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Hello all,

I have been craving matzo ball soup recently, one of my pre-celiac comfort
foods, and decided to mess around in the kitchen a bit tonight to see what I
could come up with. After a few mishaps, I ended up with a "matzo" ball soup
that was quite delicious, and not too labor-intensive. I thought some other
list members might enjoy the recipe, so here it is. It's also dairy-free,
though there are eggs.

For balls:
3 large eggs
3 TB club soda or seltzer
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 tablespoons chopped parsley/dill/chives (whatever you like, and may be
omitted)
Pinch of salt
Pepper to taste
About 1 1/2 cups unseasoned rice crackers (enough to make 2/3 cup rice
cracker meal)

To make balls: Grind up the rice crackers in your food processor or blender
until the consistency of matzo meal (fine, but not too fine). I used the
rice mini-rounds from Trader Joe's. My crackers came salted, so I only added
a bit more salt and some pepper to the crumbs. Whips eggs slightly with a
fork (for lighter balls, you can separate out the whites and beat them until
firm). Add the oil, club soda, and herbs. Slowly add the cracker meal to the
mixture, stirring constantly to get things well-incorporated. Chill for at
least 1 1/2 hours, up to 24 hours. Once chilled, form small (under and inch
in diameter) balls, and drop into salted boiling water. Cook for about 45
minutes, or until balls are cooked through. Add to prepared broth. Note: it
is important to make the balls smaller than traditional matzo balls as they
take longer to cook.

For broth: I "fake" a homemade broth by simmering additional veggies in a
commercial stock.
2 boxes prepared chicken stock (I use Kitchen Basics, which says "no
glutens" right on the package.)
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped.

Bring stock to a boil. Add veggies, reduce heat and simmer for about 20
minutes (while "matzo" balls are cooking). Add matzo balls and serve. You
can also add shredded chicken if you desire.
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These came out SO GOOD. Even the non-celiac in my house was impressed, and
thought they were better that regular matzo balls because they were much
more flavorful (those rice crackers do have a lot more flavor than bland old
matzo). So give them a try!

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