Trisha Pérez Kennealy, owner and culinary educator of the Inn at Hastings Park in Lexington, MA, is a proud Puerto Rican Jewish woman.

“Both of my backgrounds have had such an influence on what I do professionally,” Kennealy told the Journal. “What I love about both my Jewish religion and my Puerto Rican heritage is that they both are inspired by a diversity of experience.”

Kennealy lived in Puerto Rico until she was 12, at which time her family moved to Lexington. This MBA from Harvard Business School and chef classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in London enjoys sharing recipes, her culture and her love of food.

“[As Jews]. what we eat and how we celebrate is so tied to … where it is that your family originated from, and everything is so symbolic,” she said. “Likewise, in Puerto Rico, we spend a lot of time around that [multigenerational] table … food is really an important part of the way we spend time together, the way we take care of one another.”

She added, “It is a very natural relationship that I sort of combine both of those parts of who I am.”

Soup is a definite common ground between the cultures.

“I am a big believer that everyone should know how to make chicken soup, because it’s the base; chicken stock can be used to do so many different things,” she said. “It really is good for you.”

For her chicken soup Kennealy sautes celery, onions, carrots and leeks, and also adds fresh chopped parsley and cilantro at the end.

“It adds color, some really nice brightness to it,” she said. “The mofongo is a very traditional Puerto Rican dish.

“Basically you fry the mofongo – it’s a green plantain – and then you mash it with hot oil and garlic, you can mold it,” she said. “In Puerto Rico it’s sometimes served with Caldo de Pollo, which is chicken broth, so I make little mofongo balls along with my matzo balls.”

Kennealy’s recipe for mofongo and matzo ball soup is below.

For more cooking inspiration, follow @trishaperezkennealy on Instagram.

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Mofongo and Matzo Ball Soup

Recipe Courtesy of Inn at Hastings Park Owner and Culinary Educator Trisha Pérez Kennealy

Mofongo

 4 green plantains

4 bone-in chicken thighs, deboned, and cut into bite sized chunks

8 cloves of garlic, divided

3/4 cup of white vinegar

1/2 cup of olive oil, divided

6 cups vegetable oil

1. Combine 4 cloves of garlic, 1/4 of olive oil and vinegar in a blender, and pour over chicken to marinade for at least 30 minutes.

2. Heat up vegetable oil on medium high heat in a large pot to fry the plantains and the chicken

3. Make a paste of remaining garlic cloves and salt.

4. Heat remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and pour over garlic and salt.

5. Peel plantains and cut into 1 1/2 inch rounds.

6. Test oil to check that it is between 350-375 degrees.

7. Add plantains and chicken chunks in batches to the oil and cook for 7-9 minutes.

8. Drain plantains and chicken and add to a large mortar and pestle to ground up. Add a tablespoon of garlic, oil and salt mixture and a tablespoon of lime juice to help bring the mofongo together.

9. Use an ice cream scoop to form the mofongo mixture into balls with little pieces of chicken incorporated in the ball.

Matzoh Ball Soup

For the Stock

1 4 to 6-pound chicken, preferably kosher, chicken bones, chicken backs, necks

3 carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks

2 carrots cut into 1/4-1/2 dice

3 onions, unpeeled cut into quarters

2 onions cut into 1/4-1/2 dice

3 celery stalks cut into 2-inch chunks (I often use the inner ones and include the leaves)

2 celery stalks cut into 1/4-1/2 dice

3 leeks cut into 2-inch chunks

1 leek cut into 1/4-1/2 dice

Bouquet Garni (Use a celery stalk cut in half and kitchen twine to make a bundle of parsley, thyme and bay leaves) 

1. Place chicken and/or bones in a large stockpot. Cover with cold water. Water should be 1 inch over the chicken and bones.

2. Bring water to a boil, frequently skimming white and gray scum rising to the service. The more diligent you are about skimming the clearer your stock will be. Once water comes to boil, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, which is gentler than a boil and looks like small bubbles barely moving on the surface. This gentle method of cooking also prevents stock from becoming cloudy.

3. Once you have skimmed the surface (around 30-40 minutes depending how well chicken was cleaned prior to cooking) and there appears to be less scum coming to service, add carrots, onions, celery and your bouquet garni for an additional 2 hours. About 45 minutes into the cooking process, I tend to take my whole chicken out and remove all of the meat from the bones and return the stock for the remaining time. I like to use the poached chicken to serve in the soup as well as salads.

4. Strain stock through a fine strainer or line a colander with cheesecloth to produce a clear stock.

5. At this stage, stock can be cooled and chilled to facilitate removing the fat once it has solidified. Stock can be portioned and frozen for future use. Fat can also be used to make the matzoh balls.

For the Matzoh Balls

4 large eggs, beaten

1 cup Matzoh meal

1/3 cup rendered chicken fat either purchased or from chicken being used to make soup

1/2 cup seltzer

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Beat eggs in a large bowl.

2. Add seltzer, chicken fat (make sure chicken fat is warm, not hot, as it will cook eggs if too hot), salt and pepper to the beaten eggs.

3. Add matzoh meal and stir, being careful not to overmix. I taste the mix even though it has raw eggs to test for seasoning as I am aware of the risks associated with eating raw eggs. You can also cook a small ball in boiling water to taste for seasoning.

4. Refrigerate for at least one hour; you can use a blast chiller to accelerate.

5. Use an ice cream scoop the size of the matzoh balls you desire to portion the balls.

6. Drop into a pot of simmering stock. Placing the matzoh balls in the stock will reduce the temperature of the broth.

7. Allow the stock to simmer again and cook covered for 25-30 minutes. 

For the Soup

8 cups of chicken stock

2 carrots cut into 1/4-1/2 dice

2 onions cut into 1/4-1/2 dice

2 celery stalks cut into 1/4-1/2 dice

Cilantro

Shredded chicken from making stock

Lime wedges

1. Sauté vegetables in olive oil and a little salt on medium low heat till cooked to your liking. I prefer my vegetables al dente or on the crunchy side, which usually takes about 10-15 minutes given the quantity of vegetables.

2. Heat chicken stock to desired temp—my father likes his soup blistering hot. Remember to season your stock at this point as you have not added any seasoning. Kosher chickens are brined in salt water so they flavor the stock more than a non-kosher chicken.

3. Arrange bowls with cooked vegetables, poached chicken, matzoh balls and mofongo ladle hot soup over all of it. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Debra Eckerling is a writer for the Jewish Journal and the host of “Taste Buds with Deb.” Subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform. Email Debra: tastebuds@jewishjournal.com.