Category: Soup

Lemony Hawaij Chicken Couscous Soup


When I need comfort food, it’s hawaij for me! The Yemenite spice blend has both sweet (hawaij for coffee) and savory (hawaij for soup) versions. You can purchase my blends through the link in my profile (or on Amazon) or look for a mix in your local Middle Eastern market.

To make your own hawaij for soup and hawaij for coffee, you can get the recipes in my cookbook Totally Kosher!

To view the reel on Instagram click here.

Lemony Hawaij Chicken Couscous Soup
Yield: 8 servings

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs. pargiot (boneless dark meat chicken), diced
salt and pepper, to taste
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 large carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp hawaij for soup (NOT hawaij for coffee!)
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
8 cups chicken stock
8.8oz Israel couscous (NOT instant couscous)
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 large handful fresh parsley

In a soup pot, heat the olive oil. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat until browned, 6-8 minutes. Remove from the pot. Add the onion, celery and carrots and saute until softened and starting to take on some color, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for an additional minute. Return the chicken to the pot, add the hawaij and stir until fragrant and incorporated. Add the chickpeas and chicken stock and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add the couscous and simmer until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove from the fire. Add the lemon zest and juice and stir in the parsley. Serve.

Related Recipes:

Hawaij Couscous
Hawaij Honey Cake With Labneh Frosting
Couscous Stuffed Capons

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A Week of Cruciferous Crunch!

It’s been a cruciferous week here, and not on purpose! I had been eating all the wrong things, and my skin (and clothes!) were showing it, so I decided to clean up my diet a bit. I started with an apple cider vinegar detox – 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (raw, with the mother!) mixed into 8 oz. of water + the juice of half a lemon each morning. The enzymes, probiotics and protein in the vinegar help to give the gut lots of healthy bacteria that aids digestion, lowers blood sugar, helps to reduce acne and belly fat, to name just a few benefits! Just make sure to rinse your mouth out or brush your teeth after because the acid can ruin teeth enamel.  And as always, consult your dr. first before starting any new regimen!


But I digress…onto the cabbage…. I made this amazing roasted cabbage pizza because I wanted something cheesy that was low carb and it came out BEYOND AMAZING! I was inspired to make the dish when I bought Trader Joes new pizza spice, so I cut the cabbage into thick slabs, brushed it with olive oil, sprinkled on the pizza spice (you can sub with Italian seasoning) and roasted at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Then I topped it with marinara sauce, shredded cheese and different toppings (jalapeno, olive, sliced onions) and returned to the oven until the cheese was melted. Holy Moly was it good!! Give it a try!

Watch me make it on Instagram!

I love cruciferious vegetables, and thankfully, so does my stomach! I whipped up this Salsa salad another day this week, and it was everything you want in a salad – lots of great textures and delicious flavor.

Salsa Salad!

1/3 cup salsa
3 tbsp light olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tbsp honey
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium head cabbage, chopped (I like to cut it into squares for this salad)
1 avocado, diced
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
Bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
1 cup crushed tortilla chips

Whisk the salad dressing at the bottom of the salad bowl and add the salad ingredients. Toss to combine and serve!

Watch me make it on Instagram!

And lastly, with all the rain and cold weather, I wanted some comfort food – so Bubby’s Cabbage Soup for the win. I seared the meat and bones, sauteed the onions and added some tomato paste to really take it over the top. So. So. Good!

Watch me make it on Instagram!

Related Recipes:

stuffed cabbage bolognese
cabbage bourekas
kale crunch salad

What’s your favorite way to eat cabbage? Share it with me in the comments below!

Wild Mushroom & Collard Green Soup

I’ve got just the thing for you to cozy up to this week, the most comforting bowl of soup chock full of greens and shrooms- my faves!

Click here to view the reel on Instagram.

Wild Mushroom & Collard Green Soup

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 large leeks, white and pale green parts, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
16oz cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
1 large oyster mushroom, roughly chopped
6 large shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 bay leaves
8 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon umami spice
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 tbsp white miso paste
6 large collard greens, stems removed, sliced into thin strips
Pinch of red pepper flakes, optional

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, add the leeks and celery and sauté until tender, and the leeks just start to take on some color. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and continue to sauté until softened. Add beans, bay leaves, stock, umami spice, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Add the miso paste to a measuring cup and pour in a little bit of the broth, whisk until smooth. Return the mixture to the soup pot and stir to incorporate. Cover the pot and simmer the soup for 20 minutes. Stir in the collard greens and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes, Until the collard greens have wilted. Add the red pepper flakes, if desired. Enjoy with a cozy knit sweater!

Related Recipes:

Mushroom Cauli Soup
Wild Mushroom Barley Soup
Lemony Orzo Soup with Meatballs
Zucchini Basil Soup

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Yemenite Chicken Soup

Yeah baby!!! I’m coming at you with a pot of liquid gold, aka my YEMENITE CHICKEN SOUP, the most comforting bowl of deliciousness everrrr! Look for Hawaij for Soup (not to be confused with Hawaij for Coffee, it’s sweet counterpart) at Middle Eastern Markets. You’re welcome!

To view the reel on Instagram click here.

Yemenite Chicken Soup

2 tbsp hawaij for soup
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 chicken thighs (skin on)
3 carrots, cut into large chunks
3 large yukon gold potatoes, quartered
1 large tomato, diced
1 head fresh garlic, peeled
bunch of cilantro
salt to taste
water

Method:

Mix hawaij with olive oil and rub it over the chicken thighs. Add your chicken to a pot with diced tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, garlic, and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and add water to cover the ingediants by 2 inches. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for a minimum of 4 hours (the longer the better!).

Related Recipes:

Hawaij Couscous
Cream of Chicken Soup In Bread Bowls
Leftover Chicken Soup Pot Pie

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Golden Milk Carrot & Apple Soup

I wait all summer to put on a granny sweater and whip up a warm mug of golden milk! The healthy drink, sometimes called Turmeric Tea, stems from India, where they add fresh turmeric to warm milk for it’s anti-inflammatory properties.

Golden milk is the Westernized version of the Ayurvedic drink, popularized by bloggers worldwide. The immune boosting drink usually includes:

coconut milk
black pepper
cinnamon
turmeric
ginger
raw honey

To get the most health benefits out of the tea, fresh and whole spices are used and the honey is added at the end, without heating. With curcumin from the turmeric, piperine from the black pepper, and MCT’s from the coconut milk, golden milk is said to improve memory, relieve joint pain, improve blood pressure, reduce LDL cholesterol and prevent cancer!

With Rosh Hashanah around the corner, I decided to incorporate my favorite winter drink into a Simanim-filled soup and the results were absolutely delicious! I think adding apples + apple cider to my soups is my new thing – a burst of apple in every bite!

Now I think the only thing better than the health benefits of Golden Milk is adding carrots – our parents always told us it was good for our eyesight, right? And don’t they say that an “Apple a day keeps the Dr. away?” Golden Milk just got an upgrade.

The New Year is looking extra sweet.

Golden Milk Carrot & Apple Soup
YIELD: approximately 10 cups

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large leek, white party only, thinly sliced (2 cups)
2 1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled, trimmed and roughly chopped
3 McIntosh apples, peeled and roughly chopped
4 c vegetable stock
2 c apple cider
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2” knob of fresh ginger, grated
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup coconut milk, plus more for garnish, optional
1-2 tbsp honey

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the leeks and saute until softened. Add the carrots, apples, stock, cider, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, salt and pepper and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook until the carrots are soft, about 30 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender and add the coconut milk and honey, to taste (depending on sweetness). If the soup is too thick, add water, stock or more apple cider until desired consistency is reached.

To serve, swirl in coconut milk and add a drizzle of honey, freshly ground black pepper and a cinnamon stick, if desired.

NOTE: if you don’t like coconut or you have an allergy, leave it out and add more stock, cider or water.

This soup may be frozen.

Related Recipes:

curried carrot and sweet potato soup
roasted butternut squash, shallot and apple soup
cream of leek soup

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