Chicken Soup with Asparagus and Shiitakes, Served with Roasted Fennel Matzoh Balls

Name: Chicken Soup with Asparagus and Shiitakes, Served with Roasted Fennel Matzoh Balls
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 12 thin asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces; 2 liters homemade chicken broth; 2 larges eggs; 2 smalls medium fennel bulbs (about 1 pound, weighed with 2 inches of top stalks); 113 grams fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and reserved for another use or discarded, caps wiped clean with a damp paper towel and thinly sliced; 1 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme; 1 Tbsp coarsely chopped garlic; 118 milliliters About matzoh meal; 2 Tbsps olive oil; 8 servings Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chicken Soup with Asparagus and Shiitakes, Served with Roasted Fennel Matzoh Balls is a dairy free soup. One portion of this dish contains about 5g of protein, 5g of fat, and a total of 121 calories. This recipe serves 8. This recipe covers 9% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. It can be enjoyed any time, but it is especially good for Autumn. A mixture of asparagus spears, garlic, salt and pepper, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so tasty. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes roughly 45 minutes.

Instructions

Prepare the matzoh balls: Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Ingredients you will need

Matzo

Equipment you will use

Oven

Cut off the fennel stalks and reserve for another use (excellent for fish broths and stews). If there are some attractive feathery fronds, set aside about 2 tablespoons of them to garnish the soup. Quarter the bulbs and trim away the stems, the bottom hard core, and any tough parts. Choose a shallow baking pan just large enough to fit the fennel in one layer and put in 1 tablespoon of the oil.

Ingredients you will need

Broth

Fennel

Fish

Soup

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Baking Pan

Add the fennel and toss until well coated. Roast the fennel until pale gold, about 20 minutes, then turn the fennel over and roast for 10 minutes longer. Stir in the broth, garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/2 teaspoon of the thyme. Cover the pan with foil and cook for 35 to 45 minutes longer, or until the fennel is very soft.

Ingredients you will need

Salt And Pepper

Fennel

Garlic

Broth

Thyme

Equipment you will use

Aluminum Foil

Frying Pan

Remove the foil, stir, and roast for a few more minutes to evaporate most of the liquid.

Equipment you will use

Aluminum Foil

Transfer the fennel and garlic to a food processor and chop coarsely.

Ingredients you will need

Fennel

Garlic

Equipment you will use

Food Processor

Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of thyme, salt (it will need about 1 teaspoon), pepper to taste, and the fennel seeds, if using. With the machine on, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil through the feed tube.

Ingredients you will need

Fennel Seeds

Pepper

Thyme

Salt

Cooking Oil

Scrape the mixture into a large bowl. You need 1 cup of puree, so nosh on any extra.

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Whisk in the eggs, one at a time.

Ingredients you will need

Egg

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Add the matzoh meal and stir well. If you can form a lump into a very soft walnut-size ball (the batter will become firmer when you chill it), don’t add any more matzoh meal. If necessary, add just enough matzoh meal to enable you to do so. Refrigerate for at least 2 or up to 4 hours so the matzoh meal can drink in the liquid and seasoning.

Ingredients you will need

Matzo Meal

Seasoning

Walnuts

Drink

When ready to cook, bring 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a rapid boil in a large, wide, lidded pot. Dipping your hands into cold water if needed, roll the batter into walnut-size balls. When all the balls are rolled and the water is boiling furiously, turn the heat down to a gentle boil. Carefully slide in the balls one at a time and cover the pot tightly.

Ingredients you will need

Walnuts

Water

Roll

Salt

Equipment you will use

Pot

Turn the heat down to a simmer, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, without removing the cover. (They will cook by direct heat as well as by steam, which makes them puff and swell, and lifting the lid will allow some of that steam to escape.) Take out a dumpling and cut it in half. It should be light, fluffy and completely cooked through. If it isn’t, continue cooking a few more minutes.

Remove the balls gently with a skimmer or large slotted spoon—they are too fragile to pour into a colander.

Equipment you will use

Slotted Spoon

Colander

Skimmer

When the matzoh balls are almost ready, start the soup:Bring the broth to a simmer in a large pot.

Ingredients you will need

Matzo

Broth

Soup

Equipment you will use

Pot

Add the matzoh balls, the mushrooms, and asparagus and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Ingredients you will need

Vegetable

Asparagus

Mushrooms

Matzo

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the matzoh balls to shallow soup bowls and ladle the hot soup and the vegetables over them.

Ingredients you will need

Vegetable

Matzo

Soup

Equipment you will use

Slotted Spoon

Bowl

Ladle

Garnish with the reserved chopped fennel fronds.

Ingredients you will need

Fennel

You can cook the matzoh balls up to 2 to 3 hours in advance.

Ingredients you will need

Matzo

Drain them and cover with some broth to keep them moist before setting them aside until you are ready to reheat them.Experiment making matzoh balls with a puree of other vegetables, like beets, carrots, leeks, mushrooms, or shallots. Roasted vegetables absorb less moisture than boiled or steamed ones (and therefore require less matzoh meal, making them lighter). They are also more flavorful.

Ingredients you will need

Matzo

Vegetable

Mushrooms

Shallot