chicken soup Archives - Taste With The Eyes

Chicken Soup with Hungarian Farina Dumplings

L’Shana Tova Tikatevu

May Your Name be Inscribed in The Book of Life
For a Good Year

Although my Jewish grandparents hailed from Russia and Romania, this Rosh Hashanah, I’m serving a dish that hails from a neighboring country – Hungary. It is one very similar to our beloved matzoh ball soup.

The dumplings, called gríz galuska, are shaped into three-sided ovals instead of round balls. They are made of farina instead of matzo meal. The batter contains a simple mix of egg, olive oil, and salt, just like matzoh balls. Similar, but different…something NEW for a NEW year.

Chicken Soup with Hungarian Farina Dumplings is definitely a delicious way to ring in the Jewish New Year! As the Rosh Hashanah celebration has no shortage of symbolic foods, my chicken soup has plenty of carrots to symbolize prosperity. They are sliced into wheels to look like gold coins. And the soup bowl is FULL of chicken, vegetables, herbs, and dumplings to symbolize abundance. I think my Nana and Papa would approve. (Read more about them and a great recipe for Kasha Varnishkes here).

Hungarian Farina Dumplings Recipe

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Mexican Matzo Ball Soup

Cilantro Matzo Balls with Toasted Coriander and Cumin
Chicken Soup with Avocado, Jalapeño, Lime, Onion, Cilantro

The holiest of Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur ends at sunset tonight. This evening we break the fast with something simultaneously traditional and nontraditional: matzo ball soup with an unexpected twist!

Mexican flavors including cilantro, coriander, and cumin bring a bright zippy freshness to our beloved soup. No soup could be better than Nana’s, but this year things are mighty different, so why not the soup? 5781, the year we served our matzo ball soup with avocado, jalapeño, and lime!

Mexican Matzo Ball Soup Recipe

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Chicken Soup with a Big Comforting Matzo Ball

If this were a normal Passover, I would be in Chicago right now with 15 lbs. of brisket in the oven, a huge pot of chicken soup on the stovetop, plus some 100 matzo balls in production, prepping for a fabulous multi-course meal for my family and friends as I have done for the past two decades.

Since, unfortunately, this is not a normal Passover. I am in Las Vegas, not Chicago. And I’m not cooking a multi-course meal for thirty-five, I’m cooking for one. Just a nice bowl of my chicken soup with a big comforting matzo ball.

Happily, in spite of the global pandemic, we’ll still be holding our Seder and holding tight to tradition. We will all Zoom in on the internet at sundown on Wednesday to retell the Passover story of how we were slaves in Egypt before God led us to freedom with signs and wonders. Each year at Passover we go on a journey in our hearts from slavery to freedom and from sadness to joy. This year is no different in that respect.

Big Matzo Ball Recipe and Matzo Ball Secrets

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Chicken Spätzle Soup

Take your favorite homemade chicken noodle soup and give it a hearty twist: substitute spätzle (little German dumplings) for packaged noodles.

Spätzle is fun to make, although it’s a little bit messy. It is certainly more work than dumping a bag of egg noodles into boiling water, but the end result is definitely worth the time and energy.

Made from wholesome ingredients including eggs, milk, and flour; you probably have everything on hand to make spätzle right now. The only thing missing would be a spätzle maker, an inexpensive gadget that cuts the batter into small knobs. Don’t fret though, you could easily use a colander with large holes and press the dough through with a spatula.

How To Make Spätzle

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Perfect Soup for the New Year

Chicken Soup with Lima Beans

Whether one has over-indulged over the holidays or not, Chicken Soup with Lima Beans is perfect for the New Year. The soup is light and lemony, but definitely rich enough to satisfy. It’s chock-full of vegetables and protein, plus it is lower in carbs and higher in fiber than traditional chicken noodle soup.

The secret to its greatness is creamy-buttery large white lima beans from Rancho Gordo that cook up beautifully smooth and tender. They taste more like fresh vegetables than other beans.

Bean Lover’s Gift Box

I’m looking forward to sharing many more bean recipes this year on Taste With The Eyes! My gift box included Black Eyed Peas (recipe here), Christmas Limas, White Limas, Yellow Eye, Pozole, and Classic Cassoulet Beans plus a wonderful book, French Beans by Georgeanne Brennan.

Rancho Gordo Lima Beans