Passover starts tonight and no Passover seder dinner would be complete without Matza Ball Soup – when you become a vegetarian and are no longer interested in eating matza balls filled with shmaltz (rendered chicken fat) and floating in chicken soup, you have to find a vegetarian version that will meet the need.
There is great debate between dense and floating matza balls; my preference is for lighter matza balls that float; mine typically sink when I drop them in to cook and will float up as they are ready. This soup is great alone as a full meal or starter; I love to add a dollop of horseradish to my bowl for a kick, too!
Matza Balls
7 eggs
7 tbsp seltzer
7 tbsp olive oil
1 ¾ cup matza meal
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
2 heaping tbsp fresh dill chopped
2 heaping tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Wisk eggs to mix, then add seltzer and olive oil and mix. Add the matza meal, pepper, paprika,
and salt and mix; if the mixture is too dry add more seltzer and/or oil. Finally, mix in the fresh herbs. Cover and refrigerate overnight for best results.
Soup
1 Onion, chopped
3 stalks Celery, chopped
1 Turnip, chopped
2 large or 3 small Parsnips, diced
3 Carrots, diced
12 Cups Vegetable Broth
2 tsp Fresh Parsley, chopped
3 sprigs Fresh Dill
Pepper, to taste
Sauté onion in extra virgin olive oil in bottom of soup pan, when the onion begins to get translucent, add the rest of the vegetables and continue to sauté until soft. Add broth, parsley, dill and pepper and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to simmer and leave for several hours.
Remove matza ball mix from refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Return soup to boiling and drop loose balls of mix into the soup. (Don’t overwork the matza ball mix; a little bowl of water to dip your hands into every few balls will help keep the mix from sticking to your hands.)