new york | You could smell the chicken soup before you could see it.
And after all the boiling, the stirring and one kitchen mishap, Rosely Himmelstein of New York walked away the crown princess of chicken soup, winner of a trip for two to Israel.
The first national Chicken Soup Challenge, a 500-recipe contest sponsored by the National Jewish Outreach Program, was also an advertisement for the eighth annual “Shabbat Across America,” which aimed to bring tens of thousands of unaffiliated U.S. Jews into synagogues across the country last month. It was also held in time to give home cooks new ideas for their Passover menus, where chicken soups usually play a starring role.
The goal: to get Jews interested Judaism, according to program director Rabbi Yitzchak Rosenbaum — not to mention get cooking a few pots of tasty chicken soup.
Amateur chefs from around the country sent in their recipes to chef Jeffrey Nathan, executive chef and owner of Abigael’s restaurant in New York and host of the PBS program “New Jewish Cuisine.”
Nathan selected five finalists, who then came to his restaurant for the Feb. 24 cook-off. Among them were Jerry Greenberg of Belmont.
The cooks presented their versions of the traditional Jewish cure-all to a panel of judges who plunged into their steaming bowls of chicken soup with gusto. Slurping was not required — but it wasn’t forbidden either.
Scores were based on flavor and presentation, and the only cooking rule was no artificial additives or imitation meat products.
Given nearly four hours in the kitchen at Abigail’s — which donated the ingredients and kitchen time — the contestants re-created their soup entries, stirring, smelling and tasting their brews before the early afternoon deadline.
Even before the judges arrived, the kitchen staff at Abigail’s — who put off preparing the restaurant’s dinner menu to help contestants — had settled on their favorites.
In addition to Himmelstein and Greenberg, other contestants were Gail Barzilay of Westport, Conn.; Veronica Gold of Worcester, Mass.; and Paulette Rochelle-Levy of Santa Monica.
Though there were a few culinary experts among the judges, most were self-proclaimed chicken soup connoisseurs.
The Brooklyn borough president, Marty Markowitz, said his qualification for judging was “59 years of Yiddishkeit.” Judging alongside him were Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, chief rabbi of Efrat, Israel; Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.); and philanthropist Michael Steinhardt, among others.
As the judges spooned, sipped and slurped, they shared running commentaries on each entry.
There was the soup with cream of wheat, one with basmati rice, a cilantro-infused potion and one concoction with jalapeño peppers and spicy herbs inspired by Indian and Tex-Mex ingredients.
Every region of the world has its own version of chicken soup, said judge Helen Nash, an author of kosher cookbooks.
But “chicken soup started with the Chinese, not the Jews, I’m afraid,” she said quietly.
Though advised to sample only two tablespoons of each soup, many judges cleaned their bowls, including Markowitz, who also snacked on the restaurant’s hors d’oeuvres in between soups.
By the end of the afternoon, Himmel-stein’s recipe of onion, parsnip, sweet potato and cilantro was the unparalleled winner.
Even after losing the ultimate soup prize, Greenberg, the only male finalist, said he was happy to have come all the way from California to lock spoons with his fellow contestants.
Joking that he was intimidated by the four women, he said, “The important part of the contest is reviving Jewish identity.”
Steinhardt seemed glad for a break from the usual angst-ridden Jewish community events.
“I am happy to participate in something where the fate of the Jewish people is not at stake,” Steinhardt said.
Greenberg, 62, a board member of Keddem Congregation in Palo Alto, read about the contest in j. His recipe was inspired by chicken soup he had eaten in a Jamaican restaurant in Sacramento. His recipe combines “foods from all over the diaspora.”
Himmelstein’s and Greenberg’s recipes are below. Other recipes are at www.njop.org/html/csfinalre.html.
Jerry Greenberg’s Jamaican-Inspired Soup | Serves about 12
4 Tbs. olive oil
4 Tbs. turmeric
2 Tbs. thyme
1/2 Tbs. black pepper
flavor mixture (see below)
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup dry sherry
3 quarts chicken stock
1 cup light coconut milk or 1 Tbs. coconut extract
3 to 3 1/2 lb chicken
2 14.5 oz cans chopped tomatoes or 3 1/2 cups fresh skinned and chopped tomatoes with juice
1 1/2 lbs yucca root peeled, cut into bite-size chunks
3 large carrots peeled or scrubbed, cut into-bite size chunks
1 large or 2 small plantain peeled, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
3 large stalks of celery, veins removed, cut into bite-size chunks
2 medium turnips, peeled, cut into bite-size chunks
1 small head of cabbage, center removed, cut into bite-size chunks
1/4 lb. crimini or button mushrooms, cut into bite-size chunks
1 green bell pepper, seeded, cut into bite-size chunks
1 red bell pepper, seeded, cut into bite-size chunks
1 bunch cilantro stemmed and chopped
salt
pepper
Flavor mixture
(best made a day ahead)
2 slices kosher beef fry or turkey bacon
1 large carrot peeled
1 large stalk of celery with leaves
1 medium onion
1 jalapeño pepper (or to taste) seeds removed
1 green bell pepper
1 Tbs. crushed garlic
For flavor mixture, roughly chop kosher beef fry or kosher turkey bacon. Cut carrot, celery, onion, jalapeño pepper and bell pepper into 1/4- to 1/2-inch dice and add. Stir in crushed garlic.
For soup, heat olive oil in large Dutch oven or heavy stockpot. Add turmeric, thyme, pepper and flavor mixture. Add salt.
Sauté flavor mixture using moderate heat until soft (about 10-15 minutes) stirring occasionally. Raise heat to high and add sherry. Boil liquid until reduced by half.
Add chicken stock, coconut milk or extract, tomatoes and chicken. When liquid comes to a boil reduce heat to simmer. Let simmer 60 minutes.
Taste for seasoning and add salt and/or pepper as necessary. Let simmer 30 minutes more. Remove chicken. Add yucca. Simmer 10 minutes. Add carrots and plantain. Simmer 10 minutes.
Add remaining vegetables. Simmer 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and/or pepper as necessary.
Add chopped cilantro. Simmer 5 minutes. Skim fat from surface. Serve with pieces of the chicken.
Rosely Himmelstein’s Winning Chicken Soup | Serves about 6
2 quarts of chicken broth (recipe follows)
1 chicken (about 3-4 lbs.), quartered (she prefers a regular chicken to a fowl) and rinsed
1 large carrot, peeled and cut up
1 large onion, peeled and cut up
1 stalk celery
1 leek, white and light green parts only, washed well
1 parsnip, peeled and cut up
1 parsley root, with greens attached
1 sweet potato, peeled
3-4 stems of dill (a handful)
1 small rutabaga, peeled and cut up
a few sprigs of cilantro (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Broth
(makes about 2 quarts)
2 lbs. chicken (she use wings and back, usually)
1 onion, studded with 4 whole cloves
3 garlic cloves
1 carrot, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 celery stalk
1 leek
Combine all ingredients with 10 cups of water. Bring to boil. Simmer over medium heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Cool, then strain. If not using immediately, refrigerate (for up to three days) or freeze.
Put chicken broth in pot and bring to boil. Add chicken. Return to boil, lower heat. Gently simmer uncovered for 1 hour.
Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for one-half hour more, stir occasionally. Skim fat from top. Pour into bowls; into each add a slice of carrot and a sprig of cilantro.
If storing, let soup cool before refrigerating. When cold, remove the fat that rises to the surface. Use soup within 2-3 days or store in freezer.
Note: “When the soup is done, I love to eat the boiled chicken — with horseradish, Dijon mustard and a sour pickle. If I don’t eat the chicken right away, I refrigerate it and make chicken salad the next day.”
HAPPY PASSOVER:
Leaven the seder with rich, luscious chocolate
Many sides of freedom in film on African seder