Tag Archives: Soup

Fasolada (White Bean Soup)

Regional/Traditional, , , , ,

Name: Joann Ryding
Class Year: 1976
Country of Residence: Greece

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

Fasolada (white bean soup) was the first local recipe I learned to make when I moved to Greece 30 years ago and my Greek husband still says I make the best fasolada he’s ever eaten. Fasolada is Greece’s emblematic national dish, served through the millennia, and it continues to  be a weekly family staple from Fall through Spring. Although it used to be known as the ‘poor man’s meat,’ sustaining Greek families in times of hardship, it was always recognized as a delicious and healthy source of protein and is as popular today as it’s ever been. 

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Gazpacho

Regional/Traditional, , , ,

Name: Vennie Muenzen
Class Year: 2010
Country of Residence: USA

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

I grew up in Bulgaria where I spent the spring break and summers helping my grandma in her garden. I hold vivid memories of planting seeds in pots in the greenhouse we had constructed and waiting for the stems to show so we can plant next the tomatoes and cucumbers in the garden. We made traditional Bulgarian Shopska salads with fresh tomatoes, red bell pepper, cucumbers, white brine cheese, and parsley.

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Chicken Meatball Soup

Home Cooking, ,

Name: Victoria Breck*
Class Year: 2008
Country of Residence: Belgium

* Victoria is one of this competition’s judges, so this recipe will not be considered – it’s simply delicious, and needs to be shared!

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

I was desperate to use up the crumbs from a bag of pizza dough crackers (so salty and delicious), so I started thinking about recipes that would involve meatballs… that day we went shopping and found minced chicken (relatively unusual for Belgium!) so we snatched it up, and threw together this soup. It has now become on regular rotation at our house. It’s so deep in flavour, if you do have the Parmesan rind don’t skip it, the broth becomes liquid gold. This soup is also very versatile, I have purposely not put amounts because you can really work with what you have, or what combination of vegetables you prefer.

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