This is something that I had to make. This is something that I’ve wanted to make for a long time. This is the one thing that I’ve really been missing since going vegan. Yup, Kubbeh soup.
My Iraqi grandmother was one of the most amazing cooks ever. I have fond memories of going to her house on Sunday, and while my father and grandfather spent the time playing backgammon, my grandmother would cook for me and my brother. My grandmother didn’t speak any English, and we didn’t speak any Arabic, so we spent our time with her communicating in a type of sign language and eating. A lot of love went into everything she prepared.
Before going vegan, I used to buy the ready made kubbeh and just make a tomato vegetable soup to go with it. It was really easy to do, and my family loved it. Making it always reminded me of my grandmother. I know that it was a shortcut, and my grandmother wouldn’t be caught dead using the store bought stuff, but it just saved so much time!
A while back I went to a cafe that offered a vegetarian version, so I knew that it was possible, but I left it at that. It was really good, but I never thought that I would go to the effort of actually making it myself. Then I became vegan.
I missed it too much not give it a try. I am so happy that I did. It’s really yummy in general, but for me it has such strong memories that I just couldn’t live without it.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
Kubbeh Soup
This is a great treat from my Iraqi childhood.
Ingredients
- Dough
- bulgur - 2 cups
- semolina - 2 cups
- salt - 1 teaspoon
- water - warm
- Filling
- olive oil - 2 tablespoons
- onion - 1 large, chopped
- garlic - 2 clove, minced
- shitake mushrooms - 2 cups
- mushrooms - 2 cups
- pine nuts - 2 tablespoons
- parsley - 2 tablespoons, fresh, chopped
- salt - 1/2 teaspoon
- Soup
- olive oil - 2 tablespoons
- onion - 1 large, chopped
- garlic - 2 cloves, minced
- carrots - 2 large, chopped
- kishuim - 2 large, chopped
- celery stalk - 1, chopped
- parsley - 2 springs, chopped
- tomato paste - 1 can
- lemon juice - 1 tablespoon
- water - 8 cups
Instructions
Dough:
- Pour warm water over bulgur and let sit an hour to absorb.
- Squeeze out extra water and add salt and semolina and kneed into a dough.
Filling:
- Heat oil.
- Add onions, garlic and mushrooms and cook until onions are translucent.
- Add rest of the ingredients and cook until parsley is wilted.
Assembly:
- Roll dough into balls.
- Make a well with your thumb.
- Fill with 1-2 teaspoons of filling and seal.
Soup:
- Heat oil.
- Add vegetables and cook until onions are translucent.
- Add rest of the ingredients and bring to boil.
- Gently add kubeh to soup and cook for an hour.
- Serve.
I won’t tell you that this soup isn’t a lot of work. It is. Making the balls took time, but it was well worth it. Just like my when my grandmother made them, this is an expression of love. I showed my vegetarian son the kubbeh balls in the fridge and he gave me a big hug. It was worth it just for that. It’s also worth it because it tastes really good.
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That sounds so yummy! I’ve made turkey-kubbeh soup, but the mushroom filling sounds really delectable – way to go!
I think that we had it once when we came to you and I thought you were crazy for doing all that work. It was a lot of work, but it was totally worth it.
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Thanks for sharing! When my kids get to that stage in life when I actually have time to spare (ha!) I will definitely make these! for now, we just stick with kneidlach. (we are so ashkenazi…)
I am 1/2 Iraqi, so for me. this is Jewish Soul Food 🙂 It’s really not that difficult to make. I think I’ll throw together a batch this Friday. I have another 1/2 Iraqi friend that came over to watch me put them together. She was surprised how easy it was.
For me, kneidlach aren’t all that much easier. I make them, but the trick to making them with out eggs is to let them sit a while after they’ve cooked in order for them to harden. After then harden up, I put them back in the soup. They taste exactly the same as the old ones with eggs use to. I have a recipe for them here: http://veganstart.com/soups/vegan-matzo-balls-kneidlach/
Enjoy!
alright, why don’t you guys come for a shabbat and you can bring along your kubbeh so I can taste them!
Let me know!
Sounds wonderfull and will be tried! What are kishuim?
Oops – Kishuim are light-colored zucchini. Let me know how it goes!
Do you have a recipe to make the outer filling gluten free?
Sorry, but I’ve never tried to make them gluten free. The one thing that you might be able to use is rice, and rice flour. I’m not sure how that would come out, but it might be worth a try.
Are they supposed to be very chewy?
Hi Leta,
They are a little chewy, like all Kubbeh. What do you mean by very chewy?
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What is kishuim? I tried spelling it every way I could think of in Hebrew and can’t find it. Thanks.
Kishum (קישואים) is a type of squash. They are like zucchini. You can use them interchangeably. Enjoy!