There's nothing quite like chicken soup...unless of course you are vegan or vegetarian. And then there really is nothing like chicken soup. And my very favorite chicken soup is matzah ball soup.
This recipe is an edit of a Bon Appétit recipe. Since the first time I tried it, I've been obsessively making it every time it rained. And since it's spring, that means I've been making it at least twice a week! You decide how chicken-y this soup tastes, but it is definitely 100% delicious.
These dumplings are not matzah at all, but garbanzo (or chickpea) flour, which makes them high in protein and gluten-free. They are fluffy and deeply satisfying...like matzah balls!
Garbanzo flour is one of my favorite ingredients in my kitchen, and a must for any vegetarian. We make many things with our chickpea flour: farinata/socca, falafels, Burmese tofu are some of our favs. If you buy a bag, I promise to share more garbanzo flour recipes!
Every time I made this dish, I adjusted BA's dumplings and soup instructions. This is the version I like best. Do not be intimidated. Both the dumplings and the soup come together very quickly and easily. Promise!
VEGETARIAN "CHICKEN" SOUP
💛 ¼ cup (15 g) nutritional yeast flakes
💛 1 Tsp ground turmeric
💛 1 medium onion, finely chopped
💛 1 carrot, cubed
💛 2 celery stalks, diced
💛 2 garlic cloves, minced
💛 2 Tbsp. yellow miso
💛 4 cups of boiling water
VEGETARIAN "MATZAH" BALLS
💛 1 cup chickpea flour
💛 ½ tsp baking powder
💛 ½ tsp salt
💛 ¼ cup cornmeal
💛 ⅓ cup plain kefir or yogurt
💛 ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
💛 Freshly ground black pepper
💛 3 Tbsp olive oil
💛 1 Tsp warm water
Place nutritional yeast and turmeric in a small bowl and pour ⅔ cups of hot water over.
Mix all the "matzah" ball ingredients together. It will be a bit sticky. If you have a mini ice cream scoop, it would be really helpful here. Otherwise, roll up your sleeves and get messy!
Get a large pot of water boiling for the dumplings. Also, get a kettle boiling with four cups of water.
In another pot, heat up oil and sauté your onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until fragrant and soft. Add the miso and mash it around, letting it get brown.
With the help of a small sieve, carefully drain the nutritional yeast liquid into the pot over the vegetables and miso. Add the four cups of boiling water. Stir and bring the heat down to a simmer. The soup should be a deep yellow-brown.
Using the mini ice cream scoop (mine is approximately 1 tablespoon) lower the dumpling batter into the pot of boiling water reserved for the dumplings. I find that it helps if you wet the ice cream scoop between each dumpling.
Transfer the dumplings (drained) into the "chicken" soup to finish cooking. Give them approximately 10 minutes to soak in the good flavor.
Season to taste (taste first, as the miso will already have added plenty of salt). Serve with fresh herbs if you like.
In the BA version, you cook the dumplings directly in the soup. I found that this made my soup very cloudy.
I also found the BA dumplings to be very "wet" with a tendency to fall apart. The cornmeal helps with that.
I haven't tried it yet, but I suppose if you had access to a plant-based yogurt, this would be a vegan Matzah Ball Chicken Soup. Now wouldn't that be something!