Vegetable Broth

Perfect to make for the vegetarian cousins for my Seder’s matzo ball soup, or great as a base for Minestrone soup, mushroom barley soup, kale and white bean soup, borscht,  or other veggie soups. It smells fantastic while cooking.

3 medium leeks

1 bunch celery, outer stalks and leafy tops

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

3 carrots

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 Tb thyme (fresh or dried, depending on the season)

1 tsp each dried dill weed, oregano,

4 bay leaves

1 – 2 Tb salt

several grinds black pepper

Boil 6 cups of water in a large pot.

Discard root end off of leeks. Slit leeks down the middle several times, then chop crosswise. Place them in a salad spinner and fill it with water. Let soak while chopping other vegetables. Then lift basket and discard dirty water. Repeat 2 more times, rubbing leeks to loosen dirt, then rinse thoroughly.

Rinse onion, trim top and tail, then cut into large chunks, including the skin for its lovely golden color. Peel the bitter skin from carrots and chop roughly. (I sometimes use dried but edible baby carrots instead). Pull outer stalks from celery and discard the dirty bottoms. Rinse well and chop roughly. Cut leafy tops from the inner stalks and rinse and chop roughly. Smash garlic in a molcajete or mortar and pestle to remove shell, and chop.

Add all vegetables and seasonings to boiling water and let boil for ½ hour. Transfer to a crock pot and let cook all day or night, depending on when you begin.

Strain broth through a sieve and adjust salt. The broth freezes well, so put in several containers for future use.

Rainbow Chard with Arabic spices and Israeli couscous

Somewhere over the rainbow,

In my backyard,

Growing green, red, and yellow,

Organic rainbow chard.

My daughter and I invented this recipe together on Mother’s Day. We started in the backyard where we are growing rainbow chard. This grows in red, white and yellow colors.

We chop it, stems and all, and sauté with onions, shallots, garlic, mushrooms and lemon, and add  the Arabic spices sumac and coriander. When the vegetables are tender, we stir into Israeli couscous. We garnish it with cilantro, and toasted pine nuts.

Israeli couscous or Maftoul,  is shaped like small pearls and is chewier than its Moroccan cousin. I cook it in broth Roz’s Jewish Chicken Soup (plus a vegan version). You can make this dish vegan by using the vegetable broth.

If only achieving peace in the Holy Land was as easy as blending Palestinian and Israeli cuisines!

Serves 6 side dishes:

Israeli couscous:

1 ½ cups Israeli couscous

1 ¾ broth (chicken or vegetable)

½ teaspoon salt to taste

2 Tb  lemon juice (Meyer lemon is nice)

Vegetables:

1 bunch chard: 10 -12 leaves and stems, washed

10 mushrooms

2 large cloves shallots, minced

1 onion, quartered and sliced thin

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp sumac

2 tsp zataar or dried thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp lemon juice

¼ cup broth

Zest of 1  lemon (Meyer is best)

 

Garnish:

¼  cup pine nuts

2 Tb cilantro leaves

 

Boil 2 cups broth in a medium saucepan with salt and lemon juice. Remove ¼ cup and reserve.

While broth is coming to a boil, toast the Israeli couscous in a  skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently about 7 minutes until golden-brown. Add it to the 1 3/4 cups broth and cover. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes  until couscous is tender.

While  couscous is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Quarter the onion, then slice thinly.  Heat 2 Tb olive oil in heavy frying pan. Add onions, sumac, coriander, zataar or thyme, and salt. Sauté until onions are soft and translucent.

 

Cut mushrooms into quarters and add to onions.

Mince garlic and shallots and add to the onions. Sauté them a few minutes until they turn golden.

Slice the chard stems thinly, and chop the leaves. Add to the onion mixture with the reserved broth, lemon juice and zest. Mix well and cover pan. Cook for 6-8 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until chard softens.

Toss with the Israeli couscous. Garnish with pine nuts and fresh cilantro leaves if desired.

Kale and Bean Soup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s another rainy day soup. I just dreamed it up and made it. Luckily everyone in the family liked it on the first try. The rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano and garlic give it a lovely aroma.

I dice the kale, celery, leeks, and red bell pepper in the food processor for faster prep and cooking. Just discard the kale’s lower thick stems first.

I made this  using dried beans as well. I boiled them in chicken stock for 5 minutes, then transferred them to a crock pot and added the rest of the ingredients. I cooked it on “high” for 3-4 hours until beans and kale are tender. You can also heat the crock pot to high, then tun it to low and  let it cook  while you are at work, or overnight. This way you don’t have to worry about stirring the pot so the cheese won’t stick to the bottom! And homemade beans are so much better than canned ones!

In case there are leftovers, this soup is even better the next day, when flavors have developed even more..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

serves 8 bowls

Ingredients

½ gallon (8 cups) homemade chicken or vegetable stock Roz’s Jewish Chicken Soup (plus a vegan version) (you can use boxed stock, but it won’t be as good!)

1 rind Parmesan cheese

2 bay leaves

1 Tb extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced, or 3 frozen cubes garlic

1 large leek, white and pale green parts only (you can substitute defrosted frozen leeks)

3 ribs celery

1 seeded red bell pepper

1 large carrot, chopped

¼ tsp red pepper flakes for a spicy soup. If you don’t like the heat, use just a shake.

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp fresh rosemary needles, minced

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

1 tsp dried thyme plus 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

several grinds black pepper

1 or 2 bunches kale, finely chopped. I chop the whole thing, leaves and ribs, excluding the thick ribs on the bottom. I’ve used Dinosaur and curly kale. You can substitute frozen chopped kale.

1 29-oz can Great Northern or cannellini (white kidney) beans OR 3 cups dry  beans

1 14-oz can artichoke hearts in water

2 to 3 teaspoons salt to taste (sea salt is nice).

2 Tb Parmesan cheese, freshly grated per bowl

Directions

Heat broth to boiling. If using dry beans, rinse in a sieve, then boil in broth for 5 minutes. Let beans soak in the hot broth while you prepare the herbs and vegetables. If using canned beans, pulse 1/2 of them in the food processor with a bit of broth to thicken the soup. (You can do the same with the dry beans when they are finished cooking.)

While broth is heating, chop  leek, onion, celery, and bell pepper in the food processor in batches, or chop finely by hand. Chop carrot by hand into sticks, then rounds..

Pour olive oil into a frying pan and heat until it shimmers. Add chopped onion and cook on low for 10 minutes until it softens. Add garlic, leeks, celery, bell pepper and carrots to the pan. Cook until the vegetables start to soften. Stir red and black pepper, oregano, sage, and rosemary into the onions and cook a few minutes more.

Discard the tough bottom stems, then chop the kale finely or pulse in food processor. Stir kale. bay leaves and Parmesan rind into soup. Stir in onion mixture. Let cook 20 minutes on medium, until kale is tender, or set in crock pot for several hours.

If using dry beans, simmer for 3-4 hours until beans and kale are tender. You can also heat the crock pot to high, then tun it to low and let it cook all the day or overnight.

Chop artichoke hearts and stir into soup.  Add salt to taste. Discard Parmesan rinds and bay leaves before serving.

Minestrone Soup

Fall in the Bay Area brings a few weeks of sunshine to ripen tomatoes, then rainy and chilly days, perfect Minestrone Soup weather. Pick those ripened tomatoes off the withering vines, combine them with broth and chopped veggies and herbs in a big pot. This is a pretty forgiving recipe, so if you want to clean out the veggie bin of your fridge, throw in what you’ve got. You could use frozen veggies  or canned tomatoes. There is a use for everything, even Parmesan cheese rinds! The rind lends a wonderful flavor to the soup. If it doesn’t break up, leave it in the pot when serving. Even better the next day when the flavors have a chance to meld.

Ingredients: 10 servings:

 

1 or more Parmesan rinds

1 large onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 bunch red Swiss chard, leaves torn off ribs and chopped fine, to make about 3 ½ cups, dice the ribs

1 large red bell pepper, diced to make 1 cup

1 large green bell pepper, diced to make 1 cup

1 small fennel bulb, chopped

1/2 pound crimini mushrooms

 

1 Tb salt (to taste)

½  tsp fresh minced rosemary

1 Tb fresh minced oregano

1 tsp dried basil

6 cloves garlic, minced

several grinds black pepper

One package (4 links) Aidells chicken sausages. either artichoke and garlic or sun-dried tomato with mozzarella cheese (optional)

1 bay leaf

several shakes red pepper flakes

10 cups (2 1/2 quarts) homemade chicken or vegetable stock Roz’s Jewish Chicken Soup or vegetable broth (you can use boxed stock, but it won’t be as good!)

2 Tb tomato paste

4 cups diced tomatoes (Roma is best)

OR 28 ounce can San Marzano peeled tomatoes to sub for tomatoes 

 

4 dried Porcini mushrooms

 

1/2 pound crimini mushrooms

 

1  cup peeled and diced carrots (2 large carrots)

2 peeled and diced large red potatoes

radish leaves, chopped (optional)

kale, torn from stem and chopped

4 small zucchini, diced to make 1 ½ cups

1/2 pound green beans, chopped

1 15-oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed or 1 cup dry beans, (soaked, cooked for 10 minutes in instant pot and natural release)

 

1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels

1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas

1 small bunch Italian parsley, chopped.

1 Tb fresh minced basil (about 5 leaves)

2/3 cup dry small pasta (I used the tiny tubes called ditalini for my last batch, but I have also used salad macaroni) (optional)

fresh tortellini (optional)

 

Garnish:

a few pinches dried oregano to taste

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat stock, Parmesan rinds, tomato paste, tomatoes or canned tomatoes  in a large pot.

Grind dried Porcini mushrooms in a coffee grinder or small food processor and add to the stock. Add salt to taste.

Scrub mushrooms and rinse well. Dry in paper towel. and cut off woody ends from the stems. Place mushrooms on toaster oven tray and spray with olive oil spray. Broil for 10 minutes. When they cool, cut them in quarters and add to stock.

-fry onions, fennel bulb, red bell pepper, chard ribs, and celery, in  olive oil in a heavy skillet until translucent. Add garlic, and herbs and stir until fragrant. Add to stock.

Slice sausages in quarters lengthwise and then into half-coins. Stir fry in the same skillet as the onions were in for about 4 minutes, until browned. Add to soup, then ladle some soup into the frying pan and scrape the browned bits into the soup, then pour back into the pot.

Stir in carrots, chard leaves, radish leaves, kale, and potato and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in pasta, canned or cooked beans, beans, zucchini, parsley, corn and peas. Cook 10 minutes on medium. Stir in fresh basil.

Sometimes I add fresh tortellini instead of dry pasta. Add it at the end and follow package directions.

Discard bay leaf and ladle into bowl. Stir in a pinch of dried oregano, fresh basil, and a few spoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy with a slice of good bread such as Acme herb slab, foccacia, olive bread, or sourdough baguette for dipping into the hot soup. Manga!

Roz’s Jewish Chicken Soup (plus a vegan version)

OK the chicken doesn’t need to be Jewish. But this soup will cure any cold, which is why it’s called Jewish penicillin.

My Vietnamese student Dan gave me a the advice to break the bones to expose the marrow to add amazing flavor and nutrients to the broth.

Ingredients:

2 Tb chicken fat (Schmaltz) skimmed from chicken drippings

3 stalks celery, leaves also, chopped

1 large carrot chopped, or a handful of baby carrots

1 onion, coarsely chopped with skin

1 leek, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 Tb salt, or to taste

1 quart (4 quarts) plus 1 gallon (16 cups) water

Bones, skin, herbs and vegetables from roasted chicken

A handful of parsley

1 bay leaf

1 tsp black peppercorns

Directions: Roast chicken using my recipe for

Roast Chicken

You can also use a rotisserie chicken.

After serving and boning chicken, reserve bones and skin and herbs. Break the bones to expose the marrow (I use kitchen shears). I include the dark meat we didn’t have for dinner. Refrigerate overnight in a container.

Fill the roasting pan with about a quart (4 cups) of water and bring to a boil. Squeeze the lemon that you cooked in the chicken into the pan, then discard the lemon, since the pith will give a bitter flavor to your broth. Simmer pan for 15 minutes, then turn off the burner and let sit for half an hour. Scrape the drippings from the pan using a metal spatula until they are incorporated into the liquid. Pour into a container and refrigerate overnight.

If I’m not up for making stock the next day, I freeze the bones and drippings until I am ready. Sometimes I will have 2 or 3 frozen carcasses until I’m ready to tackle the soup. If you do this, double the seasonings and add an extra gallon of water to your stock.

The next day, skim the fat (schmaltz) from the refrigerated pan drippings to make two Tb fat. Discard the rest of the fat (unless you are planning to use it for matzo balls).

Melt the fat in a large pot.Saute the chopped vegetables until they are soft, and stir in the herbs.

Add the defatted drippings, along with 1 gallon (16 cups) water, and bring it to a boil. Add the parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns, chicken bones and skin to the soup and return to a boil. Simmer for at least an hour and half.

Let cool until you can handle the pan. Strain through a strainer into a container or two, discarding all solids.

Rinse out soup pot and fill with ice and cold water. Place soup container(s) in the ice bath until cold, then store in refrigerator. This is to safeguard your broth from bacteria growing in lukewarm soup.

The next day you can skim some of the fat off with a slotted spoon (keep a couple of tablespoons for flavor though), and adjust seasonings. This broth can be used as a base for various soups. Serve topped with fresh or dried dill.

• Add kneydlekh (matzo balls) for special occasions like Passover and Rosh Hashanah or just to help the healing process.

•  Saute chopped carrots, celery, sugar snap peas or frozen peas in a teaspoon of chicken fat, add hot broth, sliced roasted chicken, and either cooked rice or egg noodles. Sing, “Sippin’ once, Sippin’ twice, Sippin’ chicken soup with rice” along with Carole King and Maurice Sendek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSJ0FDplzjk

Mexican fideo soup: My mother-in-law, the beautiful Conchita, immigrated from Mexico to the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas with a flair for making meals that were bién rica.  I have adapted some of her  recipes such as sopa de fideo, which is Mexican chicken-noodle soup.  She fries the fideo, which is short vermicelli, and adds onions, tomatoes and salsa.

Vegan Version: Omit the chicken. Saute vegetables in olive oil instead of shmaltz and add herbs.  Boil the vegetables and herbs for an hour, then strain and use as a base for vegetable soups.