Recipe: Hungarian Vegetable Soup (Ragu Leves)

Dear Sari,

Here is a recipe from the Paprikas Weiss Hungarian Cookbook. It is actually for a ragout, but you could just leave out the chicken and you would have vegetable soup. That's the nice thing about soups -- they are versatile. If you leave the giblets out, I would suggest using chicken stock or broth in place of the water, thus omitting that step. I love Hungarian food! The flavors and spices are so wonderful.

RAGU LEVES

1 pound of chicken or turkey giblets
1 green pepper, cut into 4 pieces, cored and seeded
4 cups of cold water
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons butter or oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 stalk of parsley root, finely chopped, or 2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup very thin noodles (optional)
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Place the chicken or turkey giblets and the green pepper in the saucepan. Add the water and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat for 1 hour.

Heat the butter or oil in the skillet and add the onion, carrots and parsley root or celery. Cover the skillet and steam the vegetables over low heat for 15 minutes, taking care not to let them burn.

Remove the lid, dust with the flour and paprika, and stir. Add 1/2 cup of the giblet broth and simmer to form a thick sauce.

Transfer the ingredients from the skillet into the saucepan. Continue cooking for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Discard the green pepper.

Remove the giblets and cut them into small pieces. Return the giblets to the soup and, if the noodles are to be added, simmer them in the soup for 4 to 5 minutes.

Serve the soup in warm bowls and garnish with parsley.

Enjoy!