Vegetarian in Paradise Vegetarians in Paradise is a Los Angeles vegetarian web magazine. It is run by Zel and Reuben Allen. Their mission is to "offer our friends in the vegetarian community a nesting place to roost awhile and share information about a lifestyle that may keep us flying around a few years longer than our non-vegetarian friends.".

Reprinted with permission from Zel Allen.

Zel Allen is also the author of the cookbook The Nut Gourmet. Sample recipes from this cookbook can be found in the recipe sources.

Matzoh Balls

Magazine: April 2003

Creating vegan matzoh balls for Passover poses quite a culinary challenge. The traditional ingredient that binds the mixture together is eggs. Vegans usually rely on egg replacer that works perfectly for most instances. However, although egg replacer is kosher, it is not kosher for Passover.

The logical alternative was to bind the mixture with tofu, a very untraditional ingredient in Passover cooking. Tofu is an ideal binder in many recipes, but it was not able to live up to its reputation when the matzoh balls were boiled. The only solution was to bake them. Voila! Vegan Matzoh Balls. Many Rabbis accept the use of legumes for Passover when they are altered from their original form, such as when they are mashed.

Ingredients

• 1/2 C. (120 ml) matzoh meal
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/8 t. black pepper
• 1/2 t. onion powder

• 2 T. vegetable oil
• 6 T. water

• 1/3 C. (80 ml) well mashed firm tofu

Directions

1. In a medium bowl combine matzoh meal, salt, pepper, and onion powder. Stir dry ingredients to distribute evenly.
2. Add vegetable oil and water and mix well.
3. Add mashed tofu and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 F. (Gas Mark 6).
4. Form into 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls and place them on a well-oiled baking sheet. Cover with aluminum foil, dull side up. Bake at 400 F. (Gas Mark 6) for 30 minutes. Cool, and refrigerate.
5. Next day, heat the soup, and add the matzoh balls to each soup bowl just before serving. Makes about 14 matzoh balls.