It is funny how moving across the world can affect the body. In New York City today they are having snow showers and they temperature will go up to a mere 36 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, not too long ago, I would not think that was so bad – 36 is not freezing and some light snow showers are not accompanied by blustery winds - its what I like to call manageable cold, but cold nonetheless. I probably would have made a day like today a soup day in my restaurant. Waht this means is, instead of the standard two choices, I would make four soups for people to choose from. Hearty bisque, a creamy mushroom, chunky vegetable and a stick to the ribs thick pea would be an example of a soup day.

We don’t have many of those days here in Israel – actually, I don’t think we have had any since I got here. But the funny part is my body has adjusted – and although there are no snow showers and the temperature rarely goes down that low, the need for a good and hot soup is still ever-present. Last night was one of those nights. After a beautiful day which saw bright sun and 74 degree Fahrenheit (24 C), the temperature dropped to a blustery 60 degrees (20-21 C) and left a chill in my bones. By the time I got home, all I could think about was closing the windows, turning on the heat and sipping a thick and hearty soup. In the old country (that would be New York circa 2006), when I felt this way, only one soup would do it for me – a rich and creamy split pea with nice chunks of tender beef.

Years ago, the creaminess would come from real cream – as I have always said, there is no substitute for cream and butter – Emeril says it is pork fat that rules, I disagree, it is milk fat that rules and there is no substitute. BUT – using Chef Lagasse’s concept, and switching beef for the pork is a nice way to get the, thickness and creaminess that is so desired in a rich and tasty soup. Collagen, the stuff that comes off the bones of a chicken or roast and turns the gravy you make into Jell-O once it is cooled – the stuff that is responsible for your grandmothers favorite spread, p’tcha – is the secret to making a meat soup taste as creamy as a dairy farm.

When I first started working at Montrachet, one of the grunge jobs I had on my rotation of grunge jobs throughout the kitchen, was to skim the stocks of all their impurities while they were cooking. The foam with all the little bits and pieces in it that resembled roughly grated cinnamon on a cappuccino – the, thick and slick layer of liquefied fat – the brown stuff floating on top (probably bone marrow residue) – that all had to come out until the stock was absolutely clear. Who would have thought that in my future – I would actually relish the cappuccino foam, the Exxon slick and the brown pieces in an effort to make a superb soup (ok fine, keep the brown pieces out). In fine restaurants we made our beef and chicken based soups creamy by adding cream – in kosherland, we cannot do that – so I did the next best thing, and it worked so well the first time I tried it that I worked hard to refine the process and the finished product is one of my favorite soups to eat – hands down – Beef fat (and collagen) rules!. BAMM!!

Try this soup and let me know what you think.

If you use the right beef, it shreds very nicely.

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil

2-3 beef bones – shank slices are great – try to get then ones with little to no marrow

Preparation

Rinse the peas

In a hot soup or stock pot, add the oil and then add the bones. Put the onions in at the same time and sauté them until they are golden (add a drop of salt here to help with the sauté) . Add the carrots and celery and cook them together until the carrots start browning on the edges (add a drop more salt and crack some pepper in as well) – stir frequently as the small pieces can burn easily. Smoke might come up from the bones at this point, do not worry – it is part of the process.

Now add the beef and brown all around (do not worry that it is raw on the inside, just get some color on the outside. Add the flour and develop a Roux. Cook until flour is fully incorporated into the mixture and then add the peas. Stir vigorously until the peas to make sure the peas or flour do not burn. When you think the peas are very hot (about three minutes in the pan) add the water, stir well until all flour is dissolved in the water and cover the pot. Stir occasionally while the soup is boiling to make sure the peas do not stick to the bottom of the pan. After about 25 minutes at a mild-medium boil, the peas should be soft enough to mush up. Take the bones out and using a whisk, whisk well until the soup is thoroughly incorporated. If you have a hand blender, use it instead of the whisk – it gives the soup a very nice texture.

Salt and pepper to taste.

BatayAvon!

Early on in my professional culinary life I worked for a man who was by far the best chef I have ever met. His name was Christopher Lucien File and he owned a Gourmet shop in Forest Hills, NY called Lucien’s (later converted to Dirty Pierre’s French Bistro) - he was the chef and resident personality until he passed away last November. Resembling a biker dude you find at the rest stops along the thruway in the Midwest, he was big, bald and bad - but man could he cook. And once you got to know him you realized he was once of the nicest people you would ever meet - wild tempered in the kitchen, but a pussycat around the customers.

A Le Cordon Bleu trained chef (and back then it was not that easy to get in), he took his love for food and put it into everything he made - down to his leftover chicken salad and roast beef fajitas. One could argue that he was a smart business man in the way he took unsold food and turned into something new, but he was not - his sister Jamie ran the business aspect - he was a man devoted to creating wonderful cuisine and he did so his way.

I mentioned Chris specifically because of his ability to take what was once a wonderful dish in itself and convert it into a new fantastic creation. I learned more from him about conservation than I did anywhere else, and it was because of his innovative use of creativity that did it for me. It was not merely an economical decision, for Chris, it was art - it was life - and I will forever be indebted to him as a skill like that is not taught in any school yet practiced in many businesses. It is a skill that added 20% to my revenues in my restaurant by minimizing waste while not compromising on quality.

A favorite dish for my kids is chicken soup - they love the broth, some like the carrots and squash - yet none of them really eat the chicken that goes into it. If you knew my soup you would know that it is not uncommon for an entire chicken to be the flavoring behind the rich broth. Perhaps one day I will get to that on these pages, but for now I want to focus on what to do with the chicken - and how in the spirit of Chris I make something wonderful out of something wonderful.

The basics of a chicken salad are the vegetables, celery, carrot and onion along with some mayonnaise, salt and pepper. But by doing this you get a tuna salad that tastes like chicken - in all honesty, I used to hate chicken salad growing up - I thought it was nasty and flavorless. But one fine day in Forest Hills Gardens I was tasked with putting together the salad for Lucien’s - plucking the chicken off the bone and cutting it up along with the leftover grilled chicken cutlets to even quarter inch cubes was daunting since he was such a perfectionist, any deviation in size - or any blood spot from the boney area that I might have left out would be grounds for a yelling, and he knew how too do that well. But in making the dish I grew to love it - as I needed to taste it for proper seasoning - and I instantly fell in love. Perhaps it was the thickly sliced crisp bacon cubes in it - ok it was that, it added a sweet smokiness that just stood out. At that point in my young culinary career I learned about contrasting flavors and how something old can become something new - while being something so wonderful.

In New York as in most places in the world, bacon is not kosher, but those who cannot have the forbidden food try so hard to emulate it. I remember as a kid walking into the kosher supermarket and seeing fake shrimp, a nasty concoction of shredded Alaskan Pollack and seasoning shaped like a shrimp and spray-painted red - ugh!! Anyway, in my search for a bacon substitute so I could make so many of my favorite things at home, I came across a product called beef fry - fatty, thin slices of pastrami that tasted ok but lacked the sweetness of pork fat. It took my move to Israel to find a product that does the trick - it’s not the real thing but it is close in its flavor and texture - you just need to do it right.

Leave it to the Israeli’s to come up with a product that emulates the flavor of bacon so wonderfully - who would think that by using a smoked turkey based sausage mixed with beef fat would be an end to my call to kosherize the pig? not me. the product is called kabanose, and I prefer to use the ones made from Zuglebeck as they have the smokiness and fat content down pat. I believe they have this in the States as well now, but if you can get your hands on the Zuglebeck brand do so.

Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad with "fakin bacon" (the chicken here came from a soup - you can use any kind of leftover chicken to make this salad)

1 pound chicken (use leftovers from the grill or a roast or from a soup)

2 celery stalks

1 large carrot

1 medium red onion

1 large white onion

3 long kabanose or 9 minis

3 tbsp. mayonnaise - Hellman’s is the best.

A few sprigs of fresh sage for garnish

Dice the kabanose into 1/4″ pieces and sauté in a hot pan with a drop of oil (most of the oil will come from the kabanose itself so a light spray of Pam will do fine here. Cook this until it is crispy, keeping an eye on it to make sure it does not burn. Take out leaving the oil in the pan and set aside to cool, lower the flame and place pan back on top.

Dice the white onion and sauté in the kabanose oil until it is a deep golden color. While the onion is cooking, debone the cooked chicken (if there are any bones) and cube into 1/4″ pieces.

Take the celery and carrot and red onion and small dice - about 1/8″ x 1/8 x 1/8.

When the onion is done, mix all the ingredients together - add the mayo, then salt and pepper to taste (I like the five blend pepper - you will too). Place in a bowl and garnish with some fresh sage leaves. If you don’t like sage you can garnish by saving a few carrots, celery, red onion and crisped kabanose and garnish with them after you plate.

BatayAvon!