Hot Soups

HOT SOUPS
On cold days like those we are having this winter, nothing warms you up better than a bowl of hot home-made soup.

CHICKEN DUMPLING SOUP
Viščiuko sriuba su leistinėliais

1 cup onion, medium diced
1/2 cup celery, medium diced
1/2 cup carrots, medium diced
1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
1 qt. chicken stock
Black pepper, to taste
1 bay leaf
1/2 Tbsp. ground sage
2 Tbsps. parsley, chopped
1 cup diced, cooked chicken breast
8 oz. heavy cream

Saute onions, celery, carrots in butter in a soup pot until very tender. Add flour to make roux. Cook 5 to 6 min­utes on medium heat. Add chicken stock, pepper, bay leaf, sage and pars­ley. Stir until slightly thickened and smooth. Slowly stir heavy cream into soup. Add chicken breast. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Dumplings:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsps. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 tsp. parsley
Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add milk, parsley and dry ingredi­ents together; do not over-mix. Consis­tency should be slightly softer than bis­cuit dough. Drop teaspoon portion into the hot soup about 1 inch apart from each other. Cover pot. Simmer about 20 minutes on medium heat until dumplings are done. (By dipping tea­spoon into hot soup, dumpling will slide off of spoon.)

VEGETABLE SOUP WITH MILK
Baltinta daržovių sriuba

2 lbs. potatoes
1 lb. fresh cabbage
1 lb. carrots
3 Tbsps. butter
2 Tbsps. flour
1 qt. milk

Bay leaf, salt to tasteGrate carrots coarsely and cook in a small amount of water. When they are partly cooked, add cut-up potatoes. Shred cabbage and scald with boiling water to remove bitter taste; add to veg­etables. Saute flour in butter until light brown and add to the soup. Pour in the milk. The soup will be tastier if it will not be allowed to boil after the addi­tion of milk.

MUSHROOM BARLEY SOUP
Grybų ir kruopų sriuba

2 qts. chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley, rinsed and drained
2 carrots, cut into V4-inch dice
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage leaves, or ‘
1/2 tsp. dried
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. oil
1 onion, chopped
10 oz. white mushrooms, trimmed, wiped clean and quartered
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (optional)
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the broth, barley, carrots and sage in a pot. Simmer 40 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the butter and the oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add chopped onion, cook 10 minutes. Add mushrooms, cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 5 min­utes more. Stir the mushroom mixture into the broth; season with salt and pep­per. Simmer, partially covered, for 20minutes. Stir in parsley and serve.The most important element here is not overcooking the barley. Chop a little extra parsley to stir in just before serving.
VEGETABLE SOUP
Daržovių sriuba

1/2 cup peeled and diced carrot
1/2 cup peeled and diced turnip
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/3 cup peeled and sliced onion
1/3 cup butter
2 cups peeled and cubed (V4-inch)potatoes
1 1/2 qts. degreased beef broth*
1/2Tbsp. finely chopped parsley
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

*Use vegetable broth and substitute veg­etable oil for the butter to create a vegetarian soup.

In a pot, combine the carrot, turnip, celery, onion and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes. Add potatoes, cover the pan and simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Add beef broth, cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour. Put parsley, salt and pepper in the bottom of a soup tureen, then pour in hot soup. Serve in bowls or soup plates.

POTATO SOUP
Bulvių sriuba
4 cups potatoes, peeled, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup parsley, chopped fine
16 oz. chicken broth
1 qt. milk or half and half
2 eggs
2 cups flour

Cook potatoes and carrots in a small amount of water until tender. Add chicken broth stock, bring to simmer and add milk stirring only to simmer. Mix eggs and flour with fork to make “lumps”; don’t over mix. Break up big pieces. Sprinkle on top and let simmer stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.