1,000 Jewish Recipes (172 page)

Long noodles aren't the only type of pasta that is great in chicken soup. The pasta called orzo or riso has long been used in Israel because of its appealing rice shape.

This simple but savory soup can be made quickly if you already have chicken soup or if you use good quality prepared broth. If you prefer, make it pareve and use vegetable broth. To make it more substantial, heat 1
¹
⁄
₂
to 2 cups strips of cooked chicken or turkey in the soup.

For chicken soup with a difference, try the light bean threads known on Thai menus as "silver noodles" because they become transparent when cooked. (In stores, they may be labeled as bean vermicelli, cellophane noodles, or transparent noodles.) These light noodles, made from mung beans, have another plus—very thin ones cook in only two minutes. Thus they are perfect for quick soups like this one. They don't even need an extra pot.

Simple Soups From Extra Chicken or Turkey

The last thing I want to do the day after a big cooking-and-feasting marathon, whether for Passover, Sukkot, or Thanksgiving, is to spend a lot of time in the kitchen or have another copious meal. So I break with traditional recipes for using leftovers. I stay away from classic American chicken and turkey casseroles, as they tend to be high in fat and calories and often require washing several pans.

Instead I prepare a soothing bowl of soup. I don't mean a huge production that entails chopping the carved bird's carcass and simmering it for hours. I prefer to make a quick vegetable soup and enhance it with strips of chicken or turkey. Even with brief cooking, the turkey makes the soup delicious. This meal-in-a-bowl is welcome a day or two after the holiday, or, if you freeze some of the bird, several weeks later. It's also a great way to use extra roast chicken after Shabbat and also works well with extra brisket.

A chicken or turkey vegetable soup demands little effort and time. You have great flexibility in terms of calories and fat too. For a light soup, don't add much chicken. If you want something heartier, add more. You can even add chicken or turkey to each bowl according to the taste of each person in your household—more turkey or less, dark or white meat. Then microwave each bowl of soup to heat the turkey.

Most of the time I make the soup from a few aromatic vegetables—onions, carrots, and celery. I don't bother to chop them into tiny dice. It's amazing how quickly a roughly cut onion or a thickly sliced carrot can cook in soup. Ten or fifteen minutes is usually enough.

Beyond my soup trio, the choice of vegetables is wide open. Sliced, packaged mushrooms top my list of valuable vegetables—those with lots of taste and nutrients for little toil. Cleaned spinach from a bag is a close second. Green beans and turnips add good flavor, and a small amount needs only minutes to prepare.

For a more substantial soup, I throw in a few diced boiling potatoes. I don't bother peeling them—rinsing and scrubbing them with a brush is enough. Even easier to add is rice or pasta. Either I simmer it right in the soup or I add some already cooked grains or noodles if I have any in my refrigerator or freezer.

Today we can make a tasty soup without cutting up a single vegetable. For the basics, if you like, use packaged carrot and celery sticks, peeled baby carrots, or bagged refrigerated or frozen diced onions. Simpler still, purchase a package of frozen stew vegetables. To them add more of your favorites from the freezer, as single vegetables or as a mixture. I like corn, green beans, and peas, or medleys that include broccoli or beans.

Canned tomatoes or beans from my pantry are an excellent last-minute addition. If I don't think of adding beans, my husband, whose partial to them, might slip some in the pot, generally chick- peas (garbanzo beans) or white beans and sometimes even black beans.

Blintzes, or crepe-like wrappers, cut into strips make a lovely addition to clear soups. They resemble noodles but are even richer tasting. Serve this soup as a holiday first course or any time you have extra blintz wrappers. If your blintzes are dairy, make the soup with vegetable stock.

My in-laws from India often serve soup with rice spooned into each bowl. It's a delicious and satisfying way to enjoy soups, whether of vegetables, lentils, or chicken.

If you already have extra cooked chicken, soup, and rice from a Shabbat dinner, this hearty soup can be an easy-to-make meal-in-a-bowl for a Sunday lunch or supper. If you don't have leftovers, the soup can still be prepared in no time. Simply use prepared stock, roasted chicken from a deli, and, instead of pilaf, use packaged quick-cooking rice. I cook the vegetables briefly in the soup so they retain their fresh flavor.