Fasolada - Greek Bean Soup - KindSoups

Fasolada - led by Shauna Simon and her husband Stefan, who is from a small Greek town

Not many ingredients to prepare, and very delicious.  The pepper gives it a kick.  Also added 2 parsnips. It's filling and can be a main dish. 

Ingredients

• Fasolia, dry white beans 3 cups or 6 cans (Cannellini, Northern White)
• About ½ cup Olive Oil (approx.)
• 6 stalks Celery, chopped
• 9 medium-sized Carrots, chopped
• (2 parsnips, chopped added)
• 3 big yellow Onions
• 12 cloves of Garlic
• 36 oz crushed Tomatoes, can or fresh
• 6 bay leaves
• 12-15 Cups water
• 2 Tablespoons salt
• 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup of chopped fresh parsley – depends if you love Parsley or not (less or more is fine)

*Dry Beans need to soak for 8-12 hours. You can add 1 tsp. of salt to the soaking water. OR Use Canned Beans, already cooked.

Instructions

• Chop the celery and the carrots. Chop the onion thinly, and chop the garlic.
• In a pot, heat the olive oil and cook the vegetables for 10-15 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes & beans, stir. Add water & bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat and add spices except parsley. Let the soup simmer about a 1/2 hour.
• Add a few Tablespoons of Olive Oil & Chopped Parsley at the end.
• Optional – Add small chunks of Feta when serving soup, or serve on the side.

 

Vegan Cauliflower Gratin

From Love and Lemons Every Day Cookbook  p 227

Here's a recipe for a 'creamy' cozy main dish casserole.  This time, I prepared this for the shelter, so I doubled the recipe, tripled the cashew sauce (although didn’t use all of it) and doubled the topping, and those proportions seemed good, with all of the following additions.  I added a sweet potato, spinach, mushrooms, and red onion.  Basically, I like color in my food, so I added whatever I had available.    I'll add more onions and black pepper next time to give it a kick, maybe some cayenne in the topping.  The doubled recipe fit in a 13 x 17” casserole. 

It would be reasonable to increase the sauce even for a single recipe, just to make sure it stays moist.  Be sure to cover lightly with foil if the cauliflower is burning in some areas. 

INGREDIENTS: 

1 cauliflower - core and florets separated, per instructions

1-2 medium sweet potatoes (I microwaved it whole for a few minutes, then cut into ~3/4” dice)

Optional - 5 oz spinach, roughly chopped; 1 cup mushrooms sliced; anything else you like

 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in 3/4 cups water (include the water w/ cashews for the sauce)

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (~2 lemons)

1 yellow onions, thinly sliced (can use red onion too)

1 Tbsp miso paste

3 garlic cloves

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard (can use more)

3 Tbsp EVOO plus more for brushing

1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste

Fresh ground black pepper

TOPPING:

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup crushed pine nuts or hemp seeds (used hemp seeds)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley for topping 

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and brush a 9 x 13 baking dish with olive oil

2) Break the cauliflower florets into small bite-sized pieces and set aside for later use.

3) Roughly chop the cauliflower cores.  Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil and boil the cores (NOT the florets) for 5 minutes or until fork-tender.  (I did this in the microwave for ~3 minutes).  Transfer to a blender with the cashews, water, lemon juice, miso paste, garlic, mustard, 2 Tbsp of the OO, the salt, and several grinds of black pepper.  Blend until creamy.

4) For the topping, in a small bowl, mix together the panko, pine nuts/ hemp seeds, and sea salt.  Set aside.

5) Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp OO in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and pinches of salt.  Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the caul florets and half the sauce.  Toss to combine and transfer to the baking dish.

6) Toss in the sweet potato and spinach if using.  Evenly pour the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with the panko mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is golden brown and tender.  If the topping browns first, cover loosely with aluminum foil.  

7) Top with the parsley and serve.  

Vegetarian ‘chicken’ soup with matzo balls - KindSoups

Carol Weil led this vegetarian version of soup in advance of Passover.  I added our family’s matzo ball recipe.  The soup was very good, with miso adding the umami missing from the chicken.  It’s helpful to cut the veggies into bite size pieces, and leave them in the soup.  I also chopped about 1/3 of the dill and parsley after cooking, and returned them to the soup.  It was very tasty! 

To make it vegan, you can try using an egg substitute like flax egg.

Vegetarian Jewish “chicken” Matzah Ball Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons of miso (or more depending on umami taste preference)
• 6 large onions, quartered through the root 
• 18 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 
• 9 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks 
• 9 celery stalks, cut into chunks 
• 3 large parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks 
• 3 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pound), peeled and cut into chunks 
• 3 tablespoon onion powder 
• 4 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder 
• 1 1/2 small bunches dill, plus chopped dill for serving  
• 1 1/2 small bunches flat-leaf parsley 
• 6 bay leaves 
• 4 1/2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt, plus more as needed 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
• Add the carrots, celery, parsnips, sweet potatoes, onion powder, and garlic powder. Tie the dill and parsley bunches together at the stems with kitchen twine and add to the pot along with the bay leaves and 9 quarts of water. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, partially cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced by about a third, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove the vegetables and strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. Return the broth to the pot and stir in the salt and pepper. Discard all the vegetables and herbs except the carrots and celery. Cut those into bite-size pieces and return to the pot.
• Stir in miso and, if desired, more salt, 1 teaspoon at a time.
• Serve hot, topped with chopped dill.

OPTIONAL Matzo Balls Recipe: makes about 8 balls

this is just an add-on for soup that will become family dinner, not a general add-on for all the donated soup

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup seltzer
• 3/4 cup matzo meal
• 1/8 tsp salt, or more to taste
• Ginger powder, depending on your preference (optional)
• 1 Tbsp grated onion or sprinkle of onion powder (optional)
• 2 Tbsp canola oil

Directions 

• Beat 2 eggs.
• Add seltzer, matzo meal, salt, and optional ginger powder and onion. Then add oil.
• Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
• Remove from refrigerator while you boil a pot of water. Wash hands, then coat them with canola, roll mix into 1-1.5 inch balls. Drop each into the pot as you go. Keep at a slow- medium boil, allowing the balls to rise to the top and remain there. Cook with the lid mostly on, for about 30 minutes.
• Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate then add to heated broth or refrigerate until ready to use.

*Feel free to experiment and add your favorite herbs or spices in small quantities.