Make This: Matzoh Ball Soup Meatball

A gentile's abomination from gentle ambition

At the end of March, I threw a party with E.A.T. in New York, an Upper East Side fixture in the portfolio of businesses owned and operated by Eli Zabar and his family.

The day before the party I ate lunch at E.A.T. - matzo ball soup. I’m not an aficionado, but I know good food, and this was the best version of the soup I’ve ever had. It is a comforting dish - simple and pure. What it lacks in culinary drama, it makes up for with good old-fashioned nourishment and, when done right: FLAVOR. The broth was richly rendered, the vegetables perfectly cooked. It was beautifully seasoned and swimming with dill.

This was the soup I had in mind when I recently made a batch of turkey meatballs for my family.

Parental cooking is a curious thing. In my pre-child days, I never would have made turkey meatballs. Turkey is quite boring, really. It offers no fat, and therefore no flavor. But we learned that my son will eat turkey meatballs (loves them, in fact), so now we eat turkey meatballs. And I’d venture to say we love them, too.

For starters, they are healthy and full of the protein everyone seems to be seeking so ravenously these days. They cook easily on a sheet tray - no searing or braising required. And they keep beautifully, producing easy and delicious leftovers. We even pack a few up before school pick-up and our son eats them in the car by the fistful, prompting my wife to suggest that maybe, just maybe, turkey meatballs are the ultimate car snack. They’d certainly be a welcome sight on a road trip in our family.

My meatball recipe extracts the major notes of matzo ball soup - carrots, celery, onion, dill, matzo - and laces them into a meatball. An abomination, perhaps. The turkey provides a neutral ground and allows the flavors to shine. It’s what we use at the house, but you could use ground chicken, just as well. Yogurt and olive oil add ballast, and matzo, ground to a sandy crumb, binds. It’s a great recipe, prompting my wife to exclaim, “These are the best fucking meatballs I’ve ever had.”

I hope you agree: