Mom's Lebanese Vegetable Soup
A few weeks ago, I teased on my Instagram page (@fayesfood1) that I'd be sharing my mom's version of this Lebanese vegetable soup. Well, life got in the way. By life, I mostly mean school and work. However, I'm back to make good on my promise. This is by far my favorite soup. I'll take it over chicken noodles in a heartbeat. That's how good it is. I mean chicken noodle soup is pretty amazing, so the fact that this soup surpasses it should tell you all you need to know. This soup consists of potatoes, carrots, zucchini, and a flavorful tomato broth. So, this soup is tremendously healthy. But, that's not what makes this soup great. It's just absolutely heavenly. The flavor and textures of this soup are so on point. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I'm happy to share the delicious soup recipe with you and I know it'll become a favorite, just like it is for me.
How to Make My Mom's Lebanese Vegetable Soup:
- First thing you should do is prep the vegetables. This soup contains kusa (also known as Mexican Grey Squash/Zucchini or Lebanese Zucchini), Russet potatoes (also known as Idaho Potatoes) and whole carrots (the sweet, regular kind). Make sure you wash all your veggies really well. Dry them and begin slicing. You want to go ahead and wash and then cut the kusa in half lengthwise, then in half again and then slice up the zucchini until you get crescent-like pieces. Peel, wash and cut the carrots the same way as the zucchini. For the potatoes, you'll want peel them and then cube them into a medium dice. As you finish with each vegetable, add the cut pieces into a large bowl of cold water. Then, you an move on to the next piece of vegetable. When you're done, you should have all your sliced and cubed veggies in the large bowl of cold water.
- You could even prep these veggies a day ahead of time, but I wouldn't recommend any longer than that. Also, be sure to dump the water and wash off the starch the next day if you're going that route.
- Next, we're going to prepare our chicken stock. This is my mom's go-to recipe for chicken stock. It's so versatile because we add tomato paste and make this soup or we leave it alone and make chicken noodle. It's so easy and tasty. To begin, you'll want a the legs with the thighs attached. My mom uses about 10 or 11 total legs/thighs. Make sure to clean and wash the chicken really, really well first. Pat them dry and place them in a very large stockpot.
- Next, add in five or six dry whole bay leaves, four whole cinnamon sticks, seven or eight whole cardamom seeds, about a teaspoon or so of the whole black peppercorns and medium to large red onion (sliced). Add more than enough cold water to cover everything. It should be at about the ¾ line of the pot. Leave this uncovered to cook over high heat for about an hour and fifteen minutes. About halfway through or as the scum (fat and foam) appears on the top surface, skim it and place in a separate bowl to dump.
- After that hour and fifteen minutes or when the stock is done, drain and wash the veggies through a strainer. Strain all the water and dump all at once into another large stockpot.
- Use a large strainer and place it above the stockpot with the veggies. Begin to ladle the completed chicken stock through the strainer to catch all the big seeds, cinnamon sticks, etc and to pour the stock into the pot of veggies. Set the pot with the chicken pieces to the side, as we'll be using a few for the soup, but the rest will be for a separate dish that I'll be sharing with you next week.
- Stir-in about two or three heaping tablespoons of Vegeta seasoning. If you're wondering what Vegeta seasoning is, it looks like this. This seasoning is not optional. It not only seasons it with salt, but tons of other flavorings that really take the stock to the next level. Stir in two cans of tomato paste. Cook for about 30 minutes over high heat, then turn to the lowest setting to simmer for another 30 minutes or until the veggies are tender, but not mushy.
- Turn off the heat. Take three or four of the cooked legs and thighs from the stock we cooked earlier. Pull the chicken pieces off the bone into medium slices, similar to what you'd do for a pulled chicken sandwich. Wash and cut a large bunch of parsley.
- Stir-in the chicken pieces and parsley all at once. Stir to combine everything together. Serve hot to warm!
MORE GREAT LEBANESE RECIPES:
- Lebanese Stuffed Vegetarian Grape Leaves (Warak Enab)
- Mom's Lebanese Rice with Minced Meat (Tidbeha)
- Mom's Lebanese Lemon and Garlic Chicken
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Mom's Lebanese Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 10-11 uncooked chicken legs/w thighs attached
- 5-6 dry whole bay leaves
- 4 dry whole cinnamon sticks
- 7-8 cardamom seeds
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 medium or large red onion sliced
- cold water to cover
- 3 large tablespoons Vegeta seasoning
- 2 6 oz cans tomato paste
- 4 medium sized zucchini sliced (Lebanese zucchini or Mexican grey squash/zucchini)
- 5 lb bag whole California carrots peeled and sliced
- 7 Russet potatoes or Idaho Potatoes, peeled and cubed medium dice
- 1 large bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables by washing all your veggies really well. Dry them. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, then do it ago, then slice it upwards all the way. Peel the carrots and cut them the same way you did the zucchini. Peel the potatoes and cube them into a medium-sized dice. As you finish with each vegetable, add the cut pieces into a large bowl of cold water. Then, you an move on to the next piece of vegetable. When you're done, you should have all your sliced and cubed veggies in the large bowl of cold water and set aside.
- Clean the chicken legs/thighs really well and pat them dry. Next, in a very large stockpot, place the chicken in there. Slice the red onion and place it in the pot. Add in the black peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, dried bay leaves and cardamom. Add in enough cold water to fill about ¾ of the pot with water.
- Leave the pot uncovered and cook over high heat for about an hour and fifteen minutes. About halfway through, skim the scum (fat and foam on the surface) and place it in a separate bowl to dump.
- After that hour and fifteen minutes or when the stock is done, wash the veggies through a strainer. Strain all the water and dump all at once into another very large stockpot.
- Use a large strainer and place it above the stockpot with the veggies. Begin to ladle the completed chicken stock through the strainer and pour the stock into the pot of veggies. Set the pot with the chicken pieces to the side, as we'll be pulling a few of the pieces later on.
- In the stockpot with the veggies, stir-in about two or three heaping tablespoons of Vegeta seasoning. Stir-in two cans of tomato paste. Cook over high heat, uncovered, for about 30 minutes and simmer on the lowest setting, uncovered, for another 30 minutes or until the veggies are tender, but not mushy.
- Turn off the heat. Take three or four of the cooked legs and thighs from the stock we cooked earlier. Pull the chicken pieces off the bone into medium slices, similar to what you'd do for a pulled chicken sandwich or for chicken noodle soup. Stir-in the chicken pieces. Wash and cut a large bunch of parsley and stir it into soup all at once. Stir everything to combine.
- Serve hot to warm!
Video
Notes
You could even prep these veggies a day ahead of time, but I wouldn't recommend any longer than that. Also, be sure to dump the water and wash off the starch the next day if you're going that route. I wouldn't recommend substituting any of the vegetables for different ones.
