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FOOD

Jewish Penicillin

There's more than one way to make the ultimate Jewish comfort food.

Annabel Cohen

Special to the Jewish News

C

hicken soup. Just a ref-
erence to this kitchen
basic brings about the
desire for a piping saucerful.
Maybe chicken soup brought
you through periods of sniffles
or kept you cozy on chilly nights
or was an essential starter for
Rosh Hashanah, Pesach or every
Shabbat.
The type of soups you prefer
are probably the same type your
grandmother made. They may
also include ingredients and
preparation characteristics that
reveal your family's ethnicity.
Lemon and greens in a soup
suggest a Mediterranean lineage.
Cubes of tofu and scallions hint
of the Orient. And fluffy globes
made of crushed matzot and egg
or little meat turnovers reveal a
decidedly Jewish bent, especially
Eastern European.

card all the chicken fat removed
from the soup. Keep one or two
tablespoons and add it back to
the broth.
• It doesn't take much to make
soup from stock — adding
chopped scallions, bean sprouts,
water chestnuts, shredded fresh
bok choy, pea pods and a bit of
soy sauce can turn a stock into
your favorite Chinese vegetable
soup. Or throw a handful of
noodles into stock and you've got
instant Jewish penicillin.

Soup tips

Basic Chicken
Stock/Broth
1 5-6-pound roasting chicken
or stewing hen
3 quarts water
2 large onions, quartered
1 large parsnip, peeled and
cut into 1 inch chunks
3 carrots, peeled and cut into
1-inch chunks
3 garlic cloves, peeled and left
whole
4 celery ribs cut into 1-inch

• In a pinch, canned chicken
broth can substitute for the real
stuff.
• Restaurants keep noodles
from becoming swollen and
mushy by precooking them and
add them at the last minute to
hot soup, just before serving.
• Even the best made chicken
stock can sometimes be weak or
watery. A quick fix is to add sev-
eral bouillon cubes or a couple of
tablespoonfuls of "chicken base"
(a concentrated chicken soup
paste, available at your grocers
and specialty stores).
• Adding uncooked grains or
beans, such as barley, rice, beans
or lentils, to the stock will result
in a soup with a creamy texture.
Adding these ingredients to the
soup during the last stages of
preparation will result in a soup
with a clear broth base.
• Add a peeled potato to soup
that's too salty — bring the soup
to a boil and let the potato soak
up the extra salt.
• For a richer soup, don't dis-

pieces
1 Tbsp. salt
10 peppercorns
Place the chicken in a large
stockpot. Cover with water and
bring to an immediate boil.
Remove the chicken from the pot
and discard the water. Return
the chicken to the pot and cover
again with water. Add onions,
parsnip, carrots, celery, garlic,
salt and peppercorns. Cover the
pot and simmer for 2-3 hours or
until the chicken is tender but
not falling apart, adding water
as necessary to keep the chicken
submerged.
Remove the chicken to a bowl
and set aside to cool. Strain the
liquid (using a sieve or a colan-
der lined with cheesecloth) into a
large bowl. Chill the stock several
hours to overnight. Remove all
the fat that has risen to the sur-
face (reserve the fat for another
use or discard). Makes 3 quarts
of stock or broth.
In the meantime, remove the
cooled chicken meat from the

bones, discarding the skin and
bones. Shred the white meat
well and measure out about 2
cups and set aside. Reserve the
remainder of the chicken for
another recipe (chicken salad
or pot pie are good options). Do
not put the chicken back into the
broth at this point.

Spinach Lemon
Rice Soup
Basic Chicken Stock (see
recipe above)
1 package (10 oz.) frozen
chopped spinach, thawed and
drained
1 cup long grain uncooked
white rice or 2 cups cooked
rice
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon
juice, or more to taste
2 tsp. dried dill
2 cups shredded cooked
chicken
Salt and pepper to taste

Pour stock into a large soup pot
and bring to a boil over high
heat. Add the rice, lemon juice
and spinach and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer one
hour. Add more water to equal 3
quarts if necessary. Just before
serving, add chicken meat.
Season to taste with salt and
pepper and serve.

Quick Chicken, Noodle
And Vegetable Soup

This is basic vegetable soup.
Experiment by adding your own
favorite vegetables or substitute
wild or white rice or barley for
the noodles (cook them first).
For vegetable suggestions, try
frozen or roasted corn, water
chestnuts, frozen chopped spin-
ach, diced new or sweet potatoes,
2 cups of drained diced tomatoes
or a can of drained beans.
Basic Chicken Stock

(see recipe above)

1 cup 1/4-inch-diced carrots
1 cup thick-sliced celery
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cups green beans, cut into
1-inch pieces
1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes

1 12-oz. bag thin egg noodles,
uncooked
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
Salt and pepper to taste
Pour stock into a large soup pot
and bring to a boil over high
heat. Add the carrots, celery, bell
pepper, green beans and parsley
and bring to a boil again. Reduce
heat slightly and cook the soup
for 20 minutes. Add the noodles
and cook for 5 minutes more.
Add the peas and season to taste.
Serve hot. Makes 12 servings.

Italian Beef
Pasta Soup
Basic Chicken Stock (see
recipe above)
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
•
1 cup chopped red or
Bermuda onion
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped garlic
1 Tbsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 cups 1/4-inch-diced zucchini
1 package (10 oz.) frozen
chopped spinach, thawed and
drained
1 can (about 15 oz.) cannelini
(white beans), drained
4 cups cooked pasta shape
— orzo, corksrews or tiny
shells are good choices
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring stock to boil in a large pot
over high heat.
Heat a large nonstick skillet
over medium-high heat. Add the
beef and cook until no longer
pink, breaking it up as it cooks.
Drain the beef and set aside (do
not clean the skillet). Add the
oil to the skillet and heat over
medium-high heat. Add the bell
pepper, onion, garlic, basil, fennel
seeds (if using) and red pepper
flakes and sauté for 5 minutes.
Add the vegetables and meat to
the stock.
Cover pot and simmer 10
minutes. Add zucchini and pasta,
increase heat to high and bring
soup to a boil. Cook 10 minutes
more. Season soup to taste with

salt and pepper and serve. Makes
8-12 servings.

Tortilla Soup

My version of a staple at res-
taurants everywhere in Mexico.
Normally the tortilla strips are
deep fried. I bake them for a
healthier version. In a pinch, use
crumbled white-corn tortilla
chips.
8 white corn tortillas (or
yellow corn), cut into 1/4-inch
strips
Basic Chicken Stock (see
recipe above)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 cups diced plum tomatoes
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano,
crumbled
1 tsp. kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Hot pepper sauce (such as
Tabasco), to taste
4 fresh limes
1 cup fresh chopped cilantro
Fresh diced avocado, garnish
(optional)
Preheat oven to 350F. Arrange the
tortilla strips on a baking sheet
and bake for 15 -20 minutes,
until the strips are golden. Set
aside to cool and become crisp.
Bring stock to boil in a large
pot over high heat.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large
nonstick skillet over medium-
high heat. Add the onions,
tomato and garlic and saute until
softened, about 5 minutes. Add
the vegetables to the stock. Add
the oregano, salt and pepper and
bring to a boil. Season the soup
with the juice of 2 limes and to
taste with the hot pepper sauce.
Just before serving, add the
cilantro and ladle the soup into
large bowls. Garnish with the
chopped avocado, lime wedges
and top with a generous portion
of the tortilla strips. Makes 8
servings. El

For more recipes, please

go to JNonline.us.

October 12 • 2006

43