This recipe delivers all the satisfaction of chicken soup with matzoh balls, minus the chicken. The trick to the matzoh balls below is toasting the matzoh meal first to give it more flavor. If you are celebrating Passover, note that kitniyot (which include legumes, beans and some grains, such as rice) are now allowed for the holiday by some communities, though this isn’t universally accepted, so be sure to check with your guests.
Make ahead: The matzoh ball mixture needs to be assembled, covered and refrigerated for at least 45 minutes and up to 4 days in advance.
Storage: Refrigerate the soup and matzoh balls separately for up to 4 days.
Ingredients
Servings: 8 (makes 14 cups soup and 16 matzoh balls)
Directions
Total: 1 hour , plus 45 mins chilling time
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Step 1
Make the matzoh ball mixture: In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the matzoh meal and cook, stirring, until it smells nutty and is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, sprinkle with the salt and let cool completely.
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Step 2
Add the eggs, parsley, if using, and seltzer to the cooled matzoh mixture and whisk together until thoroughly combined. The mixture will look loose, and you might be tempted to add more matzoh meal, but please don’t — or else you’ll end up with dense, tough matzoh balls instead of airy ones. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until the matzoh meal absorbs the liquid and the mixture firms up, at least 45 minutes and up to 4 days.
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Step 3
Cook the matzoh balls: When you’re ready to eat, bring a large pot of water to a boil and season it generously with salt.
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Step 4
Wet your hands and fill a small bowl of water, then scoop the matzoh meal mixture into 16 uniform balls (each should weigh about 1 ounce), placing them onto a large plate or sheet pan as you work and re-wetting your hands in the bowl as necessary to prevent sticking. Gently slide the matzoh balls into the boiling water and reduce the heat so the water is at a gentle simmer. The balls will sink at first, then float to the top. Cover the pot and cook until the matzoh balls are cooked through and start to sink back to the bottom of the pot (that’s how you know they’re done), about 30 minutes.
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Step 5
Make the soup: While the matzoh balls cook, in a large, heavy pot (such as a Dutch oven) over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion, carrots, celery and zucchini, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables just begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add the broth, increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Immediately decrease the heat to low, and stir in the spinach and chickpeas. Cook until the vegetables are tender and the spinach is thoroughly heated through, about 10 minutes. Taste, and season with additional salt, if needed. Just before serving, stir in the parsley, dill and garlic.
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Step 6
To serve, divide the matzoh balls evenly among eight soup bowls and ladle the hot soup on top.
Substitutions
No broth? >> Use a Better Than Bouillon product, such as its No Chicken Base, dissolved in 10 cups of boiling water, following the ratio on the package instructions.
If you can’t have kitniyot (which include legumes and beans) >> just skip the chickpeas.
To make it gluten-free >> use gluten-free matzoh meal (or gluten-free matzoh ball mix and follow the package instructions).
