美国国家公共电台 NPR For Rosh Hashana, A Matzo Ball Soup By Way Of Mexico

For Rosh Hashana, A Matzo Ball Soup By Way Of Mexico

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0004:47repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: 

This is a big weekend for matzo ball soup. Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, starts Sunday night. And chef Pati Jinich wants all the matzo ball makers² out there to understand the soup doesn't care whether you prefer floaters or sinkers.

PATI JINICH: It turns out that matzo balls maybe are insanely capricious. One Friday, they're like, here, you can have me fluffy³. And the other week is like, this is what you'll get.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SHAPIRO: Matzo ball soup is a classic recipe straight from Eastern Europe - typically chicken stock, root vegetables and dumplings made from the crumbs⁴ of unleavened bread.

But the recipe that Pati Jinich serves at her home near Washington, D.C., took a detour⁵. Like Pati's grandparents, it skipped Ellis Island and reached the new world through Mexico.

JINICH: This matzo ball soup is going to sit on a bed of steamed mushrooms, jalapenos and onions.

SHAPIRO: Not exactly traditional.

JINICH: Not traditional, but it is a recipe that my grandmother used to make in Mexico.

SHAPIRO: We are making this soup today and posting the full recipe at npr.org.

JINICH: You can tell really quickly if a chili⁶ is spicy⁷ or not, like, the moment you cut into it.

SHAPIRO: The first time I picked up Pati's cookbook, "Mexican Today," I thought this isn't Mexican food. There are recipes for pizza and mac and cheese, this matzo ball soup recipe, too. Turns out, her family has done this for generations, integrating their culinary roots with the place they live now.

When her Polish grandmother moved to Mexico in the early 20th century, traditional gefilte fish got capers⁸ and pickled chiles. Chicharrones was off limits - crispy pigskin isn't kosher. So instead, for Friday night's Shabbat dinner, she made gribenes - Yiddish for crispy chicken skin.

JINICH: So instead of doing tacos, you know, corn tortillas with guacamole and pork rind, she would do corn tortillas with guacamole and gribenes. So that was the Shabbat chicharron.

SHAPIRO: And for the Jewish New Year, Pati's other grandmother made this - reinvented matzo ball soup.

JINICH: She came from Austria and, you know, there they have a lot of mushroom dishes. And in Mexico in the rainy season, you get wild kinds of mushrooms. I mean, we call them clouds and birds. And, I mean, the shapes are insane. They're blue and yellow and black and white, like all kinds. So she would choose different kinds of mushrooms, and then cook them with jalapeno, onion and garlic.

SHAPIRO: Mushrooms and jalapenos aren't the only surprises in this soup. When Pati mixes the matzo balls, she adds freshly grated nutmeg.

JINICH: Nutmeg - I think when you use it for savory⁹ foods, it makes the other elements of that dish shine a little bit more. Like, it makes the sweetness of the matzo meal sort of come out.

SHAPIRO: The second surprise?

JINICH: Toasted sesame oil.

SHAPIRO: I've never put that in a matzo ball.

JINICH: See, smell a little.

SHAPIRO: Yeah, it's that nutty smell.

JINICH: It's that nutty smell. And the combination of the toasted sesame oil with the matzo is, like, double toasted flavor.

SHAPIRO: Yeah.

Finally, a trick to help the matzo balls float.

Sparkling water...

JINICH: Sparkling water (laughter).

SHAPIRO: ...It keeps it light and fluffy.

JINICH: It keeps it light and fluffy.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SHAPIRO: The mixture goes into the refrigerator for half an hour. Meanwhile, Pati cooks the mushrooms, onions and jalapenos on the stove. She adds the chicken stock and lets the soup simmer. When the matzo mix comes out of the refrigerator, she rolls out the little spheres, dropping them into boiling water.

So each ball is about an inch or 2 in diameter?

JINICH: Like a golf ball.

SHAPIRO: They sink going into the pot, all the way to the bottom. And after a minute, they rise to the surface.

JINICH: Once I add them all, I'll let them simmer because you want to make sure that it's really, really cooked throughout.

SHAPIRO: Soon, we have Pati's Mexican matzo ball soup - hearty¹⁰, earthy, a touch of heat with the jalapenos, nutty sweetness from the matzo meal and the sesame oil.

SHAPIRO: This is, like, a taste of home, but a home that has been remodeled.

(LAUGHTER)

JINICH: I love that.

SHAPIRO: I recognize it, but it looks a little different.

(LAUGHTER)

JINICH: It is, but it's not overpowering. That's what I love.

SHAPIRO: Yeah.

JINICH: And it's also very homey. It's still something that you'd want to have if you have a cold tonight.

SHAPIRO: I was just going to say...

JINICH: (Laughter).

SHAPIRO: ...Next time I'm sick, this is what I'm going to make.

JINICH: Right (laughter).

SHAPIRO: Pati Jinich, author of "Mexican Today," it has been a pleasure talking with you.

JINICH: Aw, thank you.

SHAPIRO: And shanah tovah, happy Jewish New Year.

JINICH: My pleasure to have you here.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

4 crumbs   

int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式

参考例句：

• She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
• Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊，天哪！都这会儿啦？

5 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

6 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

7 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

8 capers   

n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I like to fly about and cut capers. 我喜欢跳跳蹦蹦闹着玩儿。 来自辞典例句
• He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句

9 savory   

adj.风味极佳的，可口的，味香的

参考例句：

• She placed a huge dish before him of savory steaming meat.她将一大盘热气腾腾、美味可口的肉放在他面前。
• He doesn't have a very savory reputation.他的名誉不太好。

10 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。