Matzo ball soup with vegetable broth

Step 1: Put 2 onions cut-side down in a large dry pot over a medium-high heat and leave for 4–5 minutes until the cut faces are dark brown; this gives the broth its colour.

Step 2: Add the chunked 2 ⅛ carrots, 3 celery sticks, 1 parsnip, ⅓ oz dried mushrooms, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, ¼ tsp ground turmeric, 10 ½ cups water and the stalks of ¼ oz fresh dill. Bring to the boil, then simmer uncovered over a medium-low heat for 50 minutes, until reduced by about a third and tasting rich.

Step 3: Meanwhile whisk 4 eggs, ¼ cup vegetable oil and ¼ cup sparkling water in a bowl. Stir in 4 ½ oz matzo meal, 1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp white pepper until evenly wet; it will look like loose porridge. Cover and chill for 30 minutes until firm enough to shape.

Step 4: Bring a separate large pan of well-salted water to the boil. With wet hands, roll the mixture into balls the size of a walnut, handling them lightly. Common mistake: squeezing them tight; packed balls cook into hard 'sinkers', light rolling gives fluffy ones.

Step 5: Drop the balls into the boiling water, cover, lower to a steady simmer and cook for 30 minutes without lifting the lid. They will swell to double and float; a cut ball should be pale and fluffy right through.

Step 6: Strain the broth, pressing on the vegetables, and return it to the pot with 2 tsp salt and the sliced ⅞ carrots. Simmer 8 minutes until the carrot coins are tender.

Step 7: Lift the matzo balls into bowls with a slotted spoon, ladle over the hot broth with the carrots and finish with the fronds of ¼ oz fresh dill.