To call this dish a soup is misleading;  like the Mexican posole it is a grand dish with many components each of which have to be prepared separately.

Mouloukhieh is hugely popular in Lebanon and in Egypt and the exact origin of this dish has not been established yet. Suffice it to say that each region prepares it a bit differently. My Egyptian friend Phoebe who has successfully grown the mouloukhieh plant in her Dallas backyard, never uses any cilantro in hers; omitting cilantro in the Lebanese version would be considered heresy.

This plant is called jew’s mallow in the US and corette in French-speaking countries. It is available frozen in all Middle-Eastern grocers in the US and Canada; it is available fresh in Asian markets in the US, as it is a plant that is consumed in Asian countries.

The method for making mouloukhieh is very simple: Prepare a chicken or beef or lamb broth by boiling the meat with some aromatic spices. Prepare a cilantro pesto using fresh and dried cilantro, garlic and olive oil. Flavor the broth with the cilantro pesto and cook the mouloukhieh leaves in the broth very briefly. Serve the soup with pieces of meat or chicken (or both) over white rice, some toasted pita chips, and ladle some chopped onion and vinegar (or lemon) over the soup when ready to savor it.

For some pointers on how to use the fresh mouloukhieh, click here.

INGREDIENTS: 8 generous servings

• 3-pound whole chicken
• 2 lamb or beef shanks (optional)
• 4  cups of cooked long-grain rice (can use Basmati)
• 3 pita breads, toasted in a 275F oven till golden and dry and crumbled
• Aromatics for the broth (chicken and meat): 1 or 2 carrots, 2 bay leaves, black peppercorns, 1 leek or 1 celery stalk, 1 sprig of thyme, 2 cinnamon sticks, a few sprigs of parsley, any other spice you like to add to your broth.
• 2 packages of frozen mouloukhieh (about 400 g each)
• 3 large onions, chopped fine
• 1 cup of red vinegar or 1 cup of fresh lemon juice
• For the cilantro pesto: 2 bunches of fresh cilantro, 12 cloves of garlic, 1/3 cup of olive oil.
• 1 tbsp of dried  cilantro powder (optional)

METHOD:

1. Place the whole chicken (minus innards) in a pot with cold water to cover and the aromatics; bring to a simmer and let it simmer slowly until cooked, skimming any froth from the surface of the pot. Cool the chicken and debone, reserving large pieces for the mouloukhieh later on. Strain the broth and set aside.
2. If using meat shanks, follow the same procedure; when cooked, set aside and strain the broth. Mix the chicken and meat broth.
3. Wash, dry and chop the cilantro leaves. Peel and chop the garlic and mash in a mortar with a teaspoon of salt. Chop the onions. In a skillet, heat the olive oil and fry the onions till soft and golden then add the mashed garlic and the chopped cilantro as well as the dried cilantro. Stir-fry for a few seconds (till the pesto is fragrant),  then transfer to the broth. Heat the broth and drop the frozen mouloukhieh packages in the broth; bring to a boil and let it simmer for 2 minutes until the mouloukhieh leaves are warmed up.
4. Serve the soup with some cooked white rice, the chicken and meat pieces, a bowl of crumbled toasted pita croutons and a bowl of red vinegar  (or lemon) with a handful of chopped onion.

NOTE: There are  no set rules for how one is supposed to eat the mouloukhieh; growing up, every member of the family had his or her customized way; some people like to fill their bowl with croutons, then rice, then mouloukhieh then chicken and meat, then onion and vinegar. You get to decide!

The tricky part of making this dish is determining the amount of broth versus the amount of mouloukhieh; the soup itself is quite soupy, so if you find your soup thick and muddy add more broth. If on the other hand it looks too watery, add more mouloukhieh.

Keshek is a very traditional food made every year by Lebanese villagers with bulgur and milk (either cow’s or goat’s) at the end of summer as part of  winter’s provisions.

Coarse bulgur is rubbed  with milk and left to ferment a few days; it is then placed on the  rooftop (traditional homes are built with a flat rooftop) and left to dry under the sun for several days; then  taken to the village mill and ground fine into a powder; the powdered keshk is once again dried in the sun for several day in order to dry thoroughly.

Keshek is now ready to be stored  in the pantry for a year and is used in dozens of dishes throughout the year.

Keshek is found at all Middle-Eastern grocers in the US and Canada as well as online.

This soup is made with cabbage, keshek and kibbeh balls; kibbeh balls can be substituted with frozen meatballs or cubes of beef or lamb stewing meat.

INGREDIENTS: 4 servings

• 2 cups of shredded cabbage
• 1 1/2 cups of keshek
• 6 cloves of garlic with a teaspoon of salt
• 8 hollow kibbeh balls or 2 cups of meatballs or 1 pound of stew meat
• olive oil, as needed
• 4 cups of water (more if needed)

METHOD:

1. Shred the cabbage into ribbons (they don’t need to be fine); peel the cloves of garlic. If using meat stew, brown the meat, add 4  cups of water and let it simmer for a while until cooked.
2. Heat olive oil in a pot and add the shredded cabbage and garlic cloves. Stir-fry for 15 minutes until the cabbage is wilted. Add the meat and meat broth and the keshek and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve warm.

NOTE: If using kibbeh balls, they need to be hollow. Add 4 cups of water and the keshek  over the cabbage and garlic and simmer, stirring from time to time; drop the kibbeh into the soup and simmer for 10 minutes. If the kibbeh balls are freshly made, roast in the oven with some oil until the kibbeh balls are browned. Then poke with a toothpick and dunk in the soup.

If using frozen meatballs, roast them in the oven first until browned, then add to the soup  10 minutes before serving.

NOTE: The soup needs to have the consistency of loose yogurt, not too thick but not too thin either. Add more or less water or let it thicken by simmering it for a longer time.

This soup is so easy to put together and delivers the kind of homey flavor that is the hallmark of a great winter soup.

The ingredients are thrown in the pot and left to simmer slowly; right before serving, a burst of flavor is added (garlic, olive oil and fresh lemon juice).

Done!

Recipe courtesy of Mireille H. Doniguian La Cuisine du Moyen-Orient (adapted)

INGREDIENTS:  8 servings

• 2 cups of red lentils
• 4 large carrots
• 1 1/2 pound of swiss chard
• 1 tbsp of mashed garlic (chop the garlic and mash in a mortar with salt till pasty)
• 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large lemons, juiced

METHOD:

1. Place the lentils in a bowl and rinse under running tap water for a few seconds until clean. Transfer to a large pot, add 6 cups of water and bring to a simmer.
2. Peel the carrots and slice; add to the lentils. Cook the lentils and carrots for 40 minutes or so. Meanwhile, wash the chard and separate the stalks from the leaves. Stack the leaves and slice them into 1/4 inch ribbons and throw them in the soup pot. Simmer the soup another 20 minutes until the chard is cooked.
3. Right before serving, start heating the soup;  juice the lemons and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet, add the mashed garlic and stir-fry briefly for a few seconds without letting the garlic change color. Pour the garlic and olive oil in the soup and add the lemon juice.  Serve.

A traditional soup made in every household is made up of lamb shanks simmered until they fall off the bone, a handful of rice or wheat berries and a sprinkle of minced parsley.

Lamb shanks can be substituted with beef or veal shanks. Rice can replace the wheat berries. Lemon quarters can be provided with this soup to add a citrusy note to an otherwise dark and meaty-tasting broth.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 or 2 lamb or beef shanks
• 1 large onion
• Spices: salt, pepper, a bay leaf, a cinnamon stick, a few cloves, a few allspice berries, a carrot, a clove of garlic
• 1/2 cup of wheat berries or rice, soaked in warm salty water for at least 30 minutes
• 1 or 2 lemons
• olive oil, as needed

METHOD:

1. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the shanks; heat some olive oil in the pot and brown the shanks all over. Place an onion peeled and studded with cloves in the pot, a bay leaf, allspice berries, carrot and garlic and 6 cups of tap water in the pot. Bring to a boil, skim the surface every so often and simmer the shanks for one hour or longer until they fall off the bone.
2. Collect the shanks and set aside. At this point, strain the soup and place in the freezer. After two hours, skim all the fat that has congealed on the surface of the broth.
3. Place the broth back on the stove and bring to a simmer; drop the wheat berries in the broth and cook for 30 minutes or longer until the berries have swelled and are soft and chewy. Place the pieces of shank back in in the pot, sprinkle with minced parsley and serve with lemon quarters if desired.

Let’s say you could not resist and bought a bunch of strawberries. Even though you still had other fruits at home.

This strawberry soup is a way to use up the leftover fruits and to enjoy those luscious strawberries. The other fruits are neatly cut-up and placed at the bottom of the goblet; the strawberries have been macerating in some sugar or honey and have produced a lot of juice: Throw them in a blender and get a nice smooth soupy strawberry mixture. Pour it on top of the other fruits, top with some cotton candy if you wish (or nothing).

INGREDIENTS: 6 to 8 servings

• 4  cups of strawberries, hulled and cut-up
• 1 cup of sugar or honey
• 1 lemon or lime, juiced
• 1 orange
• 6 cherries
• 1 banana (or apple)
• 1 teaspoon of orange blossom water or rose water (optional)

METHOD:

1. Place the strawberries in a large bowl; cover with sugar and let them macerate in the sugar for several hours. Purée in a blender and add the lemon or lime juice and the flavoring if using.
2. Cut up the remaining fruits and place at the bottom of each goblet. Pour the strawberry soup on top and refrigerate until serving time. Decorate with cotton candy or nothing!

Sweltering heat that makes you want to dunk in the pool all day; this cold and refreshing soup, great for one’s digestive health by the way, is one way to deal with these  temperatures.

As easy as 1,2,3, this  is a recipe from Mercotte, one of my favorite French bloggers and macaron-teacher extraordinaire.

Considering the medicinal benefits of both yogurt and fennel, this soup is hard to pass up; plus it is made in minutes.

INGREDIENTS: 2 servings

• 1 fennel bulb
• 8 ounces of yogurt
• Spices: salt, to taste; 1 tablespoon  of curry or cumin; 1  teaspoon of paprika or Aleppo pepper.
• 4  cloves of garlic, mashed (optional)
• Garnishes: fennel, raw pumpkin seeds, toasted nuts of your choice.

METHOD:

1. Cut the stalks and root of the fennel bulb; remove the tough outer layer and reserve for another use. Quarter the inner bulb and place in a blender of food processor.
2. Blend with the yogurt and spices until smooth; add a couple of ice cubes if desired. Serve cold.

NOTE: To offset the extreme healthfulness of this soup, I had it with potato and corn chips!

A soup that can be made with minimum fuss yet delivers big flavor; if you happen to have some labneh, great, otherwise drain some yogurt that morning. I used a bit of the stash of cilantro pesto from my freezer to speed things up.

INGREDIENTS: 6 servings

• 1 pound of carrots
• 1 large onion
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup of cilantro leaves
• Olive oil, as needed
• 1 cup of labneh or make your own with 2 cups of yogurt drained overnight in a coffee filter or a paper towel over a sieve
• Salt, to taste

METHOD:

1. Peel and cut the carrots; chop the onion; chop and mash the garlic in a mortar with a dash of salt. Heat some olive oil and fry the onion till golden; add the carrots and let them “sweat” a little. Add 4 cups of water with the bouillon cube  to the pot and bring to a boil; simmer until the carrots are cooked, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet. Place the mashed garlic and minced cilantro in the skillet and stir to mix for 5 seconds; set aside.
3. When the carrots are ready, cool them a bit and puree in a blender with the cilantro pesto and the labneh. Serve.

A recipe imagined by chef Ornella Hubel that I immediately wanted to try; so cool when chefs create recipes based on our Lebanese culinary heritage. Here, she used chick peas as a base for the soup. The chick peas are pureed and served gaspacho-style with pita croutons, diced tomatoes and a sprinkling of zaatar. A hearty soup and an easy soup to make.

Recipe is adapted

INGREDIENTS: 2 servings

• 1 can of chick peas
• 3 scallions or one medium white onion or 3 shallots
• 1/2 cup of oatmeal flakes (the recipe calls for 100 g of fresh breadcrumbs)
• 3 or 4 garlic cloves mashed in a mortar with one teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• water, as needed
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (or of chili flakes)
• 1 pita bread or other flatbread
• zaatar, a few pinches
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 tomato, diced

METHOD:

1. Mince the scallions and fry  most of them (reserving a few for garnish) in the olive oil for a couple of minutes. Rinse the chick peas and add to the scallions with one cup of water. Add the cumin and coriander and a bit of cayenne and let the mixture simmer for 30 minutes or longer.
2. Cut small squares in the pita bread with kitchen scissors and place in a pan; drizzle some olive oil and bake in a 275F oven till the croutons are toasted and golden; the last 30 seconds, sprinkle the zaatar and toss the croutons.
3. Add the oatmeal flakes to the chick pea mixture and continue simmering it for 15 minutes longer; add the garlic paste and whirl in the blender until the soup is smooth but still a bit coarse. Add the lemon juice, taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Serve the soup with diced tomatoes, extra minced scallions and the zaatar-flavored croutons.

NOTE: I prefer the soup served at room temperature rather than cold. Your call.

I read French blogs; I get a kick out of seeing what French chefs do with American and English classics; the sweet brownie becomes savory, so do the crumble and scone; one French chef I admire, Sonia Uzvegian, came up with the idea of a savory pea milk-shake.

Her French version is a simple soup of  fresh (cooked) peas and milk, served cold with a straw in a tall shake tumbler.

I made mine Lebanese, with yogurt (you can use buttermilk as well) and a dash of garlic; it is light and refreshing.

P.S: Yogurt is better for you; (garlic, too).

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups of green peas
• 4 ounces of yogurt (1 small glass)
• 1 cup of water
• 2 cloves of garlic
• salt, to taste and 1/2 teaspoon of Aleppo pepper (or paprika)
• 2 ounces of Puck or mascarpone or a similar creamy mild cheese (3 generous tablespoons)
• 1 ounce of Coppa slices (around eight slices)

METHOD:

1. Boil the peas in salted water for 10 minutes. Drain them and set a few aside for garnish. Place in a bowl. Pour the yogurt, water, cheese spread or mascarpone, Aleppo pepper or paprika and mash with an immersion blender until the mixture is smooth.
2. Mash the garlic cloves in a mortar (chop finely first) with a dash of salt; when the garlic is pasty, add to the soup and blend a few seconds more to mesh the garlic with the other ingredients; (you can do this first and mix all the ingredients in one step!)
3. Place the coppa slices on a large piece of foil on a baking sheet and heat the oven to 325F. Place another baking sheet over the one with the coppa slices to keep the slices straight. Bake for 10 minutes until the coppa is crunchy. Cool and use to garnish the soup. Serve the soup cold.

I lived in Aix-en-Provence for six months after finishing up high school; Aix is a beautiful town in the South of France filled with picturesque courtyards outfitted with ancient fountains and majestic old mansions. I was supposed to be studying political sciences at the university, but I found the courses too depressing and spent my time roaming around the city’s cobblestone streets, eating succès (little cakes made of a hazelnut-flavored meringue and buttercream) and checking out the open-air marchés. I had a really cool neighbor, Anna, who was from Finland and in Aix to study French. (I reconnected with her thirty years later on Facebook).

Well, all of that to say that our landlady was a wonderful person who would leave me small plates of food (she probably thought I was starving) every day on the console by the front door. Among my  favorite of her offerings was her velouté de légumes, a creamy potage of spring vegetables, as humble as can be, that I would just inhale.

It is Spring and so  fitting to make a soup with just spring vegetables, simple and honest and comforting.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large onion or 2 stalks of leeks
• 2 large carrots
• 2 potatoes
• 2 turnips
• 1 large tomato
• 1 red pepper or 1/2 cup of red pepper paste
• 1 sprig of parsley, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon of thyme
• salt, pepper to taste
• 4 cups of chicken stock or 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 2 zucchinis
• 1 bunch of broccoli
• olive oil as needed

METHOD:

1. Clean, peel, dice all the veggies.
2. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a big soup pot; add all the vegetables and stir every few minutes until they are softened.
3. Add a quart of chicken stock or water and the two cubes, the sprig of parsley, garlic, and other herbs (thyme, bay leaf). Bring to a simmer and let the soup simmer gently for one hour.
4. Puree in a blender either till creamy or till chunky. Taste to adjust seasoning and serve.