Mother’s Chicken Escarole Soup with Matzo Balls

July 16, 2012

Author: Joan Nathan

My ninety-eight year old plus mother loves order and hates chaos. She is precise and unwavering about everything – the way she runs her family, her house, her kitchen. And for her, there is only one way to prepare for holidays: she cooks a week, two weeks, sometimes a month ahead, freezing the rugelach, the chicken, the plum pies, but never, never the matzo balls.

Just before she turned 90, my mother switched from using a whole chicken, to chicken legs in her chicken soup because she finds more flavor in the legs, and besides, the legs are often on special in her supermarket. From an Italian restaurant in Providence, she learned to swirl in escarole at the last minute, before she adds her matzo balls.

Ingredients:

6 whole chicken legs

20 Cups water

2 celery stalks sliced into 2 inch chunks

2 whole carrots cut into 2 inch chunks

1 large onion peeled and quartered

1 parsnip cut into 2 inch chunks

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

8 Ounces escarole

Matzo Balls

3 Tablespoons chicken fat or vegetable oil

6 Large eggs, separated well beated

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 3/4 Cup(s)s matzo meal

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

12 Cup(s)s water

Preparation:

To Make the Soup:

1. Put the water in a soup pot, add the chicken legs and bring the water to a boil Simmer slowly for 2 hours, uncovered, skimming off the fat and foam as they rise to the top of the soup.

2. After 2 hours, add the celery, carrots, onion, parsnip, dill and parsley. Continue cooking slowly, uncovered, for another hour.

3. Set a strainer over a large bowl and strain the soup. Season it to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate the soup, covered, overnight.

4. The next day peel off the layer of fat that has formed on the soup’s surface. Bring the soup to a boil in a large pot (or freeze it for another day). Before serving, swirl in the escarole and add the matzo balls (recipe follows), cooking for a few minutes.

To Make the Matzo Balls:

1. In a medium bowl, mix the chicken fat or vegetable oil with the eggs, salt, nutmeg, matzo meal and parsley. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Take the matzo mix out of the refrigerator and, after dipping your hands into a bowl of cold water, gently form balls the size of large walnuts. Add salt to the water, and drop in the balls. Simmer slowly, covered, for about 20 minutes, remove from water with a slotted spoon, and add to the soup.

Shiitake Mushroom and Barley Soup

December 26, 2012

Author: Akasha Richmond

Akasha is a self-trained chef and artisan-style baker who has been cater­ing events in Los Angeles and other parts of the coun­try for over twenty years. She began her pro­fes­sional career at the Golden Temple, a now defunct but once pop­u­lar veg­e­tar­ian restau­rant in Los Angeles. It was in this kitchen that Akasha dis­cov­ered her pas­sion for mak­ing deli­cious dishes with good-for-you ingre­di­ents. After the Golden Temple she became Michael Jackson’s per­sonal and con­cert tour chef. AKASHA is her first restau­rant ven­ture, the result of a vision she has had for many years.

Her cook­book HOLLYWOOD DISH includes tales of Hollywood’s 100-year pas­sion for organic foods and healthy lifestyles and sto­ries of her favorite cook­ing expe­ri­ences: mak­ing hol­i­day din­ners for Billy Bob Thornton, cater­ing par­ties for Pierce Brosnan, pro­duc­ing events at the Sundance Film Festival, and work­ing as a pri­vate chef for Barbra Streisand.

She lends her time and exper­tise to groups such as Share Our Strength, Environmental Media Association, Common Threads and Pediatric Aids. She has appeared on The Food Network (The Best Thing I Ever Ate), Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Planet Green, and nation­wide news programs.

Ingredients:

2 cups water

2 ounces dried porcini or other dried mushroom

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 large or 2 small shallots, finely chopped

2 leeks, pale green and white parts only, cleaned, and finely chopped

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems wiped clean, trimmed and sliced

2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

1 large carrot, diced

1 large parsnip, diced

1/2 cup whole barley

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Kosher salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Chopped flat leaf parsley, for garnish

Preparation:

Bring the water to a boil in a 1-quart saucepan. Add the porcini mushrooms, turn off the heat and cover.

Let sit for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft. Drain, reserving the liquid, and finely chop the mushrooms.

Heat the butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, shallots, and salt. Cook for

about 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent and fragrant. Lower the heat to medium, add the

leeks, and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the shiitakes and the soaked porcini and cook another 5-8

minutes, stirring often, until the mushrooms are well cooked.

Add the stock, celery, carrots, parsnips, barley, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for one hour or until the barley is tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with the chopped parsley.

Ida Richman’s Poor Man Soup

February 6, 2013

Author: Alan Richman 

Ingredients:

• Two six-ounce packages Manischewitz or Streit’s Split Pea Soup Mix (Beware of other brands, the ones where the peas are not finely cut and don’t get soft enough.)

• Four or five beef shin bones, 1-2 inches thick, with marrow

• Two medium yellow onions, grated

• Two medium carrots, grated

Preparation:

1. Bring nine cups of water to a boil. (The Manischewitz recipe calls for 5 cups for a six-ounce package. The Streit’s recipe calls for 4 cups for an identical six-ounce package. If you were adding only the ingredients of the packages, Streit’s would be more right than Manischewitz. But you’ve got more going into the pot, so up it a little.)

2. Add the peas. Stir.

(Each package comes with a little cellophane packet of seasonings. They are to Jewish soup what MSG is to Chinese food. The Streit’s directions call for the contents to be added after 45 minutes of cooking, 15 minutes before the soup is done. Manischewitz says to add the contents during the last 10 minutes of cooking. I can’t believe my mother was that patient. My guess she added them at the start. Here’s what I do. After about a half-hour, I add the seasonings, but not all of them. It’s too much. If you think the soup needs more salt or pepper, add to taste. Anyway, an hour isn’t nearly long enough to cook this soup. It requires two hours, minimum.)

3.Add the soup bones, the grated onion, the grated carrots. Stir well. Cover. Lower temperature to simmer.

4.After about an hour, if you’re hungry, remove the bones. Dig out the marrow. Serve on white toast, with coarse salt. After the bones have cooled, give them to your dog.

5. Eat the soup when the peas are dissolved and the broth is creamy, about two hours, sometimes more. Stir well before serving.

This post was submitted by Alan Richman. (His mother, Ida, is second from left in the photo.)

Pressure Cooker Stew for Sukkot: Oxtail Soup

April 9, 2013

Author: Kitchen Tested

Originally published in Kitchen Tested.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. beef oxtail

6-8 marrow bones

1 package frozen mixed vegetables

2 large carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 parsnip, chopped

1 turnip, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 bunch fresh parsley

1 bunch fresh dill

1/2 cup barley

1/4 cup split peas

1/4 cup elbow macaroni

2 potatoes

2 Tbsp onion soup mix

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

Preparation:

In a pressure cooker, place the frozen mixed vegetables, carrots, celery, parsnip, turnip, onion, parsley and dill.

Rinse the barley and split peas and add to the pressure cooker.

Add all remaining ingredients and cover with water. Close the pressure cooker.

Bring water to a boil (should take around 20 minutes) then cook for 15 minutes.

Note: if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can make this soup in a regular pot. Just boil the soup for 1-2 hours.

Lentil Soup

June 11, 2013

Author: Gefiltefest

This gorgeous soup can be traced all the way back to the Old Testament. In Genesis 25:29-34 you can read how Jacob’s brother, Esau, sold his birthright as oldest son to his younger brother, merely for a bowl of Lentil Soup! So yes, this soup is truly delicious and comforting. Whether you should sell your birthright for it? Well, I will let you decide on that.

My mom and I love to make this soup with brown lentils, as they are stronger flavored and hold their shape after being cooked. You can blend the soup after it’s done, but for us it’s all about the texture. We use beef stock but feel free to use vegetarian or chicken stock instead. Extra yummy, if you serve the soup with homemade croutons and some fried curry onion rings as garnish.

Ingredients:

For the soup:

2 tbsp. of olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

1 large carrot, finely diced

1 leek, white part only, cleaned and finely chopped

350g (1½ cup) brown lentils, washed and drained

2L Beef/Chicken/Vegetable stock

1 lime

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

For garnish:

1 tbsp. of olive oil

2 onions, sliced in rings

½ tsp. mild curry powder

6 slices of old bread

olive oil to drizzle over the croutons

garlic/garlic salt

Preparation:
For the soup heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the finely chopped onions and gently fry without coloring for 10 minutes or until softened.

Then add the carrot, celery and leek, again gently fry without coloring. Add the lentils, mix all ingredients gently and pour in your stock. Bring to boil and once boiling reduce the heat, simmer covered for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

When lentils are soft, stir in the cumin, lime, salt and pepper.

While the soup is simmering, preheat the oven to 175 degrees C. or 350 degrees F. Slice each bread slice into cubes and sprinkle with olive oil and if you like, garlic or garlic salt. Place on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until cubes are dried. Keep an eye on them while bake to make sure they don’t burn.

When you are about to serve the soup, fry the onions in olive oil and season with curry powder. Pour the ready soup into the serving dish, add the fried onions, croutons and enjoy!

21st Century Cholent

March 6, 2014

Author: Fran Kolin

This is the original “stick to your ribs” meal, a traditional shabbos lunch that cooks before sundown on Friday until lunchtime on Saturday. Real old-world goodness!

Ingredients:

1 bag of baby potatoes

1lb flank steak or brisket, cubed

Fried onions

1 bag of baby carrots

Kishke

1tbsp chopped garlic

Red kidney beans

Black beans

Small white beans

Preparation:

Use the largest pan or pot that can go in your oven, Layer the ingredients in the order written. Add water to the top. Put uncovered into 350 degree oven. Cover after 2-3 hours. Lower oven to 250 degrees for another 8 hours. Add water as necessary to “mush up” texture. (Or put in the oven in the morning – for that night- at 325 degrees all day.)

Posted in Soups and Stews  

Tags: black beans, carrots, garlic, kidney beans, kishke, onions, potatoes, shabbos, steak,white beans

Veggie Cholent

March 6, 2014

Author: Batsheva Frankel

I developed this recipe as an alternative to meat cholent- because I stopped eating meat when I started keeping shabbat. It’s yummy and fast!

Ingredients:

Barley

1 can whole potatoes

1 can cut sweet potatoes

1 brown onion – sliced

1 can garbanzo beans

1 can veggie baked beans

4-6 whole cloves of garlic

1 cup of ketchup

1 cup of BBQ sauce

1 parve kishke (sliced)

Preparation:

Grease sides and bottom of crock pot with olive oil. Cover bottom of crock pot with thin layer of barley. Put all ingredients in crock pot in order listed on Friday before shabbat- it will be ready for shabbat lunch!

Gazpacho

March 6, 2014

Author: Francis Levine-Grater

I got this recipe in my first year of marriage, and I am celebrating 18 years of happiness! It is perfect for Shavuot or Shabbat lunch in the summer.

Ingredients:

1 jug of tomato juice

2 small cucumbers

Handful of parsley or cilantro

2 small tomatoes, chopped

6 tbs olive oil

6 tbs balsamic vinegar

3 tbs honey

Juice of 2 lemons

Preparation:

Mix wet ingredients together. Add veggies and herbs. Can be left chunky or blended. Enjoy!

Beef Barley Soup with a Secret

April 4, 2014

Author: Liz

My grandmother, Bertha Scher, was a believer in the slow sauté. Chopped onions and garlic, sautéed over the lowest flame, still releases the familiar memories of so much of the food she joyfully prepared for 8 grandkids. We all loved the sweetness and depth of flavor in her cooking and of course, never gave it much thought.

It occurs to me, now, that she teased it out with another kitchen basic. This common and distinctly American condiment added a toasty honey hue (yup, she knew about eye appeal, too) to countless bowls of her veggie soup and equally irresistible potted meatballs.

The secret ingredient was ketchup.

And while Nanny may have knowingly reached for ketchup for a little zest and tang, I rarely do. But, anticipating yet another snowfall last week, I channeled her slightly sweet and perfectly uncomplicated cooking with this easy, long simmered, beef barley soup. I am sure she would have loved this “bowl of health”.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

6 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

one pound beef flanken, chopped or stew meat (not too lean)

8 oz. white, organic, mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced

1 cup pearl barley, rinsed

1 cup homemade beef or chicken stock

10-12 cups beef or veggie broth (organic, preferably)

3 Tb. ketchup

a generous handful of fresh dill, chopped

salt and pepper

Preparation:

Sautee onion and garlic, 7-10 mins.

Add beef and brown.

Throw all ingredients into slow cooker, stir to combine and simmer on low for 8 hours. Alternatively, simmer, covered, on stove top for 2 hours.

Enjoy this rich and old fashioned soup on a freezing winter day!

Tips: The best dishes use homemade chicken, beef or vegetable broth. I keep a container for each, clearly labeled, in my freezer. When I have leftover gravy from roasted chicken or cooking liquid from wokked or steamed vegetables, I cool it and add it to the appropriate container. These long simmered gravies serve as rich, complex bases for winter soups.

Posted in Soups and Stews

Tags: barley, Beef, carrots, celery, grandparents, ketchup, Mushrooms, Soup

My Grandmother’s Borscht Soup

May 2, 2014

Author: Mark Lieberman

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups beef broth or vegetable broth

1 medium russet potato, peeled and diced

1 cup shredded green cabbage

1-teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1⁄2 tsp allspice, ground

1 smashed garlic clove

1 1/2 cups roasted & diced beets

3 teaspoons red-wine vinegar

1/4-cup sour cream

1 tablespoon freshly grated horseradish

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, lightly chopped

2 tablespoons fresh dill, lightly chopped

Preparation:

In a medium saucepot, heat the oil and add the onions. Cook the onions until translucent. Add the broth, potato, cabbage, and salt. Cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the diced beets, black pepper, garlic clove, allspice and black pepper. Cover with a lid again and cook for another 25 minutes.

Add the vinegar, then turn off the heat and stir in the parsley and 1⁄2 the dill. Taste and add additional salt and pepper as desired.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls; top with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of fresh horseradish and dill.

Stoll Family Matzo Ball Soup

May 2, 2014  

Author: Craig Stoll

Although matzo ball soup is traditionally served on Passover, my mother makes it for every holiday the whole family spends together. Quantities are perhaps more than you’ll need, but my mother never feels that there is enough unless we have copious amounts of leftovers.

Ingredients:

2 gallons flavorful chicken stock

1 large 4 lbs chicken

2 lbs additional chicken necks and backs

10 black peppercorns

2-3 bay leaves

1 garlic head split in half

3 sprigs thyme

3 sprigs parsley

Kosher salt

5 medium carrots

1 medium onion

from 2 heads celery- pale inner hearts and leaves

1 cup toasted, halved walnuts

11⁄2 cups matzo meal

6 eggs, slightly beaten

6 Tbsp chicken broth

6 Tbsp chicken fat “schmaltz” (reserved from the top of the broth)

Salt

2 Tbsp chopped curly parsley

1 Tbsp dill, chopped

Kosher salt

Preparation:

In a large stockpot, combine the first eight ingredients. Add a small amount of salt. Bring to a boil and immediately turn down to a simmer. Skim the top once with a ladle and discard. Simmer for about 21⁄2 hours or until the chicken is falling apart. While the soup is simmering, peel the carrots, cut in half lengthwise and slice into 1⁄4” thick half moons. Set aside. Pull the leaves off of the celery hearts and set aside. Slice the stalks of celery on a bias, 1⁄4” thick. Combine with the carrot and set aside. Peel the onion and cut in half from root to tip. Slice in half again and slice the quarters 1/8” thick. Combine with the carrots and celery.

Using a ladle, skim as much fat as possible off the top of the soup and refrigerate. Using a combination of a skimmer and tongs, gently remove the chicken from the pot. Place on a platter to cool. Strain the soup through a fine sieve, pour back into the pot, and allow to cool before refrigerating overnight.

Pull the skin off of the chicken. Pull the meat off of the bones. By hand, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces along the grain of the meat. The chicken should fit on a soup spoon. Discard the sinew, veins and cartilage. Pack the chicken meat tightly in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove the soup and the reserved chicken fat from the refrigerator. With a soup spoon, scrape the fat off of the top of the soup and combine with previously reserved fat. Allow fat to warm but not liquefy in the vicinity of the stove. Remove two quarts of stock from the pot and bring to a simmer in a wide pot. Skim the foam and fat from the top. Check and adjust the salt if necessary.

Pour the matzo meal into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and whisk together well. Combine eggs, “schmaltz” and cool chicken broth. Mix until the batter just comes together. The batter should be stiff enough to just form a ball but it will be somewhat difficult to work with. A loose batter is part of the secret to light, fluffy matzo balls. Refrigerate mix for 20 minutes.

Fill a small bowl with cool tap water. Dip your hands in to wet them. Grasp a walnut in one hand and then scoop up enough batter to form a 1” ball. Form a ball around the walnut and gently drop into the simmering soup. Repeat, wetting your hands as necessary until you have four or five matzo balls in the pot. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the balls have fluffed-up and float. You may have to sacrifice one in order to test the doneness. (You can then use the same timing for subsequent batches.) When cut in half, the matzo ball will be moist all the way to the center- there will not be an undercooked core around the walnut in the center. When done, transfer the cooked matzo balls to a large platter. Keep covered between batches.

While the matzo balls are cooking, add the cut vegetables to the other pot of soup and cook until soft. When done, add the chicken and the matzo balls. Simmer until both the chicken and the matzo balls are heated-through. Add the parsley and dill, simmer five more minutes and serve.

Pareve Veggie Soup

July 28, 2014

Author: Roslyn Pearl

Ingredients:

Can of tomatoes

Sauteed onions

Garlic

other veggies (Carrots, celery, dried beans)

Directions:

Cook for 4 hours on small light

Grandma Fela's Real Jewish Chicken Soup

June 16, 2014

Author: Linda Cohn

Grandma showed me this recipe directly. The real Jewish penicillin is the marrow bone. It’s what makes you better when you’re sick. Watcher her with her spoon with small holes skim off the froth and discard.

Ingredients:

Onion (whole), discard after water

Celery, chopped

Parsnip, whole, discard after

Chicken, Kosher

Carrots, chopped

Bone marrow, Kosher

Salt and pepper

Pinch of sugar at the end

Preparation:

Put all ingredients in boiling water for 20 minutes.

Boil, then simmer for 40 minutes.

Take off froth and discard

For serving w/ Matzah Balls next day

(Separate broth into pitcher) and skim off schmaltz – discard and put rest of ingredients back in.

Deconstructed Stuffed Cabbage

July 29, 2014

Author: Michael Keats

Stuffed cabbage was a Schoen family favorite for many years. This Polish-Jewish heirloom recipe was a specialty of Dr. Keats’ “Nana Ruthy” and her two sisters. For special occasions, Shabbos and Yom Tov, they would prepare the dish by rolling each cabbage lovingly by hand and securing each roll with a toothpick. Ruthy’s grandson simply “deconstructed” the original recipe, making it more time efficient and easier to prepare.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey

1 tablespoon oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small cabbage, chopped

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Saute the onions until tender, then add ground beef (or turkey) until the meat is browned.

Add the garlic and cook an additional minute before adding the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer about 25 minutes (or until the cabbage is quite fork tender). 6 to 8 servings.

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