In the JNF Kitchen: Kubbeh soup, a dumpling delicacy

Our recipe this week is the creation of Shaul Levy, president of the Israeli Art Association. For the past few years, Shaul has collaborated with JNF to promote Israeli artists, primarily young adults and artists with special needs. A former CEO of a marketing consulting firm, Shaul stepped down five years ago to devote his time to keeping the Israeli art market alive, a move inspired in part as a reaction to the BDS movement. Shaul is devoted to help keep the Israeli art market alive. On the side, he loves to cook traditional food for Shabbat.

This dish, kubbeh, consists of semolina dumplings that contain a rich and tasty filling of meat, and is usually eaten within a red soup filled with nutritious vegetables. (Vegetarians and vegans can replace meat filling with any vegetarian filling.)

Enjoy this #RecipeOfTheWeek, and if you make any of these recipes, be sure to send a photo of your creation to teddyherzl18@gmail.com or tweet it to @JNFUSA with the hashtag #JNFfoodie. We might share it!  

Ingredients

Semolina dumplings:

3 cups semolina 1 cup water 1.5 teaspoons of salt

Dumpling filling: 350 grams (three-quarters of a pound) ground meat Cup chopped parsley Large onion, finely chopped Half teaspoon salt One-third teaspoon black pepper

The red soup:
3 beets
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3 carrots cut into rings
5 stalks of celery (and a few leaves)
1 small potato (optional)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Water (up to 3/4 the size of the pot - so that there is room for dumplings)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon lemon salt (or juice from two fresh lemons)
1.5 teaspoons plain salt

Directions

Prepare the soup: peel the beets and cook in boiling water until softened. Remove from the water, cut them into slices. Return them to the water and add the rest of the vegetables and spices (carrots, celery, potatoes, onions, black pepper, sugar). Cook for 30 minutes.

Prepare the filling for the dumplings: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and let sit for 15 minutes to marinate.

Prepare the dumplings: In a large bowl, put 3 cups of semolina, add the salt and stir. Add the water gradually until you get a smooth, soft paste - let the mixture rest for a few minutes.

Take a ping pong-sized ball from the semolina and with wet hands make a ball, spread it flat on your palm (as thin as possible), fill it with meat and close the semolina back up. See video below for reference!

Tip: After the dumplings are ready and before putting them in the soup, it is recommended to place them in the freezer (10-15 minutes) to maintain the shape of their ball.

After the vegetables have been cooked for about 30 minutes, put the dumplings in the soup (only when the water is boiling well) for about an hour.

Serve two dumplings and vegetables of all kinds per bowl.