I have made pea soup for years. For years, I made it with flanken. My mother, father, and children loved it. My in-law Marcia Greenhouse though had the brilliant idea of making the soup without meat and adding matzah balls to the recipe! Since her son and my daughter were both vegetarians who couldn’t eat chicken soup with matzah balls, she decided, why not make the matzah balls with pea soup? The consensus in the family is that Marcia’s matza balls are better than mine, and I totally agree. My daughter Randi always asks me why Marcia’s matzah balls are better than mine, and I just don’t have the answer. Here is the recipe for my delicious pea soup and my and Marcia’s matzah balls. Oh, I made a really big pot, and then I freeze the rest in quart containers (with the matza balls).
for the soup:
- 6 tubes of Manischewitz split pea soup mix (I throw the seasoning packets away)
- about 24 cups of cold water (about 5 quarts)
- kosher salt, about 2 tablespoons or to taste
- pepper, about 2 – 3 teaspoons or to taste
- 2 large onions, peeled – but left whole
- 2 pound carrots, peeled and cut into medium sized chunks
- optional – 1/2 box of alphabet noodles or barley shaped noodles (only if you are not making matzah balls)
Pour the contents of 6 tubes of Manischewitz pea soup mix into the bottom of a very large pot. Pour in about 24 cups of water (about 4 cups of water for each soup mix packet). Pierce the two onions with a fork and place in pot. Bring to a boil. Skim scum off top. Add salt and pepper. Lower flame to low. Simmer with top on. After about one hour, add the cut up carrots. Continue to simmer with cover on for at least one more hour until you don’t see any more pieces of dried peas. Discard onions. If you are adding the noodles, boil them separately and then add them to the soup when the soup is fully cooked.
for the matzah balls:
- 1 box (2 packets) Manishewitz matzah ball mix
- oil and eggs- for quantities, see instructions on box
Follow directions on the box exactly. Refrigerate batter, according to directions on the box. Then, form the matzah balls using dampened hands. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and boil the matzah balls to that pot and cook according to package directions. Add cooked matzah balls to the soup.
Note: Freeze leftover soup and matzah balls in quart containers.