Lebanese Vegetable Soup
As far as soups go, my mom's Lebanese vegetable soup is by far my favorite. It's one she makes me often and one I'll take over chicken noodle in a heartbeat. That's how good it is. I mean everyone agrees chicken noodle soup is pretty amazing and I certainly agree. But this soup surpasses it for me. It consists of hearty potatoes, carrots, and zucchini all in a flavorful tomato broth. It's tremendously healthy and tasty. You just can't beat that combination. To make it extra hearty, we add chicken but if you want to make it a pure veggie soup, it's versatile enough to do so. This soup is perfect when it's cold out, so let's make it together and warm up!
How to Make My Mom's Lebanese Vegetable Soup:
Prep the Veggies:
- This soup contains kusa (also known as Mexican Grey Squash), Russet potatoes (also known as Idaho Potatoes) and whole carrots (the sweet, regular kind). If you're unable to find kusa, use regular zucchini. It works just as well.
- Set aside a large bowl. Wash then cut the ends off the kusa. Then cut in half lengthwise, then in half again and then slice up the zucchini until you get small crescent-like pieces. Place them in your large bowl.
- Peel, wash and cut the carrots the same way as the kusa. For the potatoes, you'll want peel them and then cube them into a medium dice and add them and the carrots to the bowl with the kusa.
- Pour cold water over the veggies to cover and then set them aside.
Make the Chicken Stock:
What makes this soup so tasty is the homemade chicken stock, but you can also use store-bought chicken or vegetable stock (if you want to make it vegetarian).
- Use around eight chicken leg quarters. Make sure to clean and wash the chicken really, really well first. Pat them dry and place them in a very large stockpot. (Note: as all Lebanese moms do, she makes large batches for her large family and there's still leftovers for days. So, if you have a small family or don't want some leftovers for the freezer, I suggest you halve this recipe.)
- 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 one large red onion cut into large chunks.
- Add more than enough cold water to cover everything. The pot should be about ¾ full. Leave this uncovered to cook over high heat for about an hour and fifteen minutes. (If you halve this recipe, it'll only need about 45 minutes to an hour.) About halfway through, remove the fat off the top that has began to form by using a spoon to spoon it out and discard.
- After the cooking time is up, set up another pot. Pour your veggies into a large sieve to drain from the water. Pour the veggies into your new pot. Place the same large sieve over the top of your new pot. Use tongs to remove the pieces of chicken and set them aside in a large bowl. Carefully pour out the stock through the sieve into your veggie pot. You can also carefully ladle out the stock into the new pot. Just be careful because the stock will be very hot. The sieve will catch all the rest of the ingredients which you can discard.
Cooking the Soup:
- 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 because this is all the flavoring and essence of the soup, including the salt. Stir in two cans of tomato paste. Cook for about over high heat until it reaches a boil, then turn to the lowest setting to simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the veggies are melt in your mouth tender, but not mushy.
Garnish and Enjoy:
- Turn off the heat. Take three or four of the cooked quarters from the stock we cooked earlier. Pull the chicken pieces off the bone into medium shreds, similar to what you'd do for a pulled chicken sandwich but much thicker. Add the shredded chicken pieces into the soup.
- Wash and cut a large bunch of parsley and chop roughly. Add this to your soup off the heat as well. After the chicken and parsley are in, give everything one last stir and taste. If you're happy with the seasoning, it's ready to serve! Allow it to cool slightly and then enjoy 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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Lebanese Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
Veggie Prep:
- 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
Chicken Stock:
- 8 Chicken Leg Quarters Skin On, Bone In
- 5-6 dry whole bay leaves
- 4 dry whole cinnamon sticks
- 7-8 cardamom seeds
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 large red onion large quarter chunks
- cold water to cover
Soup:
- 3 large tablespoons Vegeta seasoning
- 2 6 ounce cans tomato paste
- chicken stock we made You can also use store-bought chicken or veggie stock. Enough to cover the vegetables.
Garnish:
- 1 large bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley rough chop
- Shredded Chicken from Chicken Stock
Instructions
Prep the Veggies:
- Set aside a large bowl. Wash then cut the ends off the kusa. Then cut in half lengthwise, then in half again and then slice up the zucchini until you get small crescent-like pieces. Place them in your large bowl.
- Peel, wash and cut the carrots the same way as the kusa. For the potatoes, you'll want peel them and then cube them into a medium dice and add them and the carrots to the bowl with the kusa.
- Pour cold water over the veggies to cover and then set them aside.
Chicken Stock:
- Use around eight chicken leg quarters. Make sure to clean and wash the chicken really, really well first. Pat them dry and place them in a very large stockpot. (Note: as all Lebanese moms do, she makes large batches for her large family and there's still leftovers for days. So, if you have a small family or don't want some leftovers for the freezer, I suggest you halve this recipe.)
- 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 one large red onion cut into large chunks.
- Add more than enough cold water to cover everything. The pot should be about ¾ full. Leave this uncovered to cook over high heat for about an hour and fifteen minutes. (If you halve this recipe, it'll only need about 45 minutes to an hour.) About halfway through, remove the fat off the top that has begun to form by using a spoon to spoon it out and discard.
- After the cooking time is up, set up another pot. Pour your veggies into a large sieve to drain from the water. Pour the veggies into your new pot. Place the same large sieve over the top of your new pot. Use tongs to remove the pieces of chicken and set them aside in a large bowl. Carefully pour out the stock through the sieve into your veggie pot. You can also carefully ladle out the stock into the new pot. Just be careful because the stock will be very hot. The sieve will catch all the rest of the ingredients which you can discard.
Cooking the Soup:
- 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 because this is all the flavoring and essence of the soup, including the salt. Stir in two cans of tomato paste. Cook for about over high heat until it reaches a boil, then turn to the lowest setting to simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the veggies are melt in your mouth tender, but not mushy.
Garnish and Enjoy:
- Turn off the heat. Take three or four of the cooked quarters from the stock we cooked earlier. Pull the chicken pieces off the bone into medium shreds, similar to what you'd do for a pulled chicken sandwich but much thicker. Add the shredded chicken pieces into the soup.
- Wash and cut a large bunch of parsley and chop roughly. Add this to your soup off the heat as well. After the chicken and parsley are in, give everything one last stir and taste. If you're happy with the seasoning, it's ready to serve! Allow it to cool slightly and then enjoy it warm.
Video
Notes
- You could even prep these veggies a day ahead of time, but I wouldn't recommend any longer than that.
- You can use Kusa or another variety of zuccinin is fine.
- You can use the homemade chicken stock or use store-bought chicken stock.
- You can use vegetable stock and leave out the chicken if you want to make this a vegeterian soup.
