1,000 Jewish Recipes (176 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1
1
â
2
cups lentils (about
1
â
2
pound)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
6 cups water
2 large carrots, diced
2 large potatoes, diced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 to 2 cups boiling water
3 zucchini, sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 large ripe tomatoes, coarsely grated
1
1
â
2
teaspoons ground cumin
1
â
2
teaspoon ground turmeric
1.
Spread lentils on a plate, pick through them carefully, rinse, and drain.
2.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan, add onion and sauté over medium-low heat 10 minutes or until golden. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute, stirring. Remove to a bowl.
3.
To pan add lentils and water and bring to a simmer. Add carrots, potatoes, salt, and pepper and return to a simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat 20 minutes. Gradually add boiling water if soup is too thick. Add zucchini and simmer 10 minutes.
4.
Add onion mixture, tomato paste, tomatoes, cumin, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes or until lentils are tender. Adjust seasoning; season generously with pepper.
This delicious soup is an Eastern European Jewish favorite and a popular soup offering on deli menus. It's easy to make at home, especially if you have homemade meat or chicken soup or stock. Use any kind of dried mushrooms you like. I often find some in kosher shops labeled simply "Polish mushrooms." These mushrooms are from the boletus mushroom family; mushrooms called cèpes or porcini can be substituted.
1 ounce dried Polish mushrooms, cèpes, or porcini
1 cup hot water
1
â
2
pound carrots, diced
1 parsnip or parsley root, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 quart beef, veal, or chicken stock
1 quart water
1
â
2
cup pearl barley
3 ribs celery, diced
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 to 8 ounces small fresh mushrooms, quartered
1
1
â
2
cups thin strips of cooked beef or chicken (optional)
1
â
4
teaspoon hot paprika or cayenne pepper, to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1.
Rinse dried mushrooms and soak 20 minutes in hot water. Remove mushrooms, reserving liquid. Dice any large ones.
2.
Combine carrots, parsnip, onion, stock, and water in a large stew pan and bring to boil. Skim foam from surface. Reduce heat to low. Add barley, celery, sweet paprika, salt, and pepper. Add fresh and dried mushrooms. Pour mushroom soaking water into another bowl, leaving behind and discarding the last few tablespoons of liquid, which may be sandy. Add mushroom liquid to soup. Cover and cook about 1 hour or until barley is tender. Add beef, if using, and heat through. Season with hot paprika, salt, and pepper.
3.
Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley.
When I long for the homey feeling of old-fashioned Ashkenazic barley soup but I have little time to cook, this is the soup I prepare. I combine quick-cooking barley, which is ready in ten minutes, with fresh and frozen vegetables. The result is a healthful, hearty, warming soup in no time.
Look for quick-cooking barley at natural foods stores. If you can't find it, you can use quick-cooking brown rice; it's available at most supermarkets.
2 medium carrots, diced
1 medium onion, diced or
1
â
2
cup packaged diced onions
3 ribs celery, diced
3
1
â
2
cups vegetable stock or two 14
1
â
2
-ounce cans broth
2
1
â
2
cups hot water
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, including lima beans, corn, and green beans
1
â
2
cup quick-cooking barley
1 teaspoon dried dill
1
â
2
teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Combine carrots, onion, celery, stock, and water in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to boil. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat 3 minutes. Add frozen vegetables and return to a boil. Add barley, dill, and thyme. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until barley is tender. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Serve hot.
VEGETABLE SOUPS
 or
Â
The striking orange hue of this soup makes it an enticing appetizer even before you savor its delicately sweet flavor. Pureeing rice along with the vegetables gives it a pleasing creamy texture. It makes a nice change of pace from chicken noodle soup for Shabbat. Use chicken stock for meat meals or vegetable stock to make it pareve.
This soup is low in fat. If you would like low-fat matzo balls, see
Extra-Light Matzo Balls
.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1
1
â
4
pounds butternut or banana squash, peeled and diced
1
â
2
pound carrots, diced
5
1
â
4
cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 tablespoons rice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1
â
2
teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1 bay leaf
Pinch of sugar (optional)
1.
Prepare matzo balls. Then, heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan. Add onions and sauté over medium-low heat, stirring often, 7 minutes or until soft but not brown. Add squash, carrots, 4 cups stock, rice, salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat about 30 minutes or until vegetables and rice are very tender. Discard bay leaf. Let soup cool 5 minutes.
2.
Pour soup into blender and puree until very smooth. Return to saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring often. Add about 1
1
â
4
cups stock, or enough to bring soup to desired consistency. Bring to a boil, stirring. Adjust seasoning; add pinch of sugar, if using.
3.
When serving soup, use slotted spoon to add 4 to 6 matzo balls to each bowl.
 or
Â
This soup of Eastern European Jewish origin is made either with rice or with
farfel
, a type of chopped pasta also known as egg barley. Make it with vegetable broth for pareve or dairy meals, or with chicken or beef broth for meat meals.
The soup cooks fastest if made with white rice or with quick-cooking brown rice.
1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
3
â
4
pound small white mushrooms, halved and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock or broth
3 cups water
1
â
2
cup white or brown rice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Heat oil in a heavy saucepan. Add onion and sauté over medium heat 7 minutes, stirring often. Add mushrooms and paprika and sauté 5 minutes, stirring often. Add stock and water. Stir and bring to a boil. Add rice. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender. Stir in parsley. Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot.
