The Art of Jewish Cooking (4 page)

Cook the cabbage and onions in the butter for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour and gradually add the water, stirring constantly until mixture reaches the boiling point. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, lemon juice and caraway seeds. Cook over low heat 1 hour. Correct seasoning. Garnish with sour cream. Serves 6–8.

Cook the onion, celery and green peppers in the butter for 15 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, paprika, water and milk. Cover and cook over low heat 1 hour. Just before serving, add the cream and cheese. Heat but don’t boil. Serves 8.

Combine the fruit, water, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat 15 minutes. Force through a food mill.

Mix the cornstarch with a little water and stir into the fruit mixture. Cook over low heat 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Chill and garnish with sour cream. Serves 6.

Clean the chicken and feet thoroughly. (The feet add strength to the soup, so use as many as you can get.) Combine in a deep saucepan with the water and onions. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat 1½ hours. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and cook over low heat 1 hour longer, or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken and strain soup.

Makes about 2–2½ quarts soup. Use the chicken in other dishes or serve with the soup.

Heat the chicken fat and cook the onion in it 10 minutes. Add the flour and then gradually the broth, stirring constantly until mixture reaches the boiling point. Add the chicken and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Serves 4–5.

Combine the beef, bones and water in a deep saucepan. Bring to a boil and skim. Add the onion, salt, soup greens, bay leaf and peppercorns. Cover loosely and cook over low heat 2 hours, or until meat is tender. Remove beef and strain the soup.

Makes about 2½ quarts soup. Serve the beef with horseradish. Serves 8–10.

Soak the beans overnight in water to cover. Drain.

Cook the meat in the water for 45 minutes. Add the barley, onions and beans. Cook over low heat 1½ hours. Add the salt, pepper and parsley. Cook 10 minutes, or until the meat and beans are tender. Serves 6–8.

Wash and drain the lentils. Combine with the water; bring to a boil and cook over medium heat 1 hour.

Brown the onions in the fat and add to the lentils with the carrots, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Cook over low heat
2 hours. Discard the bay leaf and rub mixture through a food mill. Return to the saucepan. Add the frankfurters and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Serves 6–8.

Combine the water and peas in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat 1 hour. Add the flank, bones, salt, pepper, carrots and onions. Cover and cook over low heat 2 hours or until meat is tender. Remove meat and bones.

Rub the soup through a sieve. Serve the soup with pieces of meat as garnish. Makes about 2 quarts of soup. Serves 8–10.

Combine the water, meat and bones in a deep saucepan. Bring to a boil and skim. Add the beets, onions, garlic and salt. Cover and cook over medium heat 2 hours. Add the brown sugar and lemon juice. Cook 30 minutes. Taste to correct seasoning if necessary.

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Gradually add a little hot soup, beating steadily to prevent curdling. Return to saucepan. Serve with pieces of meat as garnish. Serves 8–10.

Combine the brisket, bones and water in a deep saucepan. Bring to a boil and skim. Add the onions and tomatoes. Cover and cook over low heat 1 hour. Add the cabbage, salt and pepper. Cook 1 hour. Stir in the lemon juice, sugar and raisins. Cook 20 minutes. Taste to correct seasoning if necessary. Serve with meat as garnish. Serves 6–8.

Heat the fat in a saucepan. Brown the flank and onions in it. Add the bones, sauerkraut, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat 2 hours. Add the potatoes and cook 20 minutes longer. Serve with the meat as garnish. Serves 6–8.

In the Jewish cuisine, a soup’s importance is evaluated by its thickness. A thin soup is not completely disregarded, but to most people it is of little importance. But a thick, heavy soup—that’s an entirely different matter! And when the soup is so thick with soup accompaniments that the liquid can hardly be seen, that is when the cook receives the compliments.

Mandlen, kreplach, farfel
and
kasha
are favorite items to serve with soup. It’s an amusing idea to try a variety of accompaniments at the same time because, after all, the more the merrier.

You’ll find additional suggestions for soup accompaniments in the chapter called
NOODLES AND KREPLACH
.

Make a well in the center of the flour and drop the salt and egg into it. Work in the flour and knead until smooth and elastic. Cover with a bowl for 20 minutes, then roll out as thin as possible on a lightly floured surface. Stretch the dough gently until it is even thinner. Let dry for 20 minutes, then fold dough in half. Cut in circles with a small melon-ball cutter or thimble.

Heat the fat to 375° and drop the dough into it. Fry until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels and serve in beef or chicken soup. Serves 8.

Combine the flour and salt. Work in the eggs until a stiff dough is formed. Roll between the hands into narrow strips. Let dry until stiff enough to grate, then grate or chop into pieces the size of barley. Spread out on a towel or board and let dry again.

Store in tightly covered container. To use, cook for 10 minutes in boiling salted water or soup. Serve to your taste, according to your preference for thick or thin soup.

Beat the eggs, water and salt together. Mix in the flour and baking powder.

Drop by the teaspoon into boiling salted water. Cook until they rise to the surface, about 5 minutes. Drain. Serve to your taste, according to your preference for thick or thin soup.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Beat the eggs and oil together and blend into the flour, kneading until smooth.

Roll pieces of dough into ¼-inch-thick strips. Cut in ½-inch pieces. Arrange on a greased baking sheet.

Bake in a 375° oven 15 minutes. Shake the pan occasionally. Cool any left over and store in a closed jar. Serve to your taste, according to your preference for thick or thin soup.

Brown the onion in the fat. Chop or grind the raw livers with the onion. Stir in the salt, pepper, potato flour and egg yolk. Fold in the egg white.

Drop by the teaspoon into boiling soup or salted water. Cook 15 minutes or until they rise to the surface. Serves 8–10.

Beat the eggs and salt together. Stir in the cake meal and potato flour.

Heat the fat to 380°. Drop the mixture by the teaspoon into the fat. Fry until browned. Drain and serve hot. If you want to prepare them ahead of time, crisp them in a hot oven before serving. Serves 6–8.

Beat the eggs, fat, water and salt together. Stir in the matzo meal, adding just enough to make a stiff batter. Chill one hour.

Form into balls and cook for 30 minutes in boiling soup or salted water. Makes about 18.

Beat the egg yolks and salt together. Stir in the matzo meal and chill 1 hour. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry and fold into the matzo-meal mixture. Form into 18 balls. Cook in boiling soup or salted water for 20 minutes.