Chicken and Barley Soup

You need:

• 3 chicken breasts, boiled
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tomato
• 1/3 cup pearled barley
• 1 carrot
• ½ onion
• 3 tablespoons green beans
• 2 tablespoons corn
• ½ teaspoon dried parsley
• 3 cups of water
• salt to taste

Instructions:

Chop the boiled chicken breasts. Add all the ingredients and cook for another 12-15 minutes.

Chicken Noodle Soup

You need:

• 2-3 chicken breasts
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 cup noodles
• salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon summer savory or ½ bunch fresh dill
• 8 cups of water

Instructions:

Cut the chicken breasts into small pieces. Fry them for 2-3 minutes. In a large pot, bring 8 cups of water to boil. Add the lightly fried chicken pieces. Finely chop the onion, and the carrot, and add them to the boiling water. Cook for 20-25 minutes. Add the noodles and simmer for another 7-8 minutes. At the very end, add 1 teaspoon of savory or ½ bunch fresh dill.

Chicken Soup

You need:

• 2-3 chicken breasts
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• ½ Hungarian pepper
• 1 cup noodles
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup of plain yogurt
• salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon summer savory

Instructions:

Cut the chicken breasts into small pieces. If you decide to fry them for 2-3 minutes, you are not going to need to remove the foam, which usually comes out if you put the chicken directly into the boiling water. In a large pot, bring 8 cups of water to boil. Add the lightly fried chicken pieces. Finely chop the onion, the pepper and the carrot, and add them to the boiling water. Cook for 20-25 minutes. Add the noodles and simmer for another 5-6 minutes. At the very end add the flavoring. Turn off the heat. Wait for a few minutes for it to cool down and mix with the thickening. That will bring golden color to the soup and add more flavor to it.

Preparation of the thickening:

Whisk the egg. Add to the plain yogurt and stir until the mixture is very smooth.

Thickening is added to a lot of the Eastern European soups. This serves 4.

Bean Soup

You need:

• 2 cups of dry beans
• 1 pepper, fresh, or dried
• 1 medium onion
• 2 carrots
• 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
• ½ bunch of fresh spearmint, or 1 teaspoon of dry
• 1 tomato
• salt to taste
• 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

Instructions:

In a pot, bring water to boil. Add the beans and the chopped onion. Cook for 30 minutes before adding the chopped vegetables. It is absolutely delicious, if you try this thing with my recipe: Use a cheese cloth and place the vegetables all together with the ½ bunch of spearmint, without chopping them up. That way you could remove them easily from that cloth when the soup is ready, and serve them separately. The soup will still keep the flavor of these vegetables and remain clear. At the end, add salt and red wine vinegar. Simple as this!

Cucumber Soup “Tarator”

You need:

• 1 European cucumber
• 3 cups of plain yogurt
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• ½ bunch fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups of water
• salt to taste

Instructions:

Pour the plain yogurt into a large bowl. Add the water and whisk until smooth. To make it colder, add a few ice cubes. Peel and chop the cucumber. Ground the garlic. Incorporate them into the bowl with the plain yogurt and water. Add the dill, finely chopped. Stir it, with some salt and the olive oil added to it. “Tarator” is a cold summer soup and it is served chilled. You can eat it as soup with a spoon, or just drink it from a cup. If you like it richer, add a couple tablespoons of ground walnuts. Enjoy!

Meatball Soup

You need:

• ½ lb ground beef
• 1 carrot
• 1onion
• 1 tomato
• ¼ cup of rice
• 8 cups of water
• ½ cup plain yogurt
• 2 egg
• 2-3 pieces of fresh parsley

Instruction:

To make the meatballs, mix the ground beef, rice, 1 egg, half of a finely chopped onion.

Make small meatballs. Bring the water to boil and add the meatballs. Cook for 15-20 minutes and add the chopped carrot, the second half of the onion and the tomato.

Cook for another 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and wait to cool off. In a bowl, mix the plain yogurt, the second egg and the chopped parsley. Add as thickening to the slightly cooled soup.

Brown Lentil Soup

You need:
1 pound Brown lentils
2 large carrots (peeled and sliced)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
2 -3 tomatoes (fresh or canned)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper and paprika to taste
Red wine vinegar

Instructions:
1. Pick over Brown lentils to remove any stones, dirt, or other foreign objects. Rinse them well in cold water.
2. Boil for 30 min
3. Add carrots, celery, and onion to the lentils. Cook partially covered, until the carrots are tender for about 20-25 minutes.
4. Add chopped tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika to taste. Simmer, partially covered, until lentils become creamy and soft. Stir occasionally.
5. Add some Red wine vinegar before serving.