Passover is right around the corner! Do you have your menu planned out yet?? It's ok, neither do I. Luckily i'll be spending my holiday with mum and stoopie this year, so I'll let them do the menu planning and then just appear when it's time to eat matzo balls and hide the afikoman (otherwise how will I know where to look when it's time to find the afikoman???).

I have to tell you about these matzo balls! They're from Lindsey's beeeeeautiful new book, Chickpea Flour Does It All, and they are made with--you guessed it--chickpea flour instead of matzo meal. So they're completely gluten-free and they are so gosh darn similar to the real thing. I gasped out loud when I tasted them the first time. They are a bit lighter and fluffier than the matzo balls of my youth (the kind I ate **ravenously** after even the most condensed of seders), but boy are they good. And they come together so easily with just a few ingredients. Lindsey plops them into veggie broth and serves them with roasted carrots (I've been dying to try Izy's carrots with black garlic) and I made these last week with a ginger lemongrass broth for a nice little mashup sitch. This weekend I might have to go the classic route with my favorite roasted vegetable stock.

Anywho, check out Lindsey's book! It has her signature breath-taking photography that I love so very much and it proves, through cakes and pizza and matzo balls, that chickpea flour really is a renaissance man of an ingredient. It also came out with perfect timing since 2016 is the international year of pulses! p.s. have you signed the pulse pledge (aka a commitment to eat more pulses this year) yet?? If not, get to it!

chickpea matzo ball soup

from lindsey love's chickpea flour does it all

makes 18 matzo balls

ingredients

1½ c (180 g) chickpea flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 large eggs
3 tb extra virgin olive oil
6 c (1,440 ml) vegetable broth
2 tb chopped dill

clues

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper, to taste. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and oil until just combined. Make a hole in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg mix. Fold together with a rubber spatula until thoroughly incorporated; the batter will be very thick and sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Fill a large lidded pot three-quarters full with water and bring to a simmer. Place the broth in another large pot and bring to a simmer, cover, and turn the heat to low.

While the water is heating, remove the matzo ball batter from the refrigerator; take about 2 teaspoons’ worth of batter (roughly 20 to 22 grams) and, with wet hands, roll the dough between your palms to make balls. Bring the simmering water to a boil. Gently drop half the matzo balls into the water; when the balls rise to the surface, turn the heat down to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook for 20 to 22 minutes, until the matzo balls are cooked through and the centers are light. If the center is hard and dark, cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the center is cooked and light. Transfer to the warmed broth, and repeat with the remaining matzo balls.

Bring the vegetable broth and matzo balls to a simmer. Serve one to two matzo balls per serving; garnish with dill.