Category Archives: Soups and Stews

Soups and stews and comfort food.

Meat and Poultry, Soups and Stews

Pozole: Mexican Hominy Soup

Pozole is a pork, chicken, and hominy soup very typical of south central and western Mexico. In many places it is traditionally served on Thursday afternoons and evenings.  It is ladled into clay bowls and each person garnishes and seasons the soup at the table per individual taste.

Ingredients for Pozole: Mexican Hominy Soup

  • 1/2 lb. pork shank
  • 1/2 lb. spare ribs
  • 1 cut chicken
  • 1 pigs foot
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1 t. oregano
  • 4 quarts water
  • salt
  • 2-3 cups hominy
  • 3-5 guajillo chiles, soaked overnight

Preparation

Cut meat into pieces. Boil pork meat and chicken with onion, oregano, and salt. Skim as necessary. When meat is half-cooked, add hominy and whole chiles. Cook till hominy is tender and begins to pop open. Serve in clay bowls accompanied by any or all of the following garnishes and additions:

  • powdered or dried leaf oregano
  • quartered limes (squeeze juice into soup as desired)
  • red chile powder (chile piquin or cayenne)
  • sliced avocado
  • shredded lettuce
  • fried pork rinds (chicharrones)
  • queso fresco (Mexican fresh cheese)
  • sliced radishes
  • chopped serrano chiles

pozole


Soups and Stews

Hungarian Sauerkraut Soup

Loretta’s recipe.

  • 1 Ib. sauerkraut, washed
  • 1 Ib. ham hock or knackwurst
  • 1/2 tsp. peppercorns
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 4 T mushrooms, dried
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 T flour
  • 1 t paprika
  • 1/2 t caraway
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 lb. chorizo or kielbasa
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • salt and vinegar to taste

Simmer sauerkraut, ham hock, peppercorns, bay leaf and mushrooms in water, covered, for 1 hour. Fry onion, stir in flour and cook 2 minutes without letting brown.

Take off heat. Add paprika, caraway. Return to heat. Mix with a little broth and then add to soup, Add chorizo and cook 15 minutes. Skim fat off. Add sour cream, salt and vinegar to taste.

Radishes by M. Angel Guerrero Garro
Radishes by M. Angel Guerrero Garro

 

Meatless Main Dishes, Soups and Stews

Lecso

  • 2 lbs. pork, cubed
  • 4 onions, sliced
  • Oil for frying
  • 6 green peppers, sliced
  • 3 hot peppers, chopped
  • 8 ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 1-1/2 cups rice
  • 3 cups water
  • 4 polish sausages, cut in pieces

Brown pork with 1 of the onions in oil in large pot. Add a little water and cook until pork is done. Add sausage. Add rest of onions, green peppers, tomatoes, hot peppers and rice and combine well. Heat over low flame until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

Soups and Stews, Vegetables and Salads

Cabbage and Potato Soup

  • 1 medium onion, minced
  • 2 T butter
  • 3 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1/4 cup chopped cabbage
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 t salt
  • 2 cups diced potato
  • 8 oz. medium cream
  • Minced parsley
  • Dash of paprika

Cook onion slowly in butter until golden. Add cabbage, water, salt, and potato. Cook until tender (15-20 minutes). Add cream and reheat, but do not boil. Serve sprinkled with minced parsley and a dash of paprika.  Servings: 6

Meatless Main Dishes, Soups and Stews

Borscht, Doukhobor Style

A thick, very rich version of Russian beet soup melded with potatoes and other vegetables, butter, and cream..

For years, various members of the family have lived in an area of British Columbia, Canada, into which many Doukhobors (a sect of Christian Russians who practice  what is called “radical pacifism”) settled after emigrating to Canada from Russia in the early 1900s to escape persecution. One of the mainstays of the Doukhobour diet, which is vegetarian, is their particular style of borscht, or beet soup, which is thick with potato starch and heavily laden with butter and cream. It is a full-course meal in itself.

  • 1-1/2 cups runny mashed potatoes
  • 1/2 medium cabbage, shredded
  • 1 beet, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 lb. butter
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 can tomatoes
  • 1 t basil
  • salt and dill to taste
  • water as needed
  • 1/2 to 1 cup whipping cream

Prepare the mashed potatoes, reserving the water in which the potatoes were cooked. Set the mashed potatoes aside. Add 3/4 of the cabbage, the diced beet, carrot, and green pepper to the hot potato water in a large soup pot and cook for 15 minutes.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the chopped onion and garlic and stir until transparent, and then add the rest of the cabbage. Fry to brown slightly.

Toss the fried cabbage in with the other vegetables in the potato broth. Empty the tomatoes into the skillet and add the basil. Heat well and throw into the soup pot. Add water as needed and continue simmering. Add the mashed potatoes and dill. Stir in cream (use as much as your taste buds dictate and your conscience will allow) and heat but do not boil. Season.

Serves 8.

Soups and Stews, Vegetables and Salads

Green Bean Soup

Ingredients for Green Bean Soup

  • 2 cups green beans, diagonally sliced
  • 2-3 strips bacon or side pork
  • 2 T flour
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • pinch of cayenne
  • 1/2 t paprika
  • 1/4 t garlic powder
  • 1 T vinegar
  • 2 T sour cream

Preparing Green Bean Soup

Cook the green beans till tender. Fry the bacon until fairly crisp. Remove bacon from pan and add the flour to the grease and brown well, stirring constantly. Add a bit of bean juice to flour to moisten and make a smooth paste. Add flour mix to beans. Season.

Simmer till thickened. Add vinegar and cream just before serving. Servings: 4

Note: To convert this into a vegan soup:

  1. Omit the bacon or side pork and instead heat a tablespoon of olive oil in the pan and add the flour to it and brown to make a roux, adding a pinch of smoked paprika to lend the soup a rich, smoky flavor.
  2. Substitute the sour cream with a simple cashew sour cream made by blending until smooth and creamy 1/4 cup soaked and drained raw cashews (soak for 1 to 3 hours), 1 T unsweetened almond milk or other plant-based milk substitute, 2 tsp lemon juice and/or apple cider vinegar, and salt to taste.
Soups and Stews, Vegetables and Salads

Potato Soup

  • 4 potatoes, cubed
  • 4 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • water as needed
  • 4 cups milk
  • 8 slices bacon, crisp, crumbled
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 T parsley

Cover potatoes, celery and onion with water. Cook till tender. Add milk. Stir in bacon. Season. Serve with parsley. Servings: 4

Meat and Poultry, Soups and Stews

Goulash Soup

A hearty Hungarian beef soup.

  • 1 lb. stewing beef, cubed
  • 6 cups beef broth
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 3 white potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 t paprika
  • salt and pepper

Brown beef well in oil. Add onion and cook until soft. Add paprika and stir for a minute to release fragrance, then throw in the preheated beef broth. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer until beef is tender. Add potatoes and continue simmering until potatoes are tender.

Meat and Poultry, Soups and Stews

Ashkenazic Chicken Soup

Ashkenazic Chicken Soup and Matzo Balls with Fresh Dill

  • 2 lb chicken wings or drumsticks
  • 9 cups cold water
  • 1 large onion, peeled
  • 1 large carrot, peeled
  • 1 small parsnip, peeled (opt)
  • 2 celery stalks, including leafy tops
  • 5 parsley sprigs
  • 3 dill sprigs
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1 T snipped fresh dill

Matzo Balls

  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup Matzo meal
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 2 T water or chicken soup
  • 2 quarts salted water for simmering

Combine chicken wings, water, onion, carrot, parsnip, celery, parsley and dill sprigs, and pinch of salt to a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Partly cover and simmer 2 hours, skimming occasionally. Skim off excess fat. (Chicken soup can be kept 3 days in refrigerator or can be frozen; reheat before serving.)

Make matzo balls: In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs with oil. Add matzo meal, salt and stir until smooth. Stir in water, then let mixture stand for 20 minutes so matzo meal absorbs liquid. Bring salted water to a boil. With wet hands, roll about 1 teaspoon of matzo ball mixture between your palms into a ball; mixture will be very soft. Set balls on a plate.

With a rubber spatula, carefully slide balls into boiling water. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes or until firm. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve. (Matzo balls can be kept 2 days in their cooking liquid in a covered container in refrigerator; reheat gently in cooking liquid or in soup.)

To serve soup, remove chicken wings, onion, celery, parsnip, parsley and dill sprigs. Take meat off bones and add to soup; or reserve for other uses. Add pepper to soup, stir in snipped dill and taste soup for seasoning. Slice carrot and add a few slices to each bowl. With a slotted spoon, add a few matzo balls. Serve hot.

8 servings

Meat and Poultry, Soups and Stews

Gypsy Goulash

  • 3 lbs. pork chops, cubed
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 3 large onion, chopped
  • 5T shortening
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 t paprika
  • 1 t caraway seed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 green peppers, chopped
  • 1 cup bouillon or more
  • 1 large can sauerkraut
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Dredge meat cubes with flour. Season. Melt shortening in large pan. Brown meat and onions, then stir in paprika, caraway, bay and green peppers. Cook 10 minutes. Drain the sauerkraut and rinse well. Add to meat with bouillon. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until meat is tender, adding extra bouillon if necessary. When done, stir in sour cream and reheat without boiling. Serve with homemade noodles.