Soup is the ultimate comfort food. Its homey, mmm-mmm good qualities please “soupsters” like me and also comfort the cook.
Select either of the following recipes, and you can rest assured you’ve organized an entire meal. These full-fledged dishes make satisfying, well-rounded entrées.
Leftover chicken or brisket from Shabbat dinner? Add it to a vegetable soup for a robust minestrone. For a special presentation, store-bought puff pastry or phyllo dough is an elegant and crunchy topper. Browse your local farmers market or supermarket to find vegetables and herbs that are fresh and in season.
These dinners in a bowl need only a basket of artisan bread as accompaniment and a scoop of ice cream or sorbet with fresh berries.
Minestrone
Serves 8 to 10
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 leek, white part only, thoroughly washed and thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and thinly sliced
1 large carrot, sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1⁄2 head savoy cabbage, cored and coarsely shredded
1 zucchini, sliced
1⁄2 tsp. dried oregano
1⁄2 tsp. dried thyme
1 cup coarsely chopped
tomatoes
1⁄2 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken or beef stock
4 cups water
1 cup small pasta shells
4 cups cooked chicken or
beef, cut into small pieces
salt and pepper
In a large, heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the vegetables until slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in the oregano and thyme and cook another minute. Add tomatoes and wine and cook until bubbly, about 3 minutes. Add stock and water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken or beef and simmer about 3 minutes. Do not boil. Taste for salt and pepper.
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Serves 6
2 Tbs. oil
1 small onion, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
6 large mushrooms, quartered
7 cups chicken stock
12 baby carrots, peeled
6 small red new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
1⁄2 lb. green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
11⁄2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
1 Tbs. chopped fresh dill
1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper
Phyllo Crust:
8 sheets phyllo dough
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbs. chopped fresh dill
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, celery and mushrooms until soft, about 5 minutes. Add stock, carrots and potatoes and simmer 15 minutes. Add green beans and chicken and cook another 6 minutes. Stir in parsley and dill and taste for salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Ladle warm or hot soup into 6 ovenproof soup bowls. Place a sheet of phyllo dough on a clean surface. Brush sparingly with butter, and sprinkle with some parsley and dill. Continue until you have a stack of 4 sheets. Cut 3 circles 2 inches larger than diameter of the top of the soup bowl. Brush tops of phyllo circles with oil and invert circles on the soup bowls, buttered side down. Press edges against bowls and brush tops with oil. With a sharp knife, cut 2 slits in each. Repeat with remaining phyllo dough and soup bowls. Place bowls on a baking sheet and bake until tops are golden brown and puffed, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Louise Fiszer is a Palo Alto cooking teacher, author and the co-author of “Jewish Holiday Cooking.” Her columns alternate with those of Faith Kramer. Questions and recipe ideas can be sent to j. or to [email protected].