Matzo to the Nth

• Golf-ball-size matzo balls don't require long to cook, typically 15 to 30 minutes on low in a preheated slow cooker. To slow cook matzo balls, add the stock and any other ingredients to the slow cooker first. Time the addition of vegetables according to how long they require cooking, for instance, carrots before broccoli. As a general rule when making slow cooker matzo ball soup, your amount of stock should be half the amount of your slow cooker's total capacity: 2 quarts of stock to a 4-quart cooker. Fifteen to 30 minutes before serving, add the matzo balls, spacing them apart in the pot so they don't stick together. Serve the dish when the matzo balls float to the top or are cooked through.

Savory Matzo Ball Bath

• Cook matzo balls in a bath of salt water. Use kosher or sea salt to impart a favorable flavor to the water. Toss in aromatics, such as celery, onions, carrots, garlic and parsley. If you cook matzo balls in lightly flavored salted water, the benefit is that you can add the matzo balls to another dish without fear of mixing clashing flavors. If you prefer to cook them in stock, any flavor of stock, such as chicken, beef, vegetable or even fish, will do.

Matzo: Homemade Minute-Meal

• Matzo balls begin as matzo meal. Pre-made matzo meal is an option, or you can make it yourself from whole matzo. Making matzo meal from scratch saves you money and allows you to customize your matzo ball dishes to your specific tastes, and from occasion to occasion. To make meal from whole matzos, break whole matzos and toss the matzo chips into your food processor. Pulse them to a coarse cornmeal texture.

Matzo Ball Mix-Ins

• Chicken matzo ball soup is fairly common, loosely related to knaidelach, a goose matzo ball soup of Russian Jewish origin. Slow cookers and matzo balls are compatible with any other ingredients you'd like to mix into the matzo balls or into the stock. For richer matzo ball flavor, substitute vegetable oil with chicken or duck fat. Instead of water to moisten the matzo meal, use stock or club soda. To spice up your matzo balls, try a dash of dried dill, fresh ginger or grated onions.