SOUPS

Chicken Soup

Kenaidelach

Vegetable Soup

Chicken Soup

2 chicken breasts and 4 chicken legs

Salt

4 celery stalks from the inside of the bunch with leaves

1 big carrot

1 parsnip with leaves

1/2 white onion

Fresh dill

Soak the chicken in hot water for 5 minutes.  Drain and rinse it in cold water.  Cover the meat in salt, and set it aside for 1 hour.

In the meantime, wash the celery.  Cut each stalk into a few smaller pieces.  Peel and wash the carrot and parsnip, and cut each into a few smaller pieces.  Peel the onion and cut in half. 

In a large soup pot, combine the celery, carrots, parsnip, and half of the onion.  Fill pot to halfway mark with warm water, and set it aside to soak.

Rinse the meat in cold water and then in hot water, and add it to the soup pot.  Bring the water to a rapid boil over high heat.  Reduce the temperature to low heat for a slow boil.  Skim off the white film that gathers on the surface of the water.  Boil slowly for 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

Add salt and dill to taste.  Let the dill soak in the soup as it cools. 

Chill the soup in the fridge overnight.  Skim off the fat that rises to the top.  Reheat to serve.  Enjoy with kenaidelach or egg noodles. 

Kenaidelach (Matzo Balls)

4 eggs

½ c. vegetable oil

1 tbsp. powdered chicken soup stock

¼ tsp. white pepper

½ tsp. salt

2 c. matzo meal

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, oil, powdered soup stock, white pepper, and salt, and mix well.  Add 1 c. of warm water and mix well. 

Gradually add the matzo meal while mixing to reach a texture like thick oatmeal.  The batter should hold together, but you can still stir it, and it sticks to your finger.  If the batter gets too thick, add some more hot water.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 

Fill a large pot to the halfway mark with hot water.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. 

While the water boils, wet a plate and your hands.  Roll the batter into balls about the size of your palm.  Place them on the plate while you work. 

Drop the balls into the boiling water.  They will rise to the surface and get very fluffy.  Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium.  Cook for 10 minutes, or until the kenaidelach are cooked all the way through.  Test them by removing 1 ball with a slotted spoon, and cut it in half.  If it’s well cooked, it will look fluffy on the inside.  If it’s raw, it will be a darker colour and different texture inside than outside. 

Remove the kenaidelach from the pot and cool.  Enjoy in chicken soup.

Vegetable soup

½ c. baby barley

¾ c. dried green split peas

¾ c. dried yellow split peas

4 celery stalks with leaves

1 small cooking onion

2 carrots

½ green pepper

4 baking potatoes

½ tsp. salt

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 piece chuck beef steak or flunken (optional)

2 cloves garlic (optional)

Rinse the barley, split peas, and optional meat, and combine them in a large soup pot. 

Fill the pot to the ¾ mark with warm water, and cover the pot halfway.  Bring the water to a slow boil over medium heat.  Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 hour.  Stir in the salt and continue cooking for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, peel the onion and carrots.  Chop the onion, carrots, celery, and green pepper into large pieces.  In a food processor, grate the carrots, and chop the onion, celery, and green pepper into small pieces.  Peel the potatoes, and cut them into medium-sized pieces.

Add the vegetables and potatoes to the soup and stir.  If you left out the optional meat, add 2 tbsp. vegetable oil and stir.  Add enough warm water so that the pot is three-quarters full again, and stir. 

Return the soup to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce the temperature to low heat and cook for 30 minutes.  Add the optional garlic and salt to taste.  Cook for another 30 minutes.  Cool and enjoy!