Mary and Max: Ivy’s Matzo Ball Soup
My neighbour lvy is also an atheist. She doesn’t talk much but makes me very good soup on Sunday nights. She is partly blind and sometimes I find her hair in my soup. Eeugh!
MARY AND MAX, 2009
Mary and Max: Ivy’s Sunday Matzo Soup
One of the most memorable meals Max has in the movie is Ivy’s Sunday soup. They don’t say specifically what the soup is but we can sees bits of vegetables and pasta in a clear broth. I decided to go with matzo ball soup because it has a clear chicken broth and my favorite matzo balls. It’s a comforting soup I would personally love on a Sunday. I added vermicelli noodles to dish to mimic Ivy’s hair Max usually sees in his soup. Feel free to omit or use another type of pasta in this recipe. And as always, check your ingredients to be sure it fits your needs.
Mary and Max: Ivy's Matzo Ball Soup
Ingredients
- 1 - 3 # chicken cut into 8 pieces
- 3 - large celery stalks medium dice
- 2 - large carrots medium dice
- 2 - cloves garlic smashed
- 1 - yellow onion medium dice
- MATZO BALLS
- 3/4 cup - matzo meal
- 3 - eggs large
- 2 tbsp - vegetable oil or chicken fat
- 1/4 cup - club soda
- 1 tsp - salt
- dill as needed
Instructions
- Mix the eggs, butter or fat, salt, and club soda together for the matzo meal. Add the matzo meal and stir just until combined. Cover and place it into the refrigerator for 1 - 2 hours or until firm.
- Place the chicken in a dutch oven and add enough water to cover the chicken by 1-2 inches.
- Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off any of the foam and fat on the surface.
- Add the chopped vegetables and simmer until tender. Remove the cooked chicken from the broth and shred the meat if you would like chicken in your soup.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the matzo balls. To form the balls, lightly wet your hands and roll the mixture into walnut size pieces.
- Drop the balls into the boiling water and bring it down to a simmer. Simmer for 25-30 minutes, covered.
- To serve, drain the matzo balls with a slotted spoon. Ladle the chicken broth over the matzo balls and garnish with fresh dill.
- OPTIONAL: I added the vermicelli noodles to mimic Ivy's hair but you can leave it out or substitute another type of pasta.
NOTE: I was thankfully made aware the butter is not kosher and is not an appropriate fat to add the to the matzo balls. Thank you so much to Ann for the information!
Thanks for the recipes from this odd and charming movie. A couple of comments on this particular recipe. No butter is used in matzo balls because it isn’t kosher (butter is dairy and there is no mixing of dairy and meat). So the options are either vegetable oil or schmaltz (chicken fat). As for adding noodles, that’s perfectly acceptable. We call them Lokshen and they’re usually an egg noodle.
Thank you so, so much, Ann! I’ll make the changes now. I really appreciate the information!
You bet — keep up the great work!