The great (gluten free) matzah ball challenge

Last weekend, my mom came to visit. I'm very fortunate that my family lives only two hours away from me, and likes to come visit in New York whenever they can. I love spending time with my family, and when they come in for a day, we always have fun. My mom came in to spend the day with me, and with a project in mind. Passover is coming up, and for those of you might not know, on passover Jews eat all kinds of weird food like Matzah. Passover is one of my all time favorite holidays, and I have to say, my mom and I cook a mean seder meal (keep an eye out for a HUGE Passover post at the beginning of April). One of my mom's specialties, that she makes for passover and all year round, is her chicken soup with Matzah balls. Over they years my mom has definitely perfected the taste and texture of these delicious floating dumplings, and everyone loves having her soup as one of the courses at our seder.

This year, my mom is determined to make gluten free matzah balls, for me and my cousin, who also eats gluten free. My mom showed up at my door, shopping bags in hand, and on a mission. We made three different matzah ball recipes and had a taste test. I think that making good matzah balls is hard in general, but good gluten free matzah balls?! Almost impossible. Last year my mom made gf matzah balls from a box mix, and they were pretty disgusting. This year, she's determined to do better. After many hours of mixing, chilling, and cooking, we had a matzah ball taste test to decide which was the best tasting matzah ball. We wanted them to taste like matzah balls and look the part, too. While they were definitely not winners across the board, we found a winner! Enjoy the recipes below, and try them at your own risk. The last recipe is the one that was very yummy, with the most similar flavor and consistency to regular matzah balls. This is the one we'll be making at our seder this year!



Take One

These were much more soup dumplings than matzah balls. If you're looking for balls of mashed potatoes floating in your soup, this recipe is for you. Otherwise, I'd say skip this one.

take one

2 lbs large red potatoes
1 egg
1/4 cup potato starch
2 cups blanched almond flour
Salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove, and add the potatoes. Boil the potatoes until they are tender (about 45 minutes) and then drain them
Allow the potatoes to come to room temperature and peel off the skins. Chop the potatoes into large chunks and chill in the fridge until they are cold all the way through
Once cooled, mash the potatoes and get out as many lumps and bumps as possible
Bring another pot of water to boil on your stove
Into the potatoes, mix in the egg, potato starch, almond meal, salt, and pepper
Roll the potato dough into small balls and place them gently into the hot water
The balls will rise to the top of the pot as they cook through
After about 12 minutes, all of the balls should be floating. At this point, remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and enjoy


Take Two

While this recipe definitely seemed promising, even after adding extra almond flour, the batter almost feel apart. Ultimately the balls just did not come together, and though they cooked better than we thought they would, they were very grainy in texture and did not have great flavor.

take two

4 eggs
2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
2 cups almond flour

In a bowl, beat the eggs, salt, and pepper for two minutes. Once combined, mix in the almond flour and refrigerate the mixture for 2 hours
Once chilled, bring a large pot of water to boil
Roll the batter into small, 1 inch balls and then drop them into the boiling water
Reduce the heat of the stove, and cover the pot, cooking for 20 minutes
After 20 minutes, take out the balls and enjoy


Take Three

Finally, we got it. While this recipe is close but not perfect, it is tasty, texturally pleasing, and definitely reminds me of Passover. The recipe calls for gluten free matzah, which most grocery stores now carry. The gf matzah is actually delicious, I definitely recommend you buy some! My mom and I will be making these bad boys again for our seder, hopefully you will too! We definitely recommend adding in extra salt, and perhaps some herbs also to elevate the flavor of these.

take three

 

1 1/2 cup gluten free matzah meal (we used gf matzah crushed very finely, it worked great as a sub!)
4 large eggs, separated
4 tbsp vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup almond flour
salt and pepper

Place egg whites in a mixing bowl and whip until stiff peaks form
In a different bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, stock, and olive oil
Place your matzah sheets in a bag and use a rolling pin to crush to fine crumbs (you could also use a space grinder or food processor that is able to really create a fine crumb)
Fold half of the matzah meal and salt into the egg whites, and then fold in half of the egg yolk mixture. Repeat with the remaining meal and yolks, adding in the almond flour at the end
Refrigerate the batter for 30 minutes
Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove
Roll the matzah balls into 1 inch balls and drop them into the boiling water
Cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes before the matzah balls are ready to eat!
enjoy!