 26 | Chicken can be served on the side or cut into bite size pieces and added to the soup with the carrots and parsnips if desired. |
| 27 | Suzy"s matzoh ball variations: i. |
| 28 | Add fresh minced dill to taste in the batter prior to chilling. |
| 29 | Ii. |
| 30 | Shape matzoh balls around a dried prune or apricot. |
| 31 | Then drop into the simmering water. |
| 32 | Iii. |
| 33 | Grated nutmeg to taste in the batter prior to chilling. |
| 34 | Iv. |
| 35 | Replace matzoh balls with "fine egg noodles" |
