Easter Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Bring water, kielbasa, and 2 whole cloves garlic to boil in a large pot; reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove sausage and pour liquid into a separate bowl. Cut sausage into cubes.
• Melt butter over medium heat in the pot used to boil sausage; cook and stir leeks, onion, and minced garlic until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a blender; add about 1/2 cup reserved sausage water and blend until smooth, adding more water as needed.
• Pour vegetable puree and remaining sausage water back into the original pot. Add bay leaves and bring borscht to a simmer over medium heat; remove and discard leaves. Whisk sour cream and flour in a bowl until smooth; gradually whisk into borscht until thickened. Stir dill and vinegar into soup and season with salt and black pepper.
• Divide cubed sausage and chopped eggs into bowls; ladle borscht over sausage and egg.

Steps:

• Add kielbasa and water to a large pan, bring water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 40 minutes.
• Remove the sausage and refrigerate both sausage and cooking liquid overnight.
• Next day, remove the fat from the liquid, add the vinegar and hoseradish.
• Mix the flour and cream and add to the pan.
• Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
• Allow kielbasa to return to room temperature or rewarm and slice it.
• Serve hot broth with sliced kielbasa and eggs.

Steps:

• Wash the lamb head and neck thoroughly and place in a pot with the onions. Cover with cold water, season with salt, and simmer for about 1 hour, skimming the surface several times.
• Cut the intestines into several pieces and wash thoroughly under running water. If you like, slice them open so you can wash them more easily. In a separate pan, bring some salted water to a boil and add the intestines. Blanch for 2 minutes, then remove with a skimmer and discard the water. Chop the intestines finely. You don't need more than 1 cup of chopped intestines.
• The head and neck are done when the meat falls from the bones. Remove them from the pot. Using a sharp knife, cut open the head and separate the meat from the bones. Remove the meat from the neck and cut all the meat into small pieces. Strain the stock and discard the onions. Let the stock cool and remove the fat. (Up to this point, the preparations can be made a day ahead. You can refrigerate the meat and the stock, making it easier to skim off the fat.)
• To finish the soup, wash the liver well and cut it into small cubes. In a skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the liver with the scallions and chili pepper, if using. Add the finely chopped meat and intestines, together with 1 cup of the dill, and turn a few times with a wooden spoon. Transfer the mixture to a pot and add the stock plus an equal amount of water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes. Taste and add more pepper and salt if needed.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl with about 2 spoonfuls of water and the juice of 1 lemon. Slowly add cupfuls of the hot soup to the bowl, beating continuously with the whisk. When the egg mixture is very hot, pour it slowly into the pot, stirring well, over very low heat, to prevent curdling. Taste and add more lemon juice if needed. Sprinkle with the rest of the dill, and serve immediately.
• NOTE: Some people add 1/2 to 1 cup short-grain rice to the soup.
• If you hate the taste of boiled lamb, you can make an equally tasty magiritsa with chicken livers and chicken stock. There is even a meatless magiritsa. Sauté the scallions and dill, adding a few chopped leaves of romaine lettuce. Pour in water or stock and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Make the egg and lemon mixture as described above and serve.

Steps:

• Place the chicken soup in a wide pot over low heat. Add the carrot, onion, celery and garlic and simmer over very low heat for 40 minutes. Add the shredded chicken.
• Meanwhile, place the ground beef in a bowl. Season with a half teaspoon of salt, a half teaspoon of black pepper and one tablespoon of the minced parsley. Form the meat into balls that are about one inch in diameter. Using a spoon, gently slide the meatballs into the broth. Do not raise heat or stir, but use a spoon to gently turn each meatball, so that they cook evenly.
• Place the ricotta and the egg in a bowl. Season it with one teaspoon of salt, a half-teaspoon of black pepper and one tablespoon of the minced parsley, then stir well to combine. After the meatballs have cooked for 20 minutes, use a teaspoon to form ricotta dumplings and carefully slide them into the broth. Do not raise the heat or touch the dumplings until they are set, about seven minutes.
• Adjust the seasoning of the soup with additional salt and pepper. Carefully ladle the soup into warmed bowls, garnishing each with the remaining minced parsley, and serve.