Vegan (Eggless) Kneidlach, Matzah Balls, A Great Success

Our family now includes a vegan, that's someone who doesn't eat any animal products at all-- including eggs! We want her to feel very welcome, so I decided to try to make her Kneidlach for the Passover Seder, since I was making the regular kneidlach for the rest of the family, at least those members who are willing to eat the classic Ashkenaz delicacy. My daughter had made her a whole variety of Chanukah "Latkes" for that holiday get-together. Since that daughter was our Passover Seder host, I took on the challenge to make Vegan Kneidlach.

I based it on a recipe I found on the internet, the Edgy Veg,  Vegan Matzah Balls. But of course I tweaked it quite a bit. I also cooked them in simple, but rich Vegetable Soup.

Here's the official recipe copy/pasted, but I've crossed out and substituted what I had changed:

Ingredients

• 2 just over 1 1/2 cup matzo meal, unsalted
• 1 cup seltzer water
• 4 tbsp coconut oil olive oil
• ½ 3/4 cup potato starch + 6-12 tbsp water to make a starchy goop
• 1 tsp pinch salt + to taste
• ½-1 tsp a bit pepper
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 tsp dried parsley

Instructions

1. In medium size bowl combine the matzo, salt, pepper and herbs with a whisk spoon until combined. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, mix the potato starch and water together until you get a thick, starchy goop.
3. To this potato starch goop add coconut olive oil and seltzer and gently mix until combined.
4. Add the matzo meal and seasonings and mix until it all comes together.
5. This mixture should not be sticky. If its too dry, add a spritz more of seltzer, and if it’s too wet, add a little more matzo meal. You should be able to mix it you’re your hands without having it stick to all your fingers.
6. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for an hour.
7. After an hour, form the dough into balls and add them to your boiling soup broth.
8. Lower the heat to a simmer, and cook the balls for 25-30 minutes.
9. After your matzah balls are cooked, you can serve them with broth right away 3-4 per bowl of soup.
10. If you are serving the soup later, remove the balls from the soup to prevent sogginess, and store them in a Tupperware storage container.*
11. When you are ready to serve the soup flash boil the balls in broth and serve.

* We were pleasantly surprised to discover that the Kneidlach I had missed in my attempt to remove them all from the hot soup were perfectly formed and had survived well in the soup. My daughter just added the Matzah Balls to the soup bowl when serving soup. She did the same with the classic ones made with eggs for the Chicken Soup, since some of the family does not enjoy Ashkenaz foods.

Here are the photos:

The mix was very firm 

They were easy to form into balls

The matzah balls looked lovely in the soup, but they don't expand and get all "fluffy" like egg-based kneidlach.

Here they are in their storage container. 

After mixing, I put it in the refrigerator and made the Vegetable Soup. And that soup will be another blog post.

Our vegan said that they were delicious and took the leftovers home with her!