As we’re all celebrating family time Kat from the Vegan Kat has a great recipe for Matzo ball soup! Keep up to date with Kat with her blog and Facebook page. Welcomeback Kat!
Growing up, I loved matzo ball soup. It’s surprisingly hard to make matzo balls vegan though. If anyone has a good recipe, let me know. My friend Sarah sent me a recipe for a dumpling soup that was vegan, and it’s really, really yummy! Though it’s a little different than matzo ball soup, it definitely satisfies the craving. Sarah makes hers more like a stew, but I modified her recipe a bit to be as close to the matzo ball soup that I remember. This is definitely comfort food, but still a healthy meal. Perfect for a sick day or a cold rainy day…well really for any day! As a side note, before we get to the recipe, I wanted to share a link. I don’t usually post anything political on this blog, but I wanted to share a video I created at my last job about Edie Windsor called Edie Takes on DOMA. Her case is being heard by the Supreme Court today. If you don’t already know the details, take a few minutes to watch this video. It gives a quick background on her situation. If you’re up for a longer watch, check out another segment I made about the Defense of Marriage Act, called Married But Not Equal. It goes through a few of the many ways that DOMA negatively affects LGBT couples. Okay, that’s it for the politics. I just wanted to share some background info in case anyone was interested. Now on to the recipe!
Soup Ingredients 1 box of Manischewitz Matzo Ball & Soup Mix or 6 cups of vegetable broth 1 bag of mini golden potatoes (about 2 cups) or 2-3 potatoes cubed 1 onion 2 cloves of garlic 2 shallots olive oil for sauteing 4-5 carrots 2 stalks of celery 1 container of seitan Black Pepper Dried Basil Dried Thyme Dumpling Ingredients 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons vegan butter 3/4 cup soy milk 1 tablespoon dried or fresh dill (use a little more if using fresh dill) Directions
- If you’re using Manischewitz Matzo & Soup Mix, you only need the soup packet, not the matzo ball packet. Follow the directions on the back of the box for just the soup mix. It will tell you how much water you need for the mix you bought. If you’re using broth, bring the broth up to a simmer in a soup pot. I like to use the Manischewitz soup mix because it creates a broth that is similar to chicken broth, but it’s vegan.
- If you’re using whole potatoes, peel and chop them. If you’re using mini potatoes, they’re already bite size, so there’s no prep work. Add the potatoes to the simmering broth.
- Chop the onions and shallots, and press or mince the garlic. Saute them in a little olive oil until the onions are translucent. Peel and chop the carrots. Chop the celery. Add the onions, garlic, carrots, and celery to the simmering broth.
- While the soup simmers, make the dough for your dumplings. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the vegan butter using a pastry blender or fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the soy milk and dill, and stir until the dough is combined.
- Add the dough in rounded tablespoonfuls to the simmering broth. Sprinkle in dried thyme, basil, and black pepper to taste. Allow the dumplings to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then cover the pot and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
- While the dumplings are simmering, saute the seitan in a little bit of olive oil. Add the seitan to the soup at the end, right before serving.
