Vegetarian food brought Cantor Jenna Greenberg and Rabbi Josh Ginsberg together. They met as students at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, when a classmate organized a singles dinner at a kosher vegetarian restaurant in Chinatown.

Now married, the two settled in Dayton, Ohio, two years ago. He is the rabbi at Beth Abraham Synagogue, Dayton’s only Conservative congregation; she leads the music program at Hillel Academy, a Jewish day school, and teaches high school Judaic classes at a nondenominational prep school.

Ginsberg said he neither encourages his congregants to become vegetarians nor discourages them from eating meat. “People know I’m a vegetarian, but I don’t engage in proselytizing vegetarianism,” he said. “Jewish tradition allows that one can eat meat. I really applaud the trend of some who are trying to create ethical, eco-kashrut and small-scale slaughtering where animals are fed a better diet and treated better.”

A few times a year, the couple prepare vegetarian entrees alongside meat dishes for Shabbat dinners at the synagogue.. At home, they turn out creative meals for their boys — ages 7, 5 and eight months. Greenberg said their recipes come from experimentation, cookbooks and online recipes, and from friends and family.

Their kosher-for-Passover seder menu includes caprese salad, potato spinach gnocchi, eggplant Parmesan, mushroom quinoa pilaf, melon salad and flourless chocolate cake. They start with a healthy alternative to matzah ball soup, a recipe developed by their friend Susan K. Finston, author of “Dining in the Garden of Eden.”

Roman Soup with Passover Dumplings

Serves 6

3-4 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, small dice

1 celery stalk, chopped

6 cups chopped mixed greens: Swiss chard, spinach, kale, butter lettuce, Savoy cabbage or other seasonally available greens

6 cups vegetable broth or water

salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese

Sauté chopped onion in oil until translucent over medium-low heat. Add carrot and celery and cook until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally. Stir in mixed chopped greens. When vegetables are wilted, add soup stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 45 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1-2 Tbs. Passover dump-lings per serving. Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Dumplings

2 cups mashed potatoes

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1⁄4 cup Passover cake meal

1 Tbs. finely chopped parsley or basil (optional)

1-2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients, adding additional cake meal if needed to form a dough that is pliable and not too sticky. Bring water to a boil in a 2-3 quart pot. Form small balls out of the dough and carefully slide them into the water to bring them to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, remove dumplings from the pot as they rise to the top, and transfer to a container, adding 1-2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil.