Category: Soup

Moscato, Honey & Vanilla Poached Apricots


When the Kosher Connection team (a group of Kosher Food Bloggers that I belong to) decided on the theme of “cold soups” for this month’s Link-Up challenge, I was thrilled. I had made these poached apricots a few times already, and I knew I just had to share them. Granted, poached apricots in moscato, honey & vanilla bean syrup is a bit of a stretch for a soup, but I think we’re covered. Cold fruit soups are all the rage in the summer, and this elegant take on a fruit soup is the perfect way to celebrate apricots – summer’s sweet and tart bounty.


Fresh apricots are available from mid-June to mid-July and are best tree-ripened (it doesn’t ripen after it’s picked). Try to find them at your nearest farmers’ market for optimum flavor. Apricots should be purchased ripe or slightly under-ripe, yielding slightly to gentle touch.


Poaching is one of the best ways to prepare apricots, but they can also be grilled. The addition of honey helps to balance out the apricot’s tartness. Vanilla bean and Moscato wine add an amazing depth of flavor that complements the apricots perfectly. The syrup is so unique and flavorful, you’ll want to drink a cupful all by itself!

What is your favorite way to prepare apricots? Share your ideas with me in the comments below.

For more great cold soup recipes, check out the Kosher Connection Cold Soup Link-Up Challenge below! You can also view my recipe for cold strawberry rhubarb soup here.

Moscato, Honey & Vanilla Bean Poached Apricot

10 fresh apricots
2 cups Moscato wine
1 cup water
1/2 heaping cup honey
1/2 vanilla bean
juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:

Cut apricots in half and remove pits. Scrape the seeds off the vanilla bean and place the seeds and the bean in a pot. Add moscato, water, honey, and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to make sure the honey and vanilla bean seeds are incorporated throughout. Add the apricots and reduce to a simmer. Cook for approximately 5 minutes (depending on ripeness) until apricots are fork-tender. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the apricots from the pot. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook over high heat until it is thick and syrupy (reduced by half). Set the apricots and syrup aside to cool. Add to a jar and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with frozen yogurt and chopped nuts.

NOTE: If desired, you may gently remove the skins of the apricots after poaching. I prefer to leave them on as they are quite thin and don’t bother me.

VARIATION: To make apricot sauce, do not remove the apricots from the sauce. Instead, let the apricots continue to cook until they fall apart and the sauce begins to thicken. If you prefer to peel the apricots for the sauce, poach for a few minutes, remove and carefully take off the skins. Return to the pot and continue to cook until apricots fall apart and sauce thickens.  Serve over ice cream or yogurt.

1 year ago: shlishkes
2 years ago: tuna salad with a twist

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Crockpot Mushroom Barley Stoup

It was Rachel Ray who first coined the phrase stoup, and this is a perfect example of what it is: thicker than a soup but thinner than a stew. It’s surprising that I’m posting a hearty dish like this when the weather is finally starting to warm up, but when I made this on a cold and chilly day earlier in the week, my Facepage page went gaga over it. I don’t know if it’s the whole slow cooker thing, but I definitely wasn’t expecting this soup to go viral. Not that it’s not delicious. Because, my, is it ever. With fall-off-the-bone flanken, two types of mushrooms and hearty root vegetables simmered in a thyme-scented chicken broth, this is good enough to make purely for the smell that will waft through your house for hours.

Serve with crusty bread for a whole meal in one bowl!


Crockpot Mushroom Barley Stoup

2 pieces flanken (short ribs)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 parsnips, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 container button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 container baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
5 sprigs thyme
1 tbsp soy sauce
10 cups beef or chicken broth
3/4 cup barley
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

In a hot pan, sear the flanken, browning it on all sides. Add it to the crockpot. To the same pan, add oil and saute the onion, garlic, celery, parsnip and carrots, scraping up the bits of the flanken as you go. Add to the crock pot. Saute the mushrooms (add more oil, if needed) and add to the crockpot. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

VARIATION: To make this soup pareve, omit the flanken and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

SUBSTITUTIONS:  If you don’t like thyme, you may use 2 bay leaves instead.

SHABBAT OPTION: to make this for Shabbat lunch, just add 2 cups of water or stock and cook on low overnight.

Note: If you don’t have a slow cooker, you may cook the soup in a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and  simmer for approximately 2 hours, until barley and flanken are tender.

Related Recipes:
fire roasted tomato rice stoup
wild mushroom barley soup

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Minestrone Soup

I don’t just live in Brooklyn. I was born here too. In fact, I live around the corner from my childhood home. Why am I telling you this? Well it’s got something to do with the weather. Most of the time, the cold doesn’t bother me. Really. I grew up making snow angels in my front yard every winter, and having snowballs thrown at me from the big boys down the block. The cold is just in my blood.

I have to admit though, that every now and then comes one of those bone-chilling winter days where even I want nothing more than to snuggle up under a cozy blanket and wrap my hands around a warm cup of soup. Last week, we had one of those days. As bundled up as I was, the wind just crept it’s way in, stinging my fingers and toes. My kids came home all red-nosed and shivering and I just knew I had to put up a big pot of soup.

And not just any soup. It had to be a stick-to-your-ribs kind of soup that’s a meal in itself. I decided on minestrone because #1, it’s awesome and hearty. #2, it’s pretty quick, and #3 with all the veggies in there, there’s at least something each of my finicky kids will eat. Plus, it’s got pasta, and who doesn’t love pasta?!

Minestrone soup is basically a thick soup of Italian origin, usually consisting of vegetables (especially tomatoes), beans and pasta. You can use whatever beans you like and play around with the veggies to suit your taste. With beans, veggies and pasta, it’s a whole meal-in-one that comes together in no time. Serve with some crusty bread to really take it over the top! It’s sure to keep you warm all winter long.

Minestrone Soup

1 onion, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 celery sticks, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 large zucchini, diced
3 heaping tbsp tomato paste
1  russet potato, diced
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 28oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
6-8 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper, to taste
1 bag baby spinach
1/2 box ditalini pasta, cooked according to package directions

Method:

Saute onion in olive oil until translucent and add garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Add celery, carrots and zucchini and continue to saute. Add tomato paste and stir into the vegetables, continuing to saute until the vegetables are well coated. Add potato, beans, tomatoes, basil, oregano, chicken stock and salt and pepper. Stir to combine the ingredients and bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes-1 hour, until all the vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Stir in in baby spinach and cook until wilted. You may also add the pasta or serve individually in each bowl.*

*I prefer to add the pasta to each bowl as I’m serving the soup because I like my pasta to have a “bite” to it. Leaving it in the soup with make it extremely soft, and it will lose it’s texture.

Related Recipes:

white bean minestrone with zoodles
spinach matzo ball minestrone soup

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Cream of Leek Soup + Fresh & Easy Cookbook Review

I don’t know what’s taken me so long to make something from Leah Schapira’s fabulous cookbook Fresh & Easy Kosher Cooking, but I’m so glad I finally did. It also gave me a chance to revisit the book and look at page after page of mouthwatering recipes and pictures. While the title “Fresh & Easy” refers to the recipes, it also reflects the cookbooks ease of use. Being a web designer by trade, I really appreciate a fresh and clean layout, and Leah’s book does a fabulous job of creating organized, easy-to-read meal plans for the everyday cook. With picture perfect menu’s, an informative guide to seasonal fruits & vegetables, as well as freezer tips and food pairings, “Fresh & Easy” is the perfect resource for busy moms and cooks.

One of the recipes that stood out to me was this cream of leak soup. While I usually make french onion soup for Shavuous, I find it quite heavy, so I was looking for something dairy, but lighter. While this is similar to a vichyssoise, the lack of potatoes and heavy cream keep it light – which I love. Of course I had to throw my own twist on it, so I made some crispy leeks for garnish.

Some of the other recipes I’m eyeing from Leah’s book include the gemelli basil pasta salad, butternut squash with grapes and shallots, red wine tomato sauce, Italian breadsticks, double chocolate pecan waffles, creamy thai chicken thighs, plum asian chicken, savory hamentaschen, peanut butter bars, cinnamon twists, cheese buns….(I better stop here before I type up the whole cookbook!)

Do you own the Fresh & Easy cookbook? What are some of the recipes you’ve tried? I’d love to hear from you!

Cream of Leek Soup
reprinted with permission from Fresh & Easy Kosher Cooking by Leah Schapira of CookKosher.com

3 large leeks (white and light green parts only)
2-3 tbsp oil
1 small onion, diced
4 tbsp flour
2 cups pareve chicken stock (I used Imagine)
1/4 cup white wine
salt and pepper, to taste
3/4 cup milk

Method:

Slice the white and light green parts of the leek in half vertically (I seem to have misread this part and used the green parts too, oops!). Wash well and cut crosswise into thin slices. Heat the oil over medium heat and saute the leeks and onions for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add the flour, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat. Add white wine, salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. Add milk and heat thoroughly, taking care that the soup does not come to a boil.

Note: Puree if desired.


Crispy Leeks

1 leek, white and light green part only
canola oil

Method:

Slice the leek in half vertically and wash to remove dirt and grit. Dry well. Cut the leek lengthwise into thin strips. Heat up oil in a small pan and add leeks. Fry until golden and drain on paper towels.

1 year ago: mini zucchini muffins + Rivka’s pumpkin cake

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Wild Mushroom Barley Soup

I remember the first time I made mushroom barley soup. I was having a large group of people over for a simcha and I decided to whip up a batch of the hearty soup. Having never made it before, I underestimated how much the barley would expand. Lets just say it was more of a cream of barley soup than a mushroom anything. I have since learned my lesson and to be sure of myself, I cook the barley separately and add it the soup once it’s already tender.

But that’s not the only thing that makes this soup anything but average. Instead of serving up a bowl of soup with a puddle of grease floating on top (you all know what I’m talking about), I blend the soup using only half of the barley. Since my kids wouldn’t normally eat mushrooms, blending it makes for a perfect disguise and they don’t have to miss out on this delicious recipe. After blending, I add in the remaining barley for added texture in every bite.


Wild Mushroom Barley Soup

1 leek, ends trimmed and diced into rings
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, chopped
1 pkg crimini mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
1 pkg shitake mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
1 pkg portobello mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
2 32oz. containers chicken broth
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dried thyme (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil, for sauteing
1 cup pearl barley, cooked (see note)

Method:

Add leeks to a bowl of water. Agitate the rings with your hands and mix to loosen sand and grit. Drain leeks and dry on paper towels.  Saute leeks, onions and garlic in olive oil. When they begin to golden, add carrots and then mushrooms. Saute for 5 minutes (add thyme if desired). Add chicken stock, soy sauce, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add half of the cooked barley and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Using a tongs, remove some mushrooms to use for  garnish. Then, blend the soup with a hand blender. Add remaining barley and simmer for 20 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add water until desired consistency is reached. Garnish with mushrooms.

NOTE: To cook barley, add to a pot with 5 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain.

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