Chicken Soup with Matzoh Balls

Ingredients

• 0.5 teaspoon pepper black freshly ground
• 4  carrots peeled cut into chunks
• 6 cups chicken stock see good
• 3  eggs 
• 6 servings parsley fresh chopped for garnish
• 1 cup matzo meal 
• 0.3 cup olive oil extra virgin extra-virgin melted
• 0.3 cup onion minced grated
• 0.5 teaspoon salt 

Equipment

• bowl
• ladle
• pot

Directions

1. Beat together the eggs and 1/2 cup of the stock. (If you would prefer very light matzoh balls, separate the eggs and beat the yolks with the stock. Beat the whites until almost stiff and fold them in after adding the matzoh meal.)
2. Stir in the onion, fat, salt, and pepper.
3. Add the matzoh meal; the dough should be quite moist, barely stiff enough to make into balls. If it is too moist, add a little more meal.
4. Cover the mixture and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. When you're ready to cook, place a large pot of salted water to boil. (You can also cook the matzoh balls directly in your stock, but use the larger quantity of stock; the balls absorb a lot of liquid.) Using wet hands, shape the mixture into small balls, about 1 inch in diameter. Meanwhile, cook the carrots in the 5 1/2 cups stock.
5. Turn the heat under the boiling water to medium—low and cook the balls until expanded and set, about 30 minutes. Set them in soup bowls and ladle the stock and carrots over them, then garnish with lots of parsley.
6. Reprinted with permission from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. © 2008 Wiley