Short Rib Kreplach and Nana's Meat Soup

Celebrating Hanukkah, The Festival of Lights
with
Short Rib Kreplach and Nana’s Meat Soup

Back in 2008 I had asked my Mother about recipes from the past. She said that my Nana (my paternal grandmother) made excellent soups. I remembered her chicken soup which I still make to this day, and her delicious borscht. Mom said that she always liked Nana’s meat soup. Meat Soup, I asked? Mom said that it was just like chicken soup but with meat. She still had the recipe.

These are the ingredients my Mother had listed on the old recipe index card from notes she took while watching her mother-in-law make meat soup: short ribs, carrots, onions, parsnips, celery stalks, parsley root, dried large lima beans, and egg noodles.

In honor of Hanukkah and in remembrance of my dear mother Joyce (1933- 2013) and dear grandmother Fanny (1894-1972), I’m making Nana’s Meat Soup and adding those comforting Jewish dumplings known as kreplach, filled with tasty shredded short ribs of beef.

Short Rib Kreplach and Nana's Meat Soup

Short Rib Kreplach and Nana’s Meat Soup

Meat Soup

Here’s my version of Nana’s Meat Soup.

Ingredients:

4 lbs. meaty short ribs, about 3″ long pieces
4 carrots
2 onions
2 parsnips
3 celery stalks
1 small bunch of parsley (not chopped)
1 t. black peppercorns

Method:

Put short ribs in a soup pot full of filtered water, heat on high until the water boils, then turn down the heat to a simmer. Skim off the scum and fat as necessary. After 1 1/2 hours add rough chopped vegetables, parsley, and peppercorns. Simmer another hour or so, until the meat is very tender. Season soup to taste with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Short Rib Kreplach and Nana's Meat Soup

Short Rib Kreplach

Short Rib:

Remove enough meat from the soup to make desired amount of kreplach. Cut the cooled meat from the bone. Be sure to include some of the fat for taste and texture. Shred with a fork, then roughly chop so the strands of meat are not too long. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Yield: A meaty 3″ piece of short rib will fill about 9 kreplach.

Dough:

3 eggs
1 t. kosher salt
2 c. flour

In a medium bowl, beat eggs with salt and 2 tablespoons of water. Add flour 1 cup at a time to roughly combine. Put dough in a food processor. Pulse briefly, then run until the dough comes together into one smooth cohesive ball.

Cut the ball into four pieces. Cover three with a damp towel. Roll one piece of dough at a time out on a floured surface into a thin sheet. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into 3″ rounds.

Place a mound of short rib in the center of each round. Wet the rim of the dough with a small amount of water. Fold up one-third of the edge of the dough to meet another third and pinch to seal. Fold up the last third to completely seal the dough into a triangle shape.

Yield: One sheet of dough will make about 14 kreplach. Total dough recipe equals 4 X 14 = 56 kreplach

Place kreplach in lightly salted boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a platter.

To Serve:

When ready to serve the soup, reheat the kreplach in simmering soup for 5 more minutes. Ladle hot soup into bowls. Add carrots and kreplach, and a short rib if desired. Garnish with parsley.

Short Rib Kreplach

Happy New Year

I first shared my Nana’s Meat Soup on Taste With The Eyes back in September of 2008. I started this blog in June of 2007…twelve and half years later, it is still a source of pride and joy, inspiration and motivation.

As some may have noticed, I haven’t posted anything in the past few months. This is not due to lack of great food, recipes, or photographic inspiration. I have been in the process of building a brand new home in the desert and moving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas… a city with an enviable concentration of the best chefs in the world! Very exciting.

So now that we’re all settled in here in Vegas, I look forward to resuming posts on Taste With The Eyes. Thank you for your continued interest and support!

Short Rib Kreplach and Nana's Meat Soup