Great balls of matzah!

The story goes that when Marilyn Monroe was married to Arthur Miller she said to him, ‘Matzah balls? Isn’t there any other part of the matzah you can eat?’

I don't know if the story's true; I only know that when Passover approaches it's time for me to get out the matzah meal and get cracking. This year for me, yesterday was the day.

There's no real recipe. Or rather there are endless variations. For one packet of matzah meal I used four eggs, a tablespoon or so of margarine, salt and pepper, and enough vegetable stock to make the mixture not too firm and not too sloshy. (I use vegetable stock, not chicken, so my vegetarian daughters can eat them too.)

I rolled the mixture into balls and left them to rest for about half an hour before dropping them carefully into boiling vegetable stock for around 40 minutes.

At this point in the process I always hear my mother's voice in my head.

‘Make sure the water’s properly boiling,' I hear her say. And, 'When they’re cooked, take them out one at a time. Don’t tip them into a colander, or you’ll end up with a heap of sludge.’

I did that once. Mum and I laughed about it together. I had to throw the mess out and start again. These days I'm patient.

Anyway, Marilyn, I don't know what you were complaining about. Is there any other part of the matzah worth eating?