I was so honored to host Hadassa Goldberg, known as @therealhadassa, an incredibly talented, soulful and caring olah who has made it her mission to take care of our soldiers on the front lines, as well as their wives, who she calls Sheroes (SHE heroes!). To me, Hadassa is the original shero.
Even before October 7th, Hadassa had a passion for visiting and taking care of the chayalim, but over the past year +, she has been delivering hot meals, supplies, letters and love to the front lines, arranging food and care packages for army wives for Shabbat and holidays. Her number is on every army wives speed dial, and whatever is needed, she makes it happen.
She’s hosted tours of the South, danced with widows at the Nova site, and brought the Dance For Nova night of inspiration and dance all over the world, together with her friend Chana of HouseofLancry. I was honored to attend a recent Dance for Nova event with my daughter and it was the most beautiful, heartfelt and inspiring experience.
Hadassa’s latest project is the OTODAH food truck that will service soldiers year round! Soup in the winter, smoothies in the summer. As she says, it’s like gratitude has a pantry, wheels and a great playlist!
The food truck will drive to army bases that need that special hug, a taste of home, and we can all be a part of it!
To help get the word out about Otodah, I invited Hadassah to make soup together – a shawarma soup inspired by all the hot shawarma’s she has delivered to our soldiers! Kind of a like a chicken tortilla soup – only all things shawarma! It is truly a hug in a bowl and I hope I get the opportunity to cook it for the soldiers one day soon on Otodah!
Shawarma Soup
If you’re using this recipe, I kindly as that you send a donation to support Hadassa and the OTODAH food truck, in who’s honor I developed this dish.
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 jalapenos, veins and seeds removed, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp shawarma spice
8 cups chicken stock
28oz. diced tomatoes and their juices
4 boneless chicken breasts (untrimmed)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
kosher salt, to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon
toppings: pita crisps (recipe follows), sumac onions (recipe follows), grilled jalapeno (recipe follows), prepared tahini, harissa, amba, lemon wedges, cilantro or parsley
For the Soup, heat the olive oil in a stock pot or Dutch oven, add the onions and jalapenos and saute until softened. Add the garlic and continue to saute for 1 minute. Add the shawarma spice (if the mixture is dry add another tbsp of oil) and saute until fragrant and lightly toasted. Add the stock and canned tomatoes and bring the soup to a simmer.
Add the chicken and chickpeas and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 15-20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and shred apart. Return to the soup. Season with salt and fresh squeezed lemon juice.
To serve, ladle into bowls and top with the toppings of your choice.
Pita Crisps
2 pitas, split in half, cut into strips
canola oil, for frying
kosher salt, to taste
Heat canola oil in a frying pan and fry the pita crisps in batches until golden brown. Season with salt.
Sumac onions
1 small onion, thinly sliced (I like to use a mandolin)
1 1/2 tsp ground sumac
juice of half a lemon
kosher salt, to taste
Rub the mixture well with your hands and set aside to marinate until serving.
Grilled Jalapeno
1 jalapenos
Place the jalapeno over an open flame and char on all sides until the jalapeno has softened and the skin is blackened.
Hadassa’s bottom of the jar tahini
bottom of the jar of tahini
2:1 ratio of water to lemon juice
kosher salt, to taste
Add to the jar and give it a shake!
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