Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (174 page)
Garlic and plenty of Italian parsley lend good flavor to this warming soup. In some Sephardic families, this soup is served for Friday night dinner or for the Shabbat midday meal.
1 pound dried small or medium white beans (about 2
1
â
2
cups)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 medium onions, sliced
1
1
â
2
pounds beef chuck, diced, or beef stew meat
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1
1
â
2
teaspoons paprika
6 cups water, plus more boiling water as needed
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4
cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1.
Sort beans, discarding any broken ones and any stones. If you like, soak beans generously covered in cold water in a large bowl, overnight, to slightly shorten their cooking time. Rinse beans and drain.
2.
Heat oil in large saucepan, add onions and sauté over medium heat about 7 minutes or until golden. Add beef and sauté, stirring, 5 minutes. Add beans, garlic, tomato paste, paprika, water, and
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4
cup parsley. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 2 to 2
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2
hours or until meat and beans are tender; add boiling water from time to time if soup becomes too thick. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar, if using. Stir in remaining parsley. Serve hot.
A favorite for Shabbat among Iranian Jews, this soup makes a substantial first course or a light main course.
1 small (8- or 9-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
6 ounces lean ground beef
1 small onion, minced
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4
teaspoon salt, or more if needed
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4
teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
6 cups beef broth
2 large boiling potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
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2
teaspoon ground cumin
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4
teaspoon ground turmeric
1
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4
cup rice
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4
teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1.
Preheat oven to 350°F. To prepare meatballs: put chickpeas on a small baking sheet. Bake in oven 10 minutes to dry and toast them lightly. Let cool. Add chickpeas to food processor, chop them, and transfer them to a bowl. Add beef, onions, salt, pepper, and parsley. Shape tablespoons of mixture into small meatballs. Squeeze each to make it compact, then roll it between your palms to a smooth ball.
2.
Bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Meanwhile, peel and dice potatoes. Add potatoes and carrots to broth. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add tomato paste, cumin, and turmeric and stir to blend. Add rice and meatballs. Cover and simmer over low heat 30 minutes. Season with salt and cayenne. Serve hot.
BEAN AND GRAIN SOUPS
Split pea soup is one of the most popular soups in Jewish homes as well as at deli restaurants. Jewish cooks often make their split pea soup meatless, although some do add sliced spicy sausages for extra zest. My mother likes to make her split pea soup very smooth, and for a special touch, garnishes it with matzo balls.
If you don't have time to prepare matzo balls, you can serve the soup with
Fried Croutons
âeither light, baked, buttery or fried.
1
â
2
pound split peas (1
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â
4
cups), sorted and rinsed
5 cups water
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 large egg white or
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4
cup egg substitute
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon matzo meal, plus more if needed
Pinch of baking powder
1 tablespoon water
1.
Combine peas, water, onion, carrot, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for about 1 hour or until split peas are very soft. Puree soup in blender or with a hand blender.
2.
Lightly beat egg white in a small bowl. Add matzo meal, baking powder, salt, and pepper and stir gently with fork until well blended. Stir in water. If mixture is too thin to form into soft balls, stir in another teaspoon matzo meal.
3.
Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Reduce heat so water does not bubble. With wet hands, take about
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â
2
teaspoon of matzo ball mixture and roll it between your palms into a ball; mixture will be very soft. Add to saucepan of hot water. Continue shaping matzo balls and adding to pot of water, wetting your hands before making each. Cover and simmer over low heat about 30 minutes or until firm. Cover and keep them warm until ready to serve.
4.
Serve matzo balls in hot soup.
Packaged split pea soups are a pantry staple in many Jewish kitchens so that soups can be prepared without a trip to the market. I like to add the basic soup vegetables that I have on handâonions, carrots, and celery. Mushrooms contribute a good flavor to the soup.
Use either split pea soup mix or vegetable soup mix that has split peas as the first ingredient.
2 quarts water
One 6-ounce package split pea soup mix
2 large onions, diced
3 large carrots, sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced, leafy tops reserved
6 to 8 ounces small mushrooms, quartered, or one 6-ounce package sliced mushrooms
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â
4
cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1.
Bring water to boil in a large pot and add soup mix. Plan soup's cooking time according to package directions; 45 minutes before it is done, add onions. 15 minutes after that, add carrots and celery, so they have 30 minutes to cook. 20 minutes later, add mushrooms, so they'll have about 10 minutes to cook.
2.
Just before serving, stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.
 or
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Italy is not the only place where you find minestrone-type soups. Hearty vegetable soups with beans and noodles are also popular in North Africa. Unlike Italian soups, they are fragrant with cilantro and cumin.
Recently I learned a tip for speeding up minestrone preparation from Nancy Eisman of Melissa's Specialty Foods in Los Angeles. Nancy, whose mother was born in Morocco, suggests using quick-cooking couscous in the classic soup. The soup turns out delicious and satisfying.
This soup is most attractive served in shallow bowls. Other favorite additions of mine to this North African minestrone are winter squash, zucchini, potatoes, turnips, and white beans. Adding cilantro in two portions gives the soup two different flavorsâa mellow taste from cooked cilantro and a fresh punch from fresh cilantro added at the last minute. If you prefer Italian parsley, substitute it for the cilantro.
2 to 3 teaspoons olive oil or a little olive oil spray
1 large onion, chopped
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â
3
cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or Italian parsley
One 14
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2
-ounce can vegetable or chicken broth (1
3
â
4
cups)
1 quart water
2 large carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups small cauliflower florets
2 tablespoons tomato paste