First Dishes

SOUPS AND BOUILLON

Soups are very popular in Jewish cooking. Kreplach, pharphelah and nudlen are often added to soups and bouillons.

CHICKEN BOUILLON

1 chicken, cut-up , 4 or 5 large carrots, peeled, 1 large onion, 2 or 3 stalks celery, 1 tbsp. salt, 7 to 8 cups hot tap water, 4 sprigs dill, 1/4 tsp. pepper

1. Pour boiling water over chicken. Trim off excess fat. Place in a 5-quart Corning Ware casserole or micro-safe bowl. Cut carrots and celery in chunks. Add to chicken along with remaining ingredients and stir well. Water should come no higher than 1 1/2 inches from the top of the casserole to prevent boil-overs.
2. Cover and MW on HIGH for 30 to 35 minutes, or until soup is boiling. Stir. Simmer on 50% (MEDIUM) for 25 to 30 minutes.
3. Let stand covered for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain soup and serve chicken and vegetables separately. Serve soup with noodles, rice, kasha or Matzo Balls. Enjoy!

Yield: 8 servings. Freezes well.

Chef's Notes: Very little scum forms on top of the soup and it will disappear as it cooks. Other vegetables can be added, if desired (e.g., parsnip, turnip, parsley, etc.) If you refrigerate the soup, the fat will rise to the surface and congeal. Leave fat on as a protective cover and use the soup from underneath. Soup will keep about 1 week in the fridge.

BEEF BOUILON

1,4 kg of beef, beef bones, 4 liters of water, 1 onion, 1tbsp. of salt, 1 carrot, black pepper, greens, bay leaf.

Put meat and bones in the cold water and boil it, remove scum, add other ingredients and cook until the meat becomes soft.

BEAN CHOWDER

Ingredients:

• 28 oz. can of tomatoes diced and pureed
• 2 oz. chopped carrot
• 15 oz. can red beans, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 cup chili sauce
• 1/2 cup green pepper
• 1 cup chopped onion

Heat tomatoes in large saucepan and then add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer one hour.

BEEF BARLEY SOUP

Yield: 12 servings

• 3 LBS center cut beef shank, all visible fat removed
• 2 quarts water
• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 3 c peeled and diced potatoes
• 1 c thickly sliced celery
• 1 1/4 c peeled and thickly sliced carrots
• 3 tbsp. uncooked pearled barley
• 2 tbsp. thyme
• 1 tbsp. salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Vegetable oil spray

Preheat broiler. Lightly spray a broiler pan with vegetable oil. On the prepared pan, broil meat 5 minutes on each side, or until thoroughly browned. In a large stockpot, combine meat, water, onion, bay leaf, one tbsp. salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until meat is tender, about 3 hours. Remove meat from pot and set aside. Strain broth and skim off fat. Cut meat into pieces. Place stained broth, meat and remaining ingredients into stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender about 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.

COLD RED BEEF SOUP (BORSCH)

400 g. beet, 600 g potatoes, 1 onion, 1,5 tsp sugar, 4 tsp vinegar, 2tsp salt, cucumber, eggs, green onion, sour cream or mayonnaise.

Slice beet and put it into hot water, add salt and vinegar and cook until boiling, pour of hail of liquid to separate pot and boil the rest until the beet is ready. Put sliced onion and potatoes and cook 20 min. Make the soup cold and mix it with cold liquid that you've made before, add sugar. At serving put cucumbers, green onion, boiled eggs and sour cream or mayonnaise.

PEE MEAT SOUP

3 lt. Water, 2 glasses pees, 1 kg beef with bone, 1 tbsp salt, black paper, 2 carrots, 2 sliced onions.

Put pees into cold water for a while, and then put in a pot, boil and cook it about an hour, add meat, carrot, onion, salt, paper and cook 2 hours till the meat is ready.

POTATOES SOUP WITH MILK

3 tbsp. oil, 1 big sliced onion, 3 big sliced potatoes, 1 grated carrot, 3 glasses water, 2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, caraway-seeds, 2 tbsp. lure, 3 glasses milk, 2 tbsp. sliced greens, sour cream.

Flux oil in the pot and roast onion in it. Add potatoes, carrot, salt, pepper, caraway-seeds, fill up with water, and boil it. Stir slowly and add lure. Boil 20 minutes. Add milk, greens and sour cream.

BARLEY SOUP

2 glasses kidney beans, 900 g. meat, 3 l. Water, 1\4 glasses barley, 2 sliced onions, 2 tsp. Salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 2 tbsp. sliced greens.

Soak beans, fill up meat with water, boil it and then cook 45 minutes. Add barley, onion, beans and cook more 1,5 hours. Add salt, pepper and cook 10 min. Soup is ready when meat and beans are soft.

GOULASH SOUP (MEAT)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound boneless stew meat, cut into small cubes, or 1 pound ground meat
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 6 cups hot water
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon caraway seed
• 2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pan. Dredge the meat with the flour, salt, and pepper.

Brown the meat in the hot oil, and then add the chopped vegetables.

Cook and stir a few minutes, and then add the remaining ingredients.

Reduce the heat to simmer and allow to gently cook for about 2 hours, or until the flavors have blended.

Correct seasonings and serve.

MILK SOUP WITH KLIMPN

6 glasses milk, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 glass flour, 1 egg, salt.

Put klimpn into boiling milk, add sugar, salt and cook until klimpn are ready.

PITSIE

2 kg beef legs, 2 onions, 1 carrot, 3 clove of garlic, 2 eggs, 2 tsp. Sugar, 1 tsp. Lemon juice, salt, pepper, bay leaf, crusts, 3 l. Water

Put beef legs into cold water for 2 hours, scrape out and clean them carefully, divide in halves, fill with cold water and cook 5-6 hours. Then add onion, carrot, bay leaf, salt and pepper and cook 2 hours. Filter bullion, throw away bones, part meat into small particles and mix with bullion, add sugar, lemon juice and come to a boil, add beat eggs. Serve hot with crusts.