There Is a Divide Among Us – Passover Farfel for Soup

There is a divide among us. Nothing serious, depressing, or consequential like the political chasm we currently face, but rather a divide about how we adorn our soup. There are those among us who top our soup with crackers, croutons, and fried noodles so we get crunch in every bite, and those who just do not understand. I am in the former category, my wife, decidedly not.

Since my youth I have always loved additions to my soup. Saltine crackers in every spoonful of canned chicken noodle soup or bowl of chili. (Yes, I know, chili is not soup. But with crackers, it’s the same general notion.) Fried Chinese noodles floating among the dumplings in a bowl of wonton soup. Homemade croutons topping a hearty serving of butternut squash or split pea soup. In all cases, the crunch is part of the dish; the embellishments belong.

Yet my wife disagrees. She doesn’t understand, thinking the addition will always get soggy, like the gravy-soaked bread on a day-after-Thanksgiving hot turkey sandwich. But if you understand proper technique: 1) that doesn’t have to happen, and 2) who cares; even a soggy addition makes the soup more interesting. As any true soup-topper knows, you don’t add all the crunch at once. You divide it into portions, adding a bit at a time so it keeps its texture throughout the entire serving.

To satisfy those among us who feel the compulsion to add crisp embellishments to our soup, every year at my family’s Passover Seder there is a bowl of farfel in the middle of the table. When the Matzo Ball Soup is served, we can add heaping spoonfuls of the brittle prepared matzo bits to float in the broth. It is a necessary step.

Non-Passover farfel is a small, pebble-size egg noodle sometimes called egg barley, despite the lack of barley. It is of Ashkenazi origin, and can be purchased in stores with extensive kosher food sections. It is often served as a side dish, similar to rice. At Passover, when traditional farfel would be forbidden, you can purchase matzo farfel, basically matzo broken up into small pieces to replicate the original. Many home cooks make it into a casserole-like side dish (think stuffing), and it certainly can be used as the base of matzo brei (fried matzo with eggs) for a Passover breakfast.

In my family, we did neither of these things. Passover farfel had a singular purpose. It was coated in eggs with a bit of oil, and slowly baked, crisp and crunchy. And then it waited for that bowl of Matzo Ball Soup. Those among us who were in the know added the floaters to our soup, happy to finally be eating after the Seder, while those who didn’t care, barely noticed its existence.

Passover Farfel for Soup

Matzo farfel is available in boxes or cans at most supermarkets that sell foods kosher for Passover. It is only available around the spring holiday, so if you want farfel for your soup at other times of the year, either stock up, or make your own by breaking non-Passover matzo into small pieces. Farfel for Matzo Ball Soup can be made up to a week ahead of time and stored in a sealed, air-tight container.

Makes 4 cups, about 45 minutes, mostly unattended

4 eggs

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the pan

2 Tbsp. water

½ tsp. kosher salt

4 cups matzo farfel

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 ^oF.
2. Beat together eggs, vegetable oil, water, and salt in a large bowl. Add matzo farfel and stir to coat.
3. Line a sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or aluminum foil. If using aluminum foil, coat well with vegetable oil to minimize sticking.
4. Spread the farfel evenly in the sheet pan and bake for a half hour to 45 minutes, until golden, turning and breaking into pieces every 10 minutes.
5. Allow to cool fully, break into bite-size pieces, and store for up to a week in a sealed, air-tight container. Add to hot soup.

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