SERVES 4
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons lard or other good quality animal fat
- 2 chicken marylands
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 4 thyme sprigs
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 2 litres Brown Chicken Bone Broth (recipe in Easy Keto Dinners)
- 1 handful of tarragon leaves, chopped
- 1 handful of dill fronds, chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Matzo balls
- 3 eggs
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 3⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
- 200g (2 cups) almond meal
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 2 tablespoons lard or other good quality animal fat, melted
Method
To make the matzo balls, place the eggs, garlic, parsley and salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the baking powder, almond meal, tapioca flour and fat and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. With clean wet hands, roll the mixture into cherry-sized balls. Return to the fridge until needed.
Melt the fat in a large saucepan over medium–high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4 minutes on each side to brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the garlic, celery and carrot and sauté for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables start to colour slightly. Return the chicken to the pan and add the thyme and bay leaves. Pour in the broth, cover with the lid and simmer for 1 and 1⁄2 hours, or until the flesh is falling off the bone.
Remove the chicken from the broth and, when cool enough to handle, shred the flesh and discard the bones. Add the shredded chicken to the soup, then add the matzo balls and cover with the lid. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the matzo balls have expanded and are cooked through. Stir in the tarragon, dill and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into warm bowls and serve.
