Molly Goldberg Jewish Cookbook (5 page)

the mushrooms, water, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat for 1 hour.

Heat the shortening in a skillet. Saut6 the onions in it for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add to the soup. Combine the potato starch with 2 tablespoons of cold water and mix until smooth. Add 1 cup of the hot soup to the potato starch mixture, and mix well. Return the mixture to the balance of the soup, stirring constantly until the boiling point. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes. Correct seasoning.

Serve with a tablespoon of sour cream in each portion if desired.

This soup really comes from Russia, but my friend Mrs. Wiersma says it's Norwegian, and why should I argue? She says she got the recipe from her aunt that lives in Oslo and I got my recipe from my grandmother that lived in Nizhnii Novgorod and that's not in Norway. So whafs the distance between the two towns? Til tell you exactly. Three doors down the hallway. I live in
5C
and Mrs. Wiersma lives in
5F,
and that's the distance, but Norwegian or Russian or anything else, it's good soup because wherever people live they know a good thing when they see it. I mean taste it.

MRS. WIERSMA'S FRUIT SOUP

3 cups assorted fruit (plums, peaches, pears, cherries, apricots, berries), fresh or dried

5 cups water

2 teaspoons lemon juice

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch
Vi
cup sour cream

40

Soups

Any combination of fresh or dried fruit may be used. Pit the fruit. Combine the fruit in a saucepan with the water, lemon juice, and sugar. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, or until fruit is very soft. Force through a sieve or pur£e in an electric blender.

Mix the cornstarch with an equal amount of cold water. Add to the fruit, stirring constantly until the boiling point. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Add a little sugar if necessary.

Serve ice cold, with a tablespoon of sour cream in each portion.

MIXED FRUIT SOUP

2 oranges, peeled and sliced

2 stalks rhubarb, scraped and cut

into pieces 4 slices pineapple, cubed 1 cup berries 6 cups water

1 cup sugar

Vi
teaspoon salt

Vi
teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 cup sour cream

Combine in a saucepan the oranges, rhubarb, pineapple, berries, water, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Chill. Add the sour cream and serve.

note: If a very smooth soup is desired, puree the mixture in an electric blender or force through a sieve.

4i

The Molly Goldberg Cookbook

COLD CUCUMBER SOUP

1 quart buttermilk

1 pint sour cream

2 cooked or canned beets,

chopped 2 cucumbers, peeled and diced 2 scallions (green onions), sliced i^2 teaspoons salt i tablespoon chopped dill

Mix the buttermilk and sour cream together until smooth. Add the beets, cucumbers, scallions, salt, and dill. Mix well. Chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with hot, small boiled potatoes.

BARLEY SOUP

2 tablespoons shortening

3 onions, chopped 2 carrots, diced

2 pounds beef (flank or chuck)

Beef bones

Vi
cup medium barley, washed

and drained 8V2 cups water 2 teaspoons salt
V2
teaspoon pepper

Melt the shortening in a saucepan. Saut6 the onions and carrots in it for 10 minutes. Add the beef, bones, barley, water, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat for
zVi
hours, or until meat and barley are tender. Serve the soup with pieces of meat in it.

42

Soups

To some people this is just a soup, to me it's a thermometer. When My Jake was just starting in his business, for us to have this soup was a hardship, but since it was a favorite of one and all, a little hardship was sometimes a pleasure. The potatoes I had and onions were always in the house, but the
lox
(thafs salmon) was a different story. To buy the best cut was not within my realm, so I had to make do with the end cuts. As My Jake progressed in the financial department, I graduated to the middle cuts. So I always knew the state of our finances because good times meant the center of the
lox
and the bad times meant the end cuts. What other kind of soup is such a financial wizard?

SMOKED SALMON SOUP

3 tablespoons butter 2 onions, chopped

2 tablespoons flour

5 cups water

1V2
pounds halibut, cubed (or other white-meat fish)

Vi
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed i cup heavy cream

6 slices smoked salmon

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Saut6 the onions in it for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with the flour, stirring until browned.

43

The Molly Goldberg Cookbook

Add the water, stirring constantly until the boiling point. Add the fish and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes, and cook for 20 minutes. Add the cream, stirring constantly. Add the smoked salmon and parsley, and cook for 2 minutes. Correct seasoning. No salt is provided in the recipe, as it will depend upon the saltiness of the salmon. Serve in deep bowls.

BEEF SOUP

2 pounds beef (plate flank or breast flank)

Beef bones
iVi
quarts water

1 onion

3 stalks celery 6 sprigs parsley

2 carrots, scraped

1 parsnip, scraped and cut in half 1 parsley root or celery root,

scraped 1 tablespoon salt
V4
teaspoon freshly gTound black

pepper

Combine the beef, beef bones, water, and onion in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and skim the top. Cover and cook over medium heat for 1 hour. Add the celery, parsley, carrots, parsnip, parsley root, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat for 1V2 hours additional, or until the meat is very tender. Strain the soup and serve with any desired soup garnish. The meat may be served separately with Beet Horseradish Salad.

44

Soups

Ptcha
is a food and not an error in spelling. In the fancy shops they call it calfs-foot jelly, but how many people can eat it from those little jars? To get enough to feed my family I would have to buy out the whole place. Confix dentially and between us, what they sell in the store is seasoned sweet. Of course it's a matter of taste, but everybody likes my
ptcha.
So I make it at home with my little improvements and My Uncle David says my
ptcha
you couldn't buy anyplace, try as you may. Maybe my little improvements . . . Must be something.

PTCHA

calf's-foot soup
                           
3 calfs feet (about 6 pounds),

and jelly
                                       
each cut into eighths by

butcher

2 onions

3 cloves garlic

4 quarts water

i tablespoon salt

i teaspoon freshly ground black

pepper 6 hard-cooked eggs
V4
cup cider vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

4 cloves garlic, minced

Pour boiling water over the calf s feet. Scrape and scrub them thoroughly. Combine the calfs feet, onions, whole garlic, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; skim the top. Cover, and cook over low

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The Molly Goldberg Cookbook

heat for 2 hours. Add the salt and
Vi
teaspoon of the pepper. Cover and cook for 2 hours longer, or until the meat separates from the bones. Correct seasoning. Strain, and separate the meat from the bones. Chop coarsely.

soup: Measure 6 cups of the stock, and place in a saucepan. Mash 3 of the eggs. Add the vinegar, sugar, and half of the minced garlic. Add to the soup, together with
Vi
of the meat. Heat. Correct seasoning. Serve with garlic toast.

jeixy: Divide the remaining stock, meat, and minced garlic between 2 glass pie plates. Set aside for 30 minutes. Slice the remaining eggs, and arrange on top of the jelly. Sprinkle with the remaining pepper. Serve chilled, as an appetizer.

CHICKEN SOUP

1 6-pound chicken (pullet) Chicken feet and giblets
2Vi
quarts water

1 onion

3 stalks celery 8 sprigs parsley

2 carrots, scraped 2 leeks

1 parsley root or celery root,

scraped 1 tablespoon salt

Singe and wash the chicken thoroughly. Scrape the chicken feet. Combine the chicken, chicken feet, giblets, water, and onion in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Skim the top. Cover and cook over medium heat for 1 hour. Add the celery, parsley, carrots, leeks, parsley root, and salt. Cook over low heat for
i¥i
hours longer, or until the chicken is tender. Strain the soup and serve with any desired soup garnish such as noodles,
kasha,
rice, etc. The chicken may be served separately.

46

Soups

SAUERKRAUT FISH SOUP

3 tablespoons butter 2 onions, sliced

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups sauerkraut juice 3 cups water

2 carrots, sliced

1 stalk celery

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 teaspoons salt

Yi
teaspoon freshly ground black

pepper 6 slices fish (pike, whitefish, or

salmon trout)

3 potatoes, peeled and quartered 3 tablespoons chopped parsley

3 tablespoons chopped dill

2 egg yolks

Vi
cup sour cream

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Saut6 the onions in it for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with the flour, stirring until smooth. Add the sauerkraut juice and water, stirring constantly. Add the carrots, celery, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add the fish, potatoes, parsley, and dill. Cook over low heat for 35 minutes. Discard the celery.

Beat the egg yolks and sour cream together. Add 1 cup of the stock, beating constantly to prevent curdling. Return the mixture to the saucepan, mixing well. Correct seasoning.

Serve hot or cold in deep soup plates.

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The Molly Goldberg Cookbook

This recipe was passed down to me from Mrs. Barnett, who lives upstairs in 6E.
By
me it's potato soup and by her it's
vichyssoise
{that's French). How it got so fancy I don't know, but if Mrs. Barnett likes her potato soup French and I like mine plain, what's the difference? It tastes the same and a name is only a name. So
I
don't mind at all what Mrs. Barnett calls her soup because she's Dora's mother and My Sammy and Dora are going steady together. A good soup is only soup but Dora could be a daughter-in-law, and I ask you, what's more important? Anyway, try this soup, hot or cold, it's good, and French or English, it's also good.

MRS. BARNETT'S CREAMED POTATO SOUP

4 tablespoons butter 4 leeks, or 2 onions, sliced 3 potatoes, peeled and sliced 2 tablespoons fine barley, pre-soaked (optional)

1 stalk celery

2 sprigs parsley 2 teaspoons salt

V4
teaspoon freshly ground black

pepper 6 cups water 1 cup light cream

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the leeks; cook over low heat for 10 minutes, but do not allow them to brown. Add the potatoes,

48

Soups

barley, celery, parsley, salt, pepper, and water. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes. Discard the celery and parsley. Add the cream. Correct seasoning. Heat, and serve.

If a smooth soup is desired, pur£e the soup in a food mill or an electric blender.

MEAT BALL SOUP

6 cups water

2 beef bones

2 onions, chopped

1 carrot, sliced

1 celery root, peeled and diced

1  tomato, chopped

2 cups sauerkraut juice