Let My People Go... to Bed

It has been a long couple of days for me. With the changing over of the kitchen and the making gefilte fish from scratch, there's nothing easy about preparing for Passover (wow, I sound like an 80-year-old Jewish grandmother....). And while I've learned dozens of new tricks (how to make ridiculously strong, beet-red horseradish and how to form the perfectly shaped gefilte fish piece), I was beginning to think that Passover was more work than it's worth. I go through this mental process every year, and every year at the first seder I remember why it's so important.

Passover is actually one of my favorite holidays because it is steeped in religious traditions. I love the rituals that my family has adopted, but I also love that every Jewish family has their own unique traditions that they look forward to every year at their seders. It's a very special thing.











One of the greatest traditions my family has come up with is the "only soup for dinner" custom. Long ago, my very wise Bubbe decided that no one really wanted a full meal at 10:00 at night, and proceeded to serve bowl after bowl of her homemade, perfectly golden chicken soup with matzah balls and her famous meat borscht, expertly "sweet and soured" with a deep red hue. Call us simple, but this keeps my family more than happy. My dad can easily down two bowls of each in one sitting. Of course there is the requisite gefilte fish tray and a few basic veggies, but the centerpiece of the evening is at least two steaming bowls of soup.

To honor the memory of my Bubbe, I cannot disclose her secret recipes. (Actually, they're rather cryptic and I'm not sure I've mastered the art of translating yet.) But instead I can direct you to Recipe4Living's Passover guide for lots of other yummy recipes! Have a great holiday!

Slurp

I've got a thing for noodles; spaghetti, vermicelli, lo mein, almost clear rice noodles, soba, and especially, udon. The Japanese udon is a wheat noodle and gloriously thick, absorbing the flavors of it's honored dish, Udon Noodle Soup. Feast your eyes on the most mouth-watering pictures I've seen of udon. In my mind, udon noodle soup truly reaches perfection with the addition of tempura, pictured here (the noodles in this soup are soba but I couldn't resist the beautiful picture, my apologies).

I picked up some delicious tempura udon on the way home on Tuesday. Thinking about it, tempura is truly magical. It's technically deep-fried seafood, often shrimp, or vegetables, but the result is seldom greasy and perfectly crispy, unlike so many other manifestations of fried food in America. Rather than the boring potato, tempura carrots, yams, squash, and green beans are simply scrumptious. Make some Tempura Broccoli Florets or Crispy Onion Flowers and no sane person will turn up their nose at these vegetables!

A mixture of tempura, shrimp and vegetables, should be served alongside a good Udon Noodle Soup, so that each piece can be dipped into the hot broth and quickly gobbled up. A variety of vegetables, including mushrooms, seaweed, and scallions, can be added to the udon noodle soup. In many restaurants, a half-moon slice of fish cake called kamaboko is served on top of the soup. If making udon soup at home, use miso soup for the broth (you can buy miso paste at any Asian supermarket). Remember, Japanese custom actually encourages loud slurping of udon noodles!

Udon Noodles

Ingredients

4 C. Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 Egg yolk
Cold water
Additional flour

Directions

Sift flour and salt together into a large bowl. Add egg yolk and enough water to make a stiff paste. Knead thoroughly. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and let it stand for 30 min. Sprinkle board and rolling pin with additional flour. Roll out dough until it is paper thin. Fold into a long roll and cut into strips about 1/10 inch wide. When unrolled, the strips should be at least 12 inches long. Cook 3-4 min in boiling salted water.

Soup's Up

I've noticed that a lot of food blogs have been writing about soup lately (I especially enjoyed the Parsnip and Turnip Soup from Barrett of Too Many Chefs). And it seems only fitting - cold weather makes me want to consume hot things. And if you're lucky enough to live in a moderate climate, you probably can't quite grasp what it's like to come inside from 5 degree weather (the low in Chicago this weekend is -12 degrees Fahrenheit). My tea intake has gone through the roof and I find myself choosing dinner menus that involve a satisfying soup. Today was no different. I met my boyfriend for a quick lunch at Go Roma. (For those readers who are not familiar with this restaurant chain, it's basically quality Italian-style food at affordable prices... kind of like a Noodles & Company.) And I know most sophisticated foodie bloggers would look down on this commoner choice for dining, but I love it and I don't think I need to defend that. (I also love the Mac & Cheese at Noodles & Co., but that's beside the point. Perhaps I should work on a acquiring a more sophisticated palate...)

At any rate, my lunch choice was not a difficult one. Go Roma's Tomato Basil soup is one of my absolute favorites. I'm a fan of Tomato Basil soup in general - I just love the creamy yet slightly chunky texture of the tomatoes mixed with bits of fresh basil, especially with a big piece of crusty bread. My previous Tomato Basil obsession was from La Madeleine, which I enjoyed immensely until it went out of business and is no longer in the area.

I have yet to master the Tomato Basil technique in my own kitchen, but for now I have no shame in feeding off of others' excellence. We do have an excellent recipe on the site that is not particularly difficult and will certainly warm a freezing tummy. Go Roma adds a drizzle of basil-infused olive oil on top that really adds to the creamy texture.

Fresh Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

4 C. fresh tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped
4 C. good chicken stock
10 fresh basil leaves
1 C. heavy cream
1/4 lb. unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Combine tomatoes and stock in saucepan. Simmer 30 minutes. Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in a blender or food processor. Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring over low heat. Garnish with extra basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

State of the Onion

As you all know (or as you should all know, rather), the President gave his State of the Union address last night and presented the nation and the world with his plans for the coming year. Now, all political affiliations and opinions aside, it is supposed to be an evening of tradition, formalities and nationalism. For me, it was an evening of chicken noodle soup. My mom made her special, homemade batch of rich, yellow broth and skinny soup noodles with bits of chicken, carrots and of course, onions. And seeing as Chicago hasn't seen anything warmer than 30 degrees in weeks (that's Fahrenheit for those of you who are scoffing), a big bowl of chicken soup sounded ideal.

But as I looked down into my bowl, I saw large, translucent arcs of onion swimming in my soup. Not my favorite. I don't have any major qualms about the onion. I can respect its ability to flavor just about anything, but unlike garlic, I do not like the sharp taste it leaves on my tongue. So you can imagine my disgust (ok, now I'm just being melodramatic) when I saw this intruder in my soup. But when one of those slimy suckers snuck onto my spoon, I found I rather enjoyed the sweet flavor and could appreciate its contribution to my dinner. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite draw the same conclusions from the State of the Union.

Being the good Jewish mother that she is, my mom has refused to disclose her chicken soup recipe. However, I can highly recommend this one that you can find on our site:

Feel Good Chicken Soup

Ingredients

4 medium celery ribs, sliced (about 2 C.) 4 large carrots, sliced (about 2 C.)
2 medium onions, chopped (about 1 C.)
1 Tbs. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)
3 qts. Chicken Stock with Roasted Vegetables (recipe below)
4 chicken breast halves with ribs, cooked, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 Tbs. chopped fresh dill weed
1/2 C. dry sherry
2 C. uncooked long-grain white rice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

In the bottom of a large pot cook the celery, carrots, and onions in the olive oil until soft and beginning to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Pour the chicken stock into the pot. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Add the cooked chicken pieces to the pot. Add the dill, sherry, and rice to the pot. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes more. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Chicken Stock with Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients

4 chicken back pieces
4 chicken breast halves with ribs
3 whole onions, quartered
6 cloves garlic
3 large carrots, cut into thirds
1 large green bell pepper, quartered
3 celery stalks, cut into thirds
2 Tbs. fresh thyme
2 Tbs. fresh rosemary
1 bunch parsley, washed and patted dry

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the chicken backs, chicken breasts, onions, garlic, carrots, green pepper and celery into a large roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Remove the pan from the oven. Remove the skin and cut the breast meat from the bone and set it aside. (Refrigerate for other use.) Place all of the vegetables and chicken bones into an 8-qt. stockpot. Cover with water. Add the thyme, rosemary, and parsley to the pot. Cover the pot with a lid. Simmer for at least 2 hours over very low heat. Strain the stock by pouring the contents of the pot through a colander. You may season the stock with salt and pepper at this point or wait until you use it in a soup or sauce. The stock may be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days or frozen for several weeks.