Throw in Lots of Tomatoes Sweet Potato Soup

I make a lot of soups with tomatoes, and lots with sweet potatoes, but this combination is a little lighter, not using any coconut milk. 

It's great for a glut of tomatoes like this fall, thanks Micah! 

Loosely based on this recipe. The sweet potato thickens the soup when blended, and packs it with nutrients.

2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
Afew cloves chopped garlic
A bit of grated ginger

2-3 stalks chopped celery

3 peeled carrots, chopped
1 t. cumin
1 t. turmeric
1 chopped hot pepper like jalapeno (use a plastic glove when mincing)
2 peeled large sweet potatoes, diced
4-6 chopped tomatoes, diced
8 c. vegetarian broth

Optional: In a small container, take a few tablespoons broth to a chunk of peanut butter, mix to loosen, and add to soup.

Pour oil into large soup pot and add onion, garlic, ginger, celery, and pepper, saute until soft.

Add chopped sweet potatoes, tomatoes and broth. Boil for about 40 minutes. Use an immersion blender but leave some vegetables chunked. Add thinned peanut butter for a protein boost.

Parsnip Sweet Potato Ginger Soup

I have been cooking so much soup during the second winter of the Pandemic that I put this together without a recipe. Yum. And so nutritious! The sweet potato/carrot gives it a prettier color than a straight parsnip soup.

1 T. butter or olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 T. garlic ginger paste

1 t. turmeric

1 t. cumin

3 medium parsnips, peeled and diced

1 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1-2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

5 cups vegetarian broth

salt, pepper to taste

Saute the onion in the oil until browning. Turn heat down to avoid burning and add garlic/ginger paste, turmeric, and cumin, stirring about a minute.

Add diced vegetables and broth, and cook about a half hour.

Process with the immersion blender and season to taste. This is a gorgeous color, so have fun thinking of how to garnish. Pomegranate seeds are especially beautiful!

 

Moroccan Spinach Chickpea Soup

 https://www.greenprophet.com/2013/01/eat-like-a-sustainable-moroccan-chickpea-and-spinach-soup-recipe/

Pretty simple, hearty soup, not that thick - yet another combo of spinach, tomato, chickpea, onion, garlic....  Modified with less chickpeas and added carrots

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste

2 cups diced fresh or crushed canned tomatoes (1 can)

3 carrots, diced

1 can chickpeas,drained (2 cans)

3 to 4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4 cups fresh spinach, rinsed, drained, and chopped

Choose a large pot. Heat the olive oil in it and add onion, garlic, cinnamon, paprika, cumin and cayenne.

Cook, stirring occasionally 5 minutes or until the onions wilt.

Add tomatoes, chickpeas, vegetable broth and sugar.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let the soup simmer for 45 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper.

Just before serving, place equal quantities of spinach into 6 soup bowls. Ladle hot soup on top of the spinach.

Moroccan Lentil Chickpea Soup: Harira

Nomi and Micah suggested this soup for our pre-Yom Kippur meal during COVID. Normally we have been with Elaine, but this year... It is delicious for anytime. This is based on a recipe from Epicurious, slightly adapted.

Ingredients are flexible - it would be good with vermicelli, for example. Serve with harissa!

4 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 large carrots, peeled and cut in rounds
1/2 t ground turmeric
1 t ground cumin
1/2 to 1 t harissa (Mina brand is Kosher certified)
Salt to taste
1 bunch parsley, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
1 bunch cilantro, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes, crushed
7 cups vegetable stock
1 can of chickpeas, drained -15-ounce
1 c  green lentils
1 tfreshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour
1 large egg
Juice of a large lemon (about 1/4 cup)

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat and sauté the onion, celery, and carrots until the onion turns translucent and begin to brown, about 5 to 10 minutes. 
2. Add the turmeric, cumin, harissa, salt, pepper, 1 cup parsley, 1 cup cilantro, tomatoes, lentils, and the stock and  boil for 30 minutes. 
3. Whisk the flour, egg, and lemon juice into 2 cups  of water. Stir into the soup. 
4. Simmer the soup about 5 minutes more and serve, sprinkled with the remaining cilantro and parsley. And don’t forget to have some extra harissa in a plate on the side.

Magical Tri Melon Soup

This soup is August in a bowl. It's a Jane Brody recipe - she credits Gourmet magazine.

Because the mixtures have different densities (apparently something you can do with other types of soups, too), they don't mix when you put them in the bowl.

I added a third and it works perfectly - watermelon chunks  puréed with mint and squeezed lemon juice.

1 cantaloupe, ripe

2 lemons

1 honey dew melon, ripe

2 T. lime juice (or a fresh lime)

1/2 seedless watermelon, cubed

lots of mint

salt and agave to taste

Peel and cube the first melon. This is labor intensive - use a large cutting board. First cut in half, and scoop out the seeds. Cut in 1/8s and then slice each along the curve of the melon, leaving the flesh. Cube and throw in a powerful blender, like the ninja. Or, buy it cubed!

Squeeze in the juice of the lemon and a little salt. Empty into a pitcher.

Repeat with the honey dew, adding mint, lime juice, and salt. You can add a little agave if you like it sweeter.

The watermelon is less dense but will still hold its shape. Same procedure. 

Chill.

To serve, use flat soup bowls. Put a scoop of honey dew to the side of the bowl. Gently pour the cantaloupe into the open space, and also the watermelon. If you're lucky, it will create a crescent shape. So pretty.

Garnish with fresh mint. Do not serve to the Rosen clan. They don't like melons!

Oh She Glows Red Lentil Kale Tomato Soup

This is lighter than most of the lentil soups I make. It comes together fast.

Spiced Red Lentil, Tomato, and Kale Soup

1 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 sweet onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 t ground cumin
2 t chili powder
1/2 t ground coriander
1/2 t smoked sweet paprika, to taste
1/8 t cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can diced tomatoes, with juices
5 to 6 c (1.25 to 1.5L) low-sodium vegetable broth, as needed
1 c uncooked red lentils, rinsed and drained
Fine grain sea salt and pepper, to taste
3 handfuls destemmed and chopped kale leaves or baby spinach (in small bunch lacinato)

In a large pot, sauté the onion and garlic in the oil for about 4 to 5 minutes over medium heat. 

Add in the celery and sauté for a few minutes more.
Stir in the bay leaf and the spices (cumin, chili powder, coriander, paprika, cayenne).
Stir in the can of tomatoes (including the juice), broth, and lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer, uncovered, for about 20 to 25 minutes, until lentils are tender and fluffy.
Stir in kale or spinach and cook until just wilted. [Run the immersion blender til desired consistency]

Sweet Potato Peanut Chickpea Soup

West African Peanut Soup - for a one dish light dinner. Gorgeous color, and lots of superfoods (greens, sweet potato, chickpeas).

This recipe is from the Love Real Food cookbook by Kathryne Taylor of Cookie + Kate - this blogger made some small adjustments to the ingredients and instructions, and so did I.

Here are some endorsements from the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020. We sent a few items left behind to Nomi and Micah via Lyft, and included a quart of this elixir.

1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium-large sweet potato (mine was about 3/4-lb.), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed; finely chopped
salt
2 T fresh grated ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 T)
5 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth
1/4 cups water
3/4 cup unsweetened creamy peanut butter*
6 oz tomato paste
1 medium bunch of lacinato (dino) kale**, ribs removed & leaves chopped into bite-sized pieces (about 2 cups packed)
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1/2-1 T Sriracha or other hot sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Garnishes:
1/2 cup roughly chopped peanuts
1 handful of chopped fresh cilantro or other herbs (I used leftover parsley)

In a dutch oven or very large pot, warm 2 T of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, sweet potato, jalapeño and a sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and the sweet potatoes are beginning to soften - 10-15 mins. (If the onions are starting to brown, you can turn the heat down a bit).

Add the grated ginger, garlic and 1 tsp of salt, and the 5 c of broth. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 min or until fragrant.

Increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer (beginning to bubble - this may take a while). Once simmering, cook for 15 mins, stirring occasionally and reducing the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer. Use an immersion blender at this point if you want a smoother soup.

Meanwhile, take 1/4 c hot water in a 2 c. measuring cup, and dump peanut butter until it registers 1 c. Combine with the tomato paste. Mix until smooth, and then pour into the soup and mix well.

Continue cooking for about 10-15 minutes, or until the soup has thickened.

Add the chickpeas and chopped greens, and continue cooking for another 5-10 mins. Add Sriracha to taste. You can also add a bit more salt to taste. Serve topped with chopped peanuts and herbs.


**I really like how lacinato/dino kale holds up in this and other soups, but regular curly kale or collard greens work, too.


West African Peanut Soup https://chefshiv.com/west-african-peanut-soup/

Blue Zones Butternut Squash Leek Soup

So far in our year of bringing dinner to 412 on Wednesday nights, Micah says he likes this soup the best. Since it's the easiest, yay! It's from the BlueZones Cookbook - featured on Instagram.
It serves about 6. It's a beautiful color, fun to garnish.

The recipe is vegan. In brackets, some modifications.

1 lb. peeled, chopped butternut squash [can include carrots and sweet potatoes]
1/4 c. sliced leek [or onion]
2 T. vegetable oil [or butter]
1 quart soy milk, unsweetened OR 1 can coconut milk + 2 c. vegetable broth [or a 12 oz can of evaporated milk + the water from steaming, + vegie broth to taste]
2 t. cumin
2 t. turmeric
2 t. salt (to taste)
Ground pepper to taste

Steam squash in about 2" of water until soft, about 15 minutes.

In a small fry pan, stir-fry leeks in oil until soft but not browned, about 3-4 minutes.

Remove the steamer. Add the leeks and soy milk to the steamed butternut squash, add the spices, and simmer for another 15 minutes. [The original recipe says to dump the steaming water, but it seems to me is has some nutrients in it, so just add to it.]

Blend in pot with immersion blender.

Green Doula Soup

I like the sound of this, Green Doula Soup, named for the day I handed off some of this soup to Micah to finish it before Passover, and your doula was coming for dinner.

This soup is from a plant-based diet advocate, the Happy Healthy Long Life Librarian, whom Nancy turned me onto. The original of the recipe is called Healing Cream of Greens Soup, a recipe by Chloe Coscorelli. I modified it some.

2 T olive oil, divided
1 onion, diced
1 apple , peeled and diced
4 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 t. grated ginger
5 cups (1 pound) broccoli florets
3 cups (5 ounces) baby spinach or kale

4 cups vegetable broth

Freshly ground black pepper, salt to taste

• [option: add a grain like cooked quinoa or rice]
  
  1. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat and, add the onion, apple, ginger, and garlic . Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.
  
  
  2. Add the broccoli, spinach, and broth . Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the broccoli is tender and the spinach has wilted.
  
  3. Remove the pot from the heat and purée directly in the pot using an immersion blender; return the soup to the pot. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of oil.
  
  4. Serve in bowls topped with some pepper. 
  This soup is also tasty chilled.

Dried Mushroom, Parsnip, Chickpea Soup

In the #zerowastePassover challenge, I needed a soup for Friday night that used a small can of chickpeas and dried mushrooms, two ingredients still in the pantry.

Abba actually liked this BETTER than mushroom barley soup, the reason I have the dried mushrooms to begin with. Hah!

1/2 c. dried mushrooms
1 to 2 T olive oil
onion, diced
1 parsnip, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1/2 c or so dried potato flakes or mashed potatoes (these were leftovers, but they worked perfectly for thickening the soup.)
1 small can chickpeas
4 c. stock/broth (Telma)

Soak dried mushrooms in water.
Saute all the diced vegetables until soft.
Chop the soaked mushrooms, and add them with the water you soak them in, along with the chickpeas.
Bring to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes or so.

I barely seasoned it. The mushrooms have a nice, rich flavor.

Sweet Potato Beet Apple Gypsy Soup

In the 90s I made a soup for Rosh Hashanah that I found in the Nutrition Action Newsletter, which I subscribed to for a time. I loved the soup but lost the recipe. I even went so far as to look at back issues online, but no luck. I think that's the only recipe I ever lost and longed for! It is a version of the Moosewood Gypsy Soup, I have since discovered.

I made it for Rosh Hashanah because of all the sweet ingredients: sweet potatoes, beets, ginger, and apples. It is super nutritious since it also has chickpeas.

Yael Kalman posted a similar Instant Pot version which I tweaked and I think this is now pretty close to the original.

It makes a giant pot of gorgeous color soup. The beets contribute their color to the collective; it's not as thick as lentil or split pea based soups. If you have Indian ginger-garlic paste, it saves some effort.

2 T oil (or butter if you don't mind it being dairy)
1 large onion, diced
2-3 ribs celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 t. ginger paste or finely grated fresh ginger
1 t. salt
1 t. paprika
1 t. cumin (ground)
½ t. turmeric
½ t. coriander
1 t. cinnamon

1 can chopped tomatoes (petite saves time)
2 largish sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 or 2 peeled, chopped apples
2 or 3 peeled, chopped beets (you can now find these vacuum packed, a time saver - if you like beets, just use the whole package)

1 can chickpeas, drained
2 -3 whole carrots, diced

optional: a few stems of chopped kale
6 cups vegetable stock (Telma/Israeli + hot water is fine)
Lemon and/or lime juice (about 2 T.)
brown sugar or agave -  about 1 T

hot siracha or other heat, optional
Parsley or cilantro for garnish


In a large soup pot, heat the oil and sauté the onions, garlic, celery, and ginger until soft and transparent.

Add the spices til incorporated.

Add tomatoes, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, apples, and beets.

Add the stock and bring to a boil. Cook about 40 minutes, or a few hours in the Wonderbag.

Add the lemon or lime juice and sugar, and the kale, if you decide to include. 

Using an immersion blender, process until it's thicker but leave lots of chunks of vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste. Red chili flakes or chili sauce, if you like, to give a little heat.

Serve with chopped parsley or cilantro.

Chilled Watermelon Soup

This is a beautiful color, inspired by a watermelon cucumber drink we bought on the street in Split, Croatia - such a gorgeous place.

Seedless watermelon chunks - quantity is flexible
Ginger
Mint
Lemon juice (fresh is best)
Lime juice (bottled is actually more reliable - I bought a bag of limes and they were very dry)
Salt to taste

Optional: buttermilk

The quantities on this are really flexible. A shortcut is to buy cubed, seeded watermelon.

Run it all through a blender. (The blender is better than a food processor).

Chill in a pitcher. Serve with a contrasting melon, chunked, or mint sprigs.

Adding buttermilk makes it really, really delectable.

Coconut Curry Soup

This is a vegan soup from the Inquirer . I knew it would be good based on the ingredients - it is easy. Made it for the Rosh Hashanah 2015 - with Aunt Ariel, Deb and Christina, and you two right after you came back to Philly.
Cabbage is easy to pick up already shredded, a time saver.


Oil
3 C sliced carrots (about 4)
2 t minced garlic
4 t curry powder 
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 T brown sugar
1 t salt
3 C cabbage, shredded
4 C vegetable stock
15 ounces chick peas (one can)
1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
27 ounces unsweetened coconut milk (2 cans - go for the low fat)

Heat ½ tablespoon of oil into a large pot on medium heat.

Slice the carrots into ¼-inch coins, and add to the oil. 

Add garlic to the carrots and oil, and sauté for 3-5 minutes.

Stir in salt, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and brown sugar

Add the veggie stock, chick peas, cabbage, and quinoa.

Simmer for 15 minutes

Add 27 ounces of coconut milk, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

- From Rad Dish Cafe

Carrot Apple Ginger Soup

We bought an apple slinky cutter in Norway but you
can get them anywhere.

We all loved this soup for our Erev Rosh Hashanah 2014 gathering. It is from Joy the Baker - modified a bit.  It is gorgeous orange!

Carrot Apple Ginger Soup

3 T olive oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 medium to large apple, peeled and sliced (maybe with the apple slinky!)
1.5 lbs or so sliced, peeled carrots
6 C vegetable broth
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: dill or parsley for garnish

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onions and cook until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add ginger and garlic and cook for one minute, until fragrant.  Add sliced apples and diced carrots and cook for 3 minutes.

Turn flame to medium-high and add vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce flame to low and simmer for about a half hour. 

An immersion blender doesn't really do the job - blend it in a blender. Taste, and add a dash of fresh ground nutmeg, as well as salt and pepper to taste.  The soup won’t need much pepper, as ginger is pretty spicy.

Good to make a day ahead and let the flavors mellow. We liked it hot, but bet it's also good cold.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

I found this online, trying to figure out how to cook yellow split 
Not hard, quick, beautiful, very filling and delicious.

Egyptian Yellow Lentil Soup (adapted from Dinner With Julie)
Yield: 4 – 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2 cups yellow lentils, rinsed and picked over - this is a 16 oz bag (1 lb)
• 6-7 cups stock
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• optional: one c. shredded cabbage
• 3 – 4 sprigs fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. In a large pot heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat, then sauté 1 onion, diced until translucent and starting to caramelize, about 10 minutes.
2. Add 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced, 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp turmeric, and 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper, if using. Sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
3. Add 2 cups yellow lentils, rinsed and picked over, 6 cups stock, 1 carrot, diced, and 1 tomato, diced, and bring to a boil, then lower heat, and let simmer until the lentils are cooked and nearly falling apart, about 20 – 30 minutes.
4. Stir in 3 – 4 sprigs fresh parsley, roughly chopped.
5. If desired, using a blender or immersion blender, puree the soup to desired consistency. I like it to retain some of the chopped vegetables.
6. Add salt and pepper, to taste. 

Rustic Cream of Parsnip Soup

This was just added to my pantheon of great soups.  Parsnips are one of my favorite side dish vegetables, more interesting than potatoes.  Uncle Steven came to expect them at our house.  They are good roasted, a nice addition, chopped, to motzah ball soup, and good mashed, too.

This soup is creamy without using half-and-half like most recipes do. One important thing is having a good sudoku knife - without that leverage it is really hard to slice and chop parsnips.  This recipe makes about 8 servings.

1 T olive oil (or butter)
one medium onion
2-3 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3-4 medium sized parsnips 
2 carrots, optional (they make it a more appealing color)
4 c. broth (vegetarian powdered is fine)
bay leaf
salt, pepper
dash of nutmeg
other optional herbs - parsley or dill for garnish

• Heat oil (or butter) in a deep pot with a lid.  
• Peel and chop the onion and add it with the garlic and saute at medium.  
• Chop the celery [or leeks] and add.  
• Peel the parsnips and dice, cutting the long way and then crosswise.  Add to the sauteing vegetables.  
• Add chopped carrots, if you like.
• Pour in 4 cups of broth, salt, pepper, the bay leaf, and a pinch of nutmeg. 
• Simmer for about 20 minutes, covered, until the vegetables are soft.  
• Using an immersion blender, process until smooth.  It's fine if some of the vegetables are still a little chunky, which gives a nice texture.

It's a fairly bland color (a good reason to add carrots), so chopped parsley helps! This gives a lot of flavor and depth for a vegan dish.

Rachel Falkove's Fruit Soup

In summer start to crave this cool, frothy soup.  It is way easy.  Abba and I once had a similar breakfast soup at Grossingers, a classic borscht belt hotel.  Grandma Fritzie and Grandpa Sam stayed there once and talked about it for years.  It was famous for its quantity of food, and you could keep ordering things to try from the menu and the waiters kept bringing anything you wanted without having to pay anything additional.  Now it seems wasteful, but that was a generation who had been through the Depression and World War II and it felt like Olam Haba.

This is a half recipe of Rachel's version, to fit in a blender.  You can use the measurement on the blender and save a measuring cup.

2 c. orange/pineapple juice (or plain OJ)
1½ c. buttermilk (lowfat is fine)
½ c. sour cream or yogurt
1½ c. fresh fruit - berries or any chopped fruit you like (blueberries, raspberries, peaches ...)
½ t. agave or honey
Mint for flavor
Mint for garnish

1. Blend all ingredients EXCEPT FRUIT.  A blender works best, but you could do it with a whisk in a soup tureen.
2. Chop fruit into small pieces.  You can add when you prepare, or when you serve.
3. Chill.
4. Garnish with mint.

Strawberry Fruit Smoothie Soup

Northeast Strawberry Season is really quick, but this year - for the first since I've been paying attention - there are lots of berries. They don't last very long but are sweet and juicy. The main labor is hulling them. Just take a sharp paring knife and dig in to pull out the minimum of fruit - the discard will be conical.  Your Grandma Bunny will be standing on your shoulder to make sure you don't waste any berry!!
Aunt Sally has a super easy elegant strawberry dessert. Take two pints of strawberries and hull. Take about 1/4 of the berries and put them in the blender with sugar (to taste, about a ¼ c. or so) and some mint and/or any seasoning you like, added lightly. Blend. Take a really beautiful glass bowl and put in the second pint of strawberries. If they're large, slice in half. Pour the blended mixture over the whole berries and chill. With a little garnish, it is a beautiful presentation, especially if you have nice dessert size bowls.

Here's a quick strawberry smoothie, which when poured in bowls is a great soup. Since the ingredients can be chilled in advance and you don't cook it, it's good if there isn't a lot of time before you serve it.

2 pints strawberries, hulled. If they're gigunda, cut into smaller sections.
2 cups plain yogurt - you can use low fat, it's still really good!
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
mint to garnish

In a blender, combine the strawberries, yogurt, orange juice, sugar, and cardamom. Puree until well mixed. Chill and serve. You can just put the blender right in the refridge to chill.

Matzah Ball Soup

Can't believe I didn't put THIS recipe up, since you've always been such a fan.  I'm taking the one right off the Striet's Matzo Meal box.  All matzah ball recipes are basically matzah meal, liquid (broth or seltzer or just water), eggs and oil.

Makes about 16 matzah balls, not huge.
First make the batter.  While it chills, you make your soup.

1 cup matzah meal
4 large eggs
1/4 c oil
1/4 c water, broth or seltzer
1 t. salt (or less, if you use boullion which has a lot of sodium in it)
ground pepper to taste

for soup itself, vegetarian:

parve boullion

parsnips

onion

carrots

other roots, if you have them

dill, if you can get it

parsley

spinach

Salsa, optional

In a medium sized bowl, beat eggs.  Add water, oil, salt and pepper.  Add matzah meal and stir thoroughly.  Refrigerate about a half hour to 45 minutes.  The longer they're chilled, the heavier they turn out. (At least I think that's how it works.)  My mother always told the story that the first time she made matzah balls, with her friend Maxine, they thought the batter was to loose so they kept adding more matzah meal.  Bad idea!
Wash the bowl and fork right away.  This batter dries to a concrete-like consistency!

Meanwhile, get going on the soup.

In large pot, bring 8 c. water (2 quarts) to a boil.  Add a peeled whole onion and about 3 T of parve boullion. Meanwhile, peel and chop one parsnip, about 2-3 stalks celery, and 6 or so baby carrots, or 2 peeled adult carrots.  (they're not actually baby carrots!  they're just pieces of larger carrots.)  They need to be finely diced since you serve them in the soup.

Doda Rochelle's housekeeper, Connie, who is Latin American, puts some salsa into the broth, which gives it a little more color and kick.  SInce the vegetables are diced, it cooks fairly quickly.

To shape the matzah balls, spray your hands with oil.  Then make shape them, plum-sized, dropping each one into the boiling broth.  They quickly rise to the top.  The recipes all say they should cook ~ a half an hour.  Seems like they're done sooner than that to me, but usually the problem is the opposite, it takes a long time before you're ready to serve it.

It's lovely to have fresh parsley and dill to chop and add on top.  This soup looks much better in light color or glass bowls, BTW.

Becca throws in lots of spinach in the end, which also adds great color and nutritional boost.

Knaidloach are actually quite easy.  People are always kind of scared of making them, and I have no idea why!

French Onion Soup

[New instructions for induction cooktop:

Brown onions in ironclad large frying pan at 5 and 6. Then,

TRANSFER to 3 quart pour pan to add the liquid - it makes about 8 cups, too large a volume for the frying pan.]

The basic recipe is from Vegetarian Times, though I've tweaked it. The trick is to brown the onions on a fairly medium high flame, stirring and watching so they don't burn.

NEW IDEA: I find it nearly impossible to get the cheese tops to brown, even at High Broil. I read that you can take bread squares (not croutons), put the cheese on top, and broil only those, and add them to the soup bowls. Worth a try!

As a special splurge we bought ceramic soup mugs in Sedona, AZ, which are oven-proof and perfect for this dish, so the cheese browns.  You need to do it under the broil setting and it always takes longer than you think it will.

Serves 6

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2 Tbs. unsalted butter (or use olive oil)
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
4-5 large onions (about 3 lb.), peeled, halved and thinly sliced crosswise
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. whole wheat flour
6 cups vegetable broth (6 c water + 2 T. Israeli soup powder)
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. wine vinegar
6 1/2-inch slices wholegrain bread, toasted
2/3 cup shredded Jarlsberg or Gruyère cheese
Grated Parmesan 

Heat butter and oil in heavy, large soup pot or deep frying pan (with a lid) over medium high heat. 

Add onions and garlic and cook until the onions separate and start to release liquid. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are very tender and brown, and the onions have cooked down to a smaller volume. This takes patience - it's about a half hour or more, depending on how high the burner is. Best to have other things to do in the kitchen, or something to read! (If the heat isn't high enough, the onions steam down but don't brown.)

Stir in flour, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Blend in broth, sherry and mustard. 

Cover, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar.

To serve: Cut toast in small pieces. Ladle soup into the bowl, place toast on top, and cover with grated cheese and some Parmesan. If you have oven-proof bowls, place under the broiling element set at high until cheese is bubbly and golden, about 5 minutes. (Watch closely) If not, the heat of the soup will melt the cheeses. 

Nutritional Information

Per SERVING: Calories: 279, Protein: 9g, Total fat: 10g, Saturated fat: 4g, Carbs: 39g, Cholesterol: 18mg, Sodium: 794mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugars: 7g