Ode to the Matza Ball

1/2 cup matza meal
2 eggs
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. water or chicken broth
2 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
a little black pepper, garlic powder, salt to taste
2 quarts stock
A handful of baby carrots or regular carrots cut into large chunks (optional)
a few stalks of celery cut into large chunks (optional)
Beat the eggs, oil and water together thoroughly. Add the matza meal, parsley and spices and mix until you achieve an even consistency. Let this sit for half an hour, so the matza meal absorbs the other ingredients, and stir again.
Bring the broth to a vigorous boil, then reduce the heat until the broth is just barely boiling. Add the vegetables to the broth. Wet your hands and make balls of about 1-2 tbsp. of the batter (I use a cookie scoop so the balls are round and similar sized). Drop the balls gently into the boiling water. They will be cooked enough to eat in about 30 minutes; however, you may want to leave it simmering longer to absorb more of the chicken broth flavor. They are done when they float on top of the broth and look bloated.
I love matza balls--their lightness, their comforting texture and flavor, and it is my absolute favorite part of Passover--and the only food that we have outside the holiday week!They are both delicious and evocative of a past that included slavery for most people on earth at some point in their past. A bitter human history that should be contemplated, as well as the freedom that we now share. So it is a soup with a history and a lesson, that is easy to swallow.