Chef Roman's Matzo Ball Soup
Chef Craig Roman shared the following story about the matzo ball soup that was served to the Brimmer community for lunch today:
Food is very personal to a lot of people, and this is as personal as it gets for me and my family. Families around the world have things they have passed down from generation to generation. For my family, it’s this matzo ball soup recipe that we are serving today.
My great grandma (I called her Oma, but her birth name was Erica) on my dad's side was born and raised in Germany in the 1920’s. As the Nazi party and Hitler were on the rise in the late 30’s and early 40’s, Erica was sent to England at the age of 16 to become an au pair for a family in London. Her mother saw the changes happening in Germany and wanted to save her only daughter from the terrible acts that would become the Holocaust.
After Erica fled Germany and found refuge in London, she came to the United States in the late 1940’s and settled in Washington Heights in New York City. There, she found a community of other Jewish people from Germany who escaped or even survived the war. Soon after she met her husband, Max, and started a family.
Every year for Passover, after the prayers were read, the first thing we would eat was matzo ball soup. It was my favorite item that my Oma made; I would have had ten portions if allowed! When the soup was served, the conversation stopped. The only noise you would hear besides absolute silence was the slurping of soup. You could taste the love that was put into every matzo ball she made. We only had it once a year, so it was always extra special for us.
The exact and original recipe was never written down, so all we have is what we think she used for ingredients and how we think she prepared the actual soup. Even though my Oma has been gone for a few years now, her soup and her memory will live on forever. I am now the fourth generation in my family to make this recipe, and I am excited to share it with you all. If students are hesitant to try it, please encourage them to take a bite and explore something a little different.
I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and I have for generations.
Brimmer and May School
69 Middlesex Road
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-566-7462
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-566-7462
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