Jeannie Kamins has been a practicing artist for forty years, but has always been a cook. She has cooked for tree planting crews, helicopter loggers, archaeology digs, large groups in the hundreds, and intimate gatherings at her dinner table. She has about 50 feet of cookbooks that she has read and never followed. She wrote a family cookbook and maybe someday a cookbook will become her autobiography.

Chef: Jeannie Kamins
Video by: Frank Robideau
Best Boy: Henri Robideau

© Jeannie Kamins 2021

Jeannie’s Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup

The Vegan Broth

Ingredients:
9 cups or more of water
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 medium potato, chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, whole
1 cabbage core
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 cup of broccoli, chopped
1 handful of brussels sprouts, halved
3 to 4 whole garlic cloves, without skins
1 bunch of parsley, stems only (set aside parsley heads for making matzo balls and finishing the soup)

Instructions:

1. Pour water into a large pot and add vegetables. Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 1-2 hours.

While the vegan broth simmers, prepare the Matzo Balls (recipe below).

2. After the broth has simmered for 1-2 hours, remove from heat, pour through a strainer into another large pot; separating vegetables from broth. Remove the carrots from the strained vegetables to use in the final part of the soup making process.

The Matzo Balls

Ingredients:
1 pound/box of matzos or one box of matzo meal
1 peeled carrot
1/2 bunch of parsley leaves, chopped (set aside from vegan broth recipe)
4 – 6 eggs
6 tablespoons melted margarine or oil
2 tablespoons of vegan soup base powder
warm water to both dissolve the vegan soup base powder and achieve desired consistency in making matzo ball dough
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. To make matzo meal, grind the boxed matzos in a food processor. Depending on size of food processor, may need to grind in batches. Once ground into meal, empty into a large bowl. If using a box of prepared matzo meal, simply empty meal into large bowl.

2. Peel and roughly chop the carrot. Add the carrot and 1/2 the bunch of parsley leaves (set aside from vegan broth) to food processor, grind and add to bowl of matzo meal.

3. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Then add the eggs and melted margarine or oil to bowl of matzo mixture.

4. Dissolve two tablespoons of vegan soup base powder into warm water and pour into matzo meal mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Mix ingredients into a thick, sticky dough. If needed, add more water to achieve this consistency. Using clean hands, roll into 1-2 inch sized balls.

Making the Matzo Ball Soup
In this final part, the matzo balls are added to the vegan broth to make the soup.

Ingredients:
9 cups of prepared vegan broth
Strained and sliced carrot (set aside from vegan broth recipe)
Prepared matzo balls
1 tablespoon miso
1/2 bunch chopped parsley heads (set aside from vegan broth recipe)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Add the sliced carrot, 1/2 bunch chopped parsley and miso to the vegan broth; salt and pepper to taste, stir and bring to a boil.

2. One at a time, drop the prepared matzo balls into the broth. Once matzo balls are added, cover pot, turn the heat down and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until the matzo balls are cooked through.

3. To serve, dish out 1-2 ladles of soup, with 2-3 matzo balls and a few slices of carrot into each bowl. Eat and enjoy!