Soup Tour Recipes

Hand-Pulled Noodles - Image Credit: absolutechinatours.com

Today, myself and over 20 soup lovers are going to walk through the Lower East Side testing out hand-pulled noodle soups at Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles, Minestrone or Pasta Fagioli at Da Nico and some Matzo Ball Soup or Split Pea Soup at Katz's Deli. I'm very excited to host this walking tour with  Explorecation.com and in honor of the event here are three recipes of the soups that we are going to test out (hoping to have a hand-pulled noodle one up after this experience). If you can't make this one, there will also be a spring soup tour in April. Refer to Explorecation.com for more details. Happy weekend! 

Vegetable Wonton Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
4 cups of water
Bunch of Napa cabbage, chopped up
1 tablespoon of garlic, minced
1 bok choy, chopped up
Bunch of fresh spinach
1 can of mushrooms, chopped up
1 whole carrot, chopped up
1 stalk of chives, chopped up
1 stalk of scallions, chopped up
15 wonton wrappers (I used both Shanghai and Hong Kong-style wrappers)
2-3 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 teaspoons chili oil Salt to taste

Other Ingredients for Your Wonton's:
Shrimp
Pork
Tofu
Ginger
Oysters

Directions:  
Add water to a pot and start boiling. Chop up the garlic, scallions, cabbage and bok choy and add them to the pot, along with some flavorings (soy sauce, sesame oil and chili oil). Chop up the bok choy, cabbage, mushrooms and carrots very fine (this is for your wonton's). Open your wonton's and coat the rim with sesame oil and water add the filings in the center and flap the wonton forward, then scrunch up the sides and close -- be careful not to overfill. Place them in the boiling pot, along with the spinach and extra mushrooms and carrots. Wonton's should be finished cooking when they rise. Taste and enjoy! 

Vegetable Minestrone Soup
Ingredients:
3 cups of dry red beans, soaked for 4-5 hours
8 cups of water, approximately 2-3 cups for soaking
1 can of organic diced tomato sauce
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 head of broccoli, cut up
1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped up
1 zucchini, cut up
2-3 carrots, chopped up
1/2 box of elbow macaroni
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
bunch of fresh basil (about a handful)
bunch of fresh rosemary (about a handful)  
pepper and salt, to taste

Directions:
Let the dry beans soak for about 4 hours. When ready to cook, add water to a pot and let cook. Cut up the onions and garlic and add them to the pot, along with the beans. Cut up the veggies - zucchini, broccili, cauliflower and carrots, along with the tomato sauce and add them to the pot. Let cook for an hour, checking on the soup and stirring periodically. Add the seasonings (basil, rosemary, celery salt, salt and pepper) and pasta and let cook for another 30 minutes. Taste and enjoy!

Matzoh Ball Soup  

Part One—Chicken Stock 
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken cut into 1/4's (I used a small organic chicken)
1 large pot almost completely filled (75%) with water
4 carrots
2 stalks of celery, cut up
2 small parsnips or 1 large parsnip, cut up
1 small yellow onion, diced into small cubes
1 small bunch of dill tied tied together with white thread
1 small bunch of parsley tied together with white thread
Approximately 2 tablespoons of salt, tasting throughout the simmering process, adding more if needed

Directions:

Fill up a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the chicken and cover. While that is cooking cut up, tie the thread around the dill and parsley, and the clean the vegetables. When the water/chicken starts to boil, clean any bubbles or dirt that acclimates to the surface. Add all of the vegetables and the salt to the pot. Set to a very low flame and allow the water to simmer slowly for two hours. Periodically check the pot and taste the concoction, adding salt if needed. After three hours let the vegetables sit in the pot until they cool. Discard all vegetables except carrots. Depending on when you are making the matzo meal you may need to keep your broth in the fridge or remove the vegetables and place the pot  immediately back on the heat as the matzo balls are added.

Part Two—Matzoh Ball Mix

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 cup matzoh meal
• 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 tablespoons of cold seltzer

Directions:

In a medium-sized bowl mix eggs and oil with a fork, but do not beat the mixture. Add the matzoh meal, salt, seltzer, and mix together.  Cover with aluminium foil and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Start your pot of broth again and bring it to a slight boil. After 20 minutes remove the matzoh from the fridge and wet hands. Make the balls and place them in the boiling pot.  Lower the flame, cover, and cook for 40 minutes. Remove the matzoh balls and broth with a spoon, place into a soup bowl, and enjoy!