Hearty Tomato-Vegetable Soup

I love the “everything but the kitchen sink” aspect of this soup — you can add extra veggies or skip some when you’re out. It’ll still be delicious and flavorful!

• 2 jars marinara sauce
• 1 cup corn (fresh, frozen, or canned)
• 1 bag frozen cauliflower
• chopped carrots, celery, and onion
• 1 small sweet potato, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 2 squash, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 bag frozen broccoli (add at the end)

Pour marinara into a large pot. Fill each jar with water and add to the pot. Add all veggies except the broccoli. Cook for 3–4 hours, or until veggies are soft. Add frozen broccoli in the last 30 minutes of cooking.

—Sarah Faygie Berkowitz, columnist

Soup, Onion Rolls, and Cherry Pie Squares

I usually made a vegetable soup of some sort for after the fast. My family likes minestrone — a soup packet plus loads of diced veggies: carrots, onions, celery, zucchini, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Nothing extraordinary, but filling and good after a fast! I sometimes make challah too, and use some dough for mini onion rolls.

I also often make cherry pie squares (from Dining In) as a fast-breaker.

—Faigy Grossman, recipe columnist

Brynie’s Onion Board

This recipe ran in FF years ago. Serve smothered in cream cheese or topped with cheese, sliced tomatoes, and a wisp of salt. Can I get a yum?! Brings me back to the bungalow-colony days of my youth, buying onion board and other baked goods out of the back of a truck. Bonus points for freezing beautifully.

Yields 1 large onion board and 1 small onion board; total 10–12 servings

• ¼ recipe challah dough
• 1½ large onions, diced (sauté if you prefer)
• paprika, to taste
• kosher salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• poppy seeds, to taste
• 3–4 Tbsp oil

Mix together onions, spices, and oil in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside. Roll out dough into one large rectangle and one smaller rectangle. Press down with your fingers around the perimeter of the rectangle about an inch from the edge to form a rim (similar to the edge of a pizza). Smear each rectangle with the onion mixture.

Let rise for half an hour. Halfway through the rising, preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake for 30 minutes, rotating trays midway through the baking time.

—Esther Kurtz, copy editor

Quinoa Rolls

We make heaven quinoa rolls from my cookbook Cooking Inspired.

—Estee Kafra

Babka Like Never Before

My marrieds wait for this and the soup that I send to them after every fast. It’s a chazakah many times over! I’ve tried this with white spelt flour and coconut oil, and it was light, fluffy, and absolutely delicious.

Yields 3 large babkas (approximately 10 slices each)

• 1½ cups very warm water
• ¼ cup sugar
• 50 g (2 oz) fresh yeast, or 2 Tbsp + 1½ tsp dry yeast
• 1½ cups warm soy milk (low sugar, regular, or vanilla)
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 egg yolks (save the whites for the glaze)
• additional ⅓ cup sugar
• 9 cups flour (I use whole wheat pastry), or more if necessary
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 rounded Tbsp dough enhancer (optional)
• ⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp oil

Filling

• 1½ cups sugar
• 2 full Tbsp cinnamon
• scant ½ cup cocoa powder

Streusel

• ¼ cup oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ⅔ cup confectioners’ sugar
• ½ cup + 2 Tbsp flour

In a mixing bowl, dissolve 1/4 cup sugar in water. Add fresh yeast and let proof for 15 minutes in the covered bowl. (If using dry yeast, proof for 5 minutes.) Add soy milk, vanilla, yolks, additional ⅓ cup sugar, and half of the flour. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the salt, dough enhancer, oil, and remainder of the flour. Continue kneading for 10 minutes until a soft, smooth, and elastic dough is formed.

Put a little oil in a large garbage bag. Pour dough into the bag, covering it with oil. Tie it closed. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Mix filling ingredients together in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together streusel ingredients until you have a sand-like consistency.

Punch dough down. Divide into three even parts, then divide each part into two. Roll each part into a medium-sized rectangle. Brush surface lightly with oil. Sprinkle generously with filling. Roll up jelly-roll style. Twist two pieces together to form a babka, pinching the ends closed, and place in a standard-size loaf pan lined with parchment paper.

Brush tops with reserved egg whites (freeze the rest for later use; I add it to omelets or kugels) and sprinkle with streusel topping. Let rise for 45 minutes.

Toward the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Place babkas in the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until done. Remove from pan after 5 minutes, and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

—Brynie Greisman, recipe columnist

Mock Asparagus Soup

Toward the end of any fast day in my house, my teenagers — like most others — are busy experimenting with recipes for all the foods they’ve been craving all day. I try to find a little corner of the kitchen to prepare the “boring food” — a good soup, a big salad, and homemade rolls or bread from the bread machine.

Fast-forward a few hours later, and the cheesy creations are sitting there half-eaten, while everyone’s asking for seconds and thirds of the soup…

This soup is an old recipe from my mother, and don’t ask me why it’s not called Celery Squash soup or Green Vegetable Soup. Maybe Mock Asparagus sounds fancier?

The amounts here are in no way scientific. Any amount of these vegetables will give you a delicious, wholesome soup that’s really easy!

• oil, for sautéing
• 4 onions, sliced into circles
• 1 head garlic, chopped
• 5 squash, unpeeled, cut into big pieces
• 1 bunch celery, cut into sticks
• 4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 kohlrabi (optional)
• 1 bag fresh dill
• salt, pepper, and ground herbs (parsley, basil, cilantro), to taste

Sauté onions with garlic until soft. Add squash, celery, potatoes, dill, and kohlrabi (if using) and continue to sauté for 20 minutes over low heat, until soft.

Add seasonings and raise the heat, stirring for 2–3 minutes. (I always add salt twice, because this soup tastes really bland if it’s not salted well.)

Add water to cover the vegetables. If you like a thicker soup, just cover the veggies. If you like a more watery consistency, cover another 2–3 inches past the veggies.

Bring to a boil, then lower the flame and cook for 45 minutes. (You can leave it cooking for an hour or more, as long as the flame is on low.) Blend with an immersion blender and serve hot with fresh bread. (This goes really well with melted cheese, too.)

—Nomee Shaingarten, chief digital and marketing officer

Onion Soup with Depth

During the summer, I rarely serve soup. But at the end of a long fast day, there’s something comforting about delicious, filling soup — and this one is our favorite. Onion soup is always popular, but I’ve found many recipes to be somewhat flat. This version has several interesting additions that give it a robust flavor and rich color.

• 4 Tbsp butter or olive oil
• 6 large yellow onions, diced
• 4 large red onions, diced
• 2 tsp salt
• 10 cups water
• 2 Tbsp pareve chicken soup mix
• 2 pareve beef bouillon cubes
• 1 cup red wine (if making during the Nine Days, omit)
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Melt butter (or heat olive oil) in a large pot. Add yellow and red onions and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 40 minutes or until onions are caramelized and a golden-brown color.

Dissolve the chicken soup mix and beef bouillon cubes in hot water. Add to pot along with water, wine (if using), and seasoning. Cook for 30–60 minutes over low heat. Remove bay leaves and add balsamic vinegar. Cook for 5 more minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese, and croutons or crusty bread.

—Bassi Gruen, managing editor

Dina’s Spinach-Onion Quiche

While I take 0% credit for this recipe, that’s also a sign of how good it is — no tweaks necessary whatsoever! Feel free to make it without the crust for a less rich version.

• 3 onions, diced
• 1 Tbsp oil or butter
• 10 oz (280 g) or ¾ lb bag frozen spinach, defrosted
• 1 lb (450 g) cottage cheese
• 2 eggs
• ½–1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 8 slices Muenster cheese
• 2 frozen pie crusts

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Sauté 3 onions in oil or butter. Once translucent, add in frozen spinach. In a separate bowl, combine cottage cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, and cheese. Mix spinach-onion mixture into the cheese mixture and stir to combine.

Pour into frozen crusts and bake for 45–50 minutes.

—Rivki Rabinowitz, editor, Family Room