Not Your Bubbie's Matzah Ball Soup

Serves 6-8
Vegetarian

Allow me to preface this recipe by saying that I am in NO WAY attempting to disrespect your, or my, or anyone’s Bubbie with this radical version of the classic comfort food. I do not doubt that your Bubbie’s matzah ball soup is the best one I will ever taste, and am in no way implying that you should replace my version with hers.

That being said, my version of matzah ball soup is pretty delicious. I updated the classic recipe to meet vegetarian standards (sorry, no schmaltz here), and have packed it full of nutritious and delicious morsels. This soup is really hearty, and can be eaten by itself or with a chunk of rich, eggy, Challah bread. Enjoy… at your own risk.

1 package of matzah ball mix (and whatever you need to make them: eggs, oil, etc...)
oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 head of garlic, cleaned and chopped
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 zucchini, chopped
2 boxes of your favorite vegetable stock
salt & pepper
tons of dried garlic
tons of dried onion
tons of dried thyme
tons of dried sage
cayenne pepper
1 head of fresh kale (if you don’t like kale, try using 4 or 5 cups of fresh spinach)
1 can of white beans

Prepare the matzah balls according to the package, and stick the mix in the refrigerator.

Heat some oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and zucchini. Cook these veggies over medium-high heat until they begin to soften (5 or 6 minutes).

Pour in all of your veggie stock. Add a bunch of salt, a ton of pepper, a bunch of dried garlic and dried onion, a few big pinches of thyme and sage, and a little cayenne pepper. Stir everything together and bring it to a boil.

While the stock is cooking, clean your kale. Make sure to rinse away any sand or grit, and also make sure to cut away the tough vain running through the middle of the leaf. Cut up the kale into bite-sized pieces.

Taste the stock. It should taste really flavorful and rich. If it doesn’t, keep adding seasonings until you like it. Add the kale (or spinach) and cook for a few minutes. Add the drained and rinsed white beans.

Drop in your matzah balls (I like mine golf-ball sized), and cook them for about 10 minutes.

Sometimes, when I am feeling particularly mutinous, I stream in few cracked and whisked eggs into the stock before I add the matzah balls. Unconventional, but very, very tasty.