Red Kubbeh Soup (Marak Kubbeh Adom)
Back when I lived in Jerusalem I used to hit Mordoch in the Machaneh Yehuda market every Friday for a nice big hearty bowl of kubbe soup. Since moving to Modi’in, I go once every couple of weeks for lunch and certainly not as often as I would like. Now that winter has rolled in and we are experiencing our first cold weekend (well, at least cold for us) I can’t think of better time to make some homemade soup. Since I don’t have the hands, experience or time of a Kurdish grandmother I buy the kubbe (meat filled semolina dumplings) in the frozen section of our local supermarket. There are many brands and not all of them very good. I only go with Yasmin. Their kubbe are better than I have had in some restaurants, though not quite as good as the kubbe I used to get from my Kurdish neighbor many years ago. Since I don’t make the dumplings myself I put all my effort into the broth.
Red Kubbeh Soup (Marak Kubbeh Adom)
Olive oil, 3 Tablespoons
Onion, chopped
Tomato Paste, 3 Tablespoons
Chicken stock, 2 1/2 liters (most Israelis use water and add 2 Tablespoons of chicken bouillon)
Salt, 1 Teaspoon
Pepper, 1/2 Teaspoon
Sweet Paprika, 1 1/2 Teaspoons
Sugar, 1 Tablespoon
Swiss Chard, a bunch of leaves
Lemon Salt, 1 Tablespoon
You have a lot of options for vegetables. I’ve had kubbeh soup with zucchini, squash, celery, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots and beets. Most include chard as well. Since it is now winter here in Israel, I really wanted a sweet and earthy taste so use a lot of beets, carrots and sweet potato. Chard is the most common green used in Kubbeh soup and its bitterness contrasts wonderfully with the sweetness of the vegetables.
Heat the oil in a soup pot and cook the onions, once cooked to your satisfaction add the beets and carrots. Marvel at the color the onions mixed with the beets. Cook for about five minutes and add the tomato paste stirring in order to prevent burning. I usually add the paprika at this point as well.
Add the stock and lower the flame. If you are using zucchini and chard, now would be the time to add it to the pot. Throw in the salt, pepper, sugar, lemon salt ( I don’t use this) and cook down about ten percent.
Add the kubbeh dumplings (either homemade or store bought) and cook for about twenty minutes. The broth will thicken a bit. Take off heat and once the soup is at room temperature, refrigerate and enjoy the next day. Sure you can eat it right away but soups are always better the next day. Especially kubbeh soup. The dumplings nicely absorb the flavor of the broth.
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it’s even better the next day … and day after that … mmm
This is terrific, thanks. That last picture made my mouth water. Kube adom is the best soup I’ve ever had, and my wonderful wife started making it this shabbat! Totally agree that it gets better over a few days…
There’s a great place for it in Talpiot also - Hummus Talpiot.
My pleasure Mick. Enjoy.
I’ve frequented Hummos Talpiot and love their hummus with meat and Ziva loves their hummous with mushrooms. However, I don’t like their kubbe soup so much. I am a loyal Mordoch customer. Hard for me to eat Kubbe soup anywhere else!
OK, finally got around to trying it at Mordoch today… and you are totally right, Harry. When can I take to you to lunch there to thank you - and see how things are going with Ben at Jerusalemite?