Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls

Ingredients

• 1 4-pound chicken
• 1 large onion, unpeeled, washed
• 10 sprigs of dill
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
• 3 tablespoons chopped ginger
• 1 turnip, cubed into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 parsnip, sliced up in 1/2-inch semi-circles
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons salt, plus more to taste
• 2 potatoes, cubed into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup matzo meal
• 2 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or schmaltz
• 2 tablespoons seltzer water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoons finely chopped fresh dill

Directions

1. For the soup, rinse the chicken well, then set it in the pot. Pour in enough water to cover everything with 2 inches over the top, then add the onion, the dill bunch tied with string, celery and salt. Bring the pot to a boil, spooning away the foam as it rises. Discard the foam and keep cooking over medium-high heat until it no longer shows up. Turn the heat down to medium-low, then add the ginger, turnip, parsnip, carrots and lemon juice. Cover the pot and let it cook on very low heat for 2 hours.
2. After 2 hours, taste the broth and decide whether it needs more salt or any other seasoning. Lift out the chicken; it should be very tender and coming away from the bones. Remove and discard the bones, then cut the chicken into pieces. Return half of the chicken to the soup, and set the other half aside for chicken salad the next day. Raise the heat just a touch and add the potatoes. While they cook, move on to the matzo balls.
3. For the matzo balls, combine the matzo meal, eggs, vegetable oil, seltzer, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Cover the bowl and chill the mixture for 30 minutes. Take it out of the refrigerator and set it near the stove, where the soup is simmering. Put a bowl of cold water beside the matzo ball mixture, so you can wet your hands and keep the mixture from clinging to them.
4. Scoop up a small portion of the mixture and roll it between your hands into a ball about 1 inch across. Add the matzo balls to the soup 1 at a time. Once all the mixture has been used, cover the soup and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Take the soup off the heat. Ladle it into bowls right away, with freshly cut dill scattered over the top.