April 3, 2023
5 Matzo Ball Soups to Celebrate Passover in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Review Journal
Do you matzo or matzoh? Las Vegas restaurants (like restaurants everywhere) variously omit or include the “h.”
Whatever the spelling, a good matzo ball is a thing of beauty, fashioned from matzo meal, eggs, water, and a fat like oil or schmalz (rendered chicken fat). A sprinkle of salt or herbs might join. Some folks add baking powder for an airy dumpling, but that ingredient isn’t traditional.
A good matzo ball is also a Passover essential, taking its place in chicken soup to complete matzo ball soup, a staple of the holiday. The texture of the dumplings ranges from lighter to firmer, depending on preference and the recipe, but the matzo balls should never be so light they dissolve in the broth or so firm they’re tough.
Passover, which celebrates the deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, begins this year on Wednesday evening. To mark the holiday, we’re sharing five matzo ball soups served by restaurants across the valley, during Passover and throughout the year.
Siegel’s Bagelmania, 252 Convention Center Drive, siegelsbagelmania.com. Just off the Strip, matzo balls on the softer side find themselves in the soup with the classic trio of chicken chunks, sliced carrots and sliced celery. The soup is served with bagel chips. After the slurp, there’s the deli to browse.
