Mmm Mmm good!

There's nothing like a bowl of hot soup on a cold day, so this week Brokers Weekly asked the city's busiest to share their favorite soups, and we've even included some recipes.

 

Jacky Teplitzky, managing director at Prudential Douglas Elliman, said Matzo ball soup is her favorite. "It's light, I like the flavor, and it goes with almost everything you eat."

 

Her busy work schedule doesn't allow time to make it herself, but often orders the soup for lunch from Geene's Deli at 26 East 60th Street.

 

Andres Hogg, U.S. head of operations for Espais, loves French Onion soup "because of the European style that I like," he said. "I don't cook much and my wife is even worse than me. When we have dinner out at a restaurant I will ask for it, but only in winter."

 

Juliet Clapp of Citi Habitats claims she makes the best soup ever: homemade pumpkin and squash. "It is so tasty, warm and flavorful ... the texture is more on the thick side, so it feels like a meal," Clapp said.

 

"Soup junkie" Beatriz Vidal of Citi Habitats will have any soup as long as it's served hot, she said. Her favorite tomato comes from an Upper West Side restaurant called Pomodoro. "It's served in a scooped out loaf of bread and it's dreamy! I pass Pomodoro daily on my way home from work, and I sometimes call the restaurant in advance to make sure it's ready for me to pick up. It's a guilty pleasure of mine that I can't get enough of," she said.

 

Anna Zarro of Citi Habitats loves Avgolemono soup from either Mike's Diner in Astoria or Green Kitchen on 77th Street and First Avenue. It's a "creamy and lemony" Greek soup with orzo pasta, chicken, and vegetables, she said. Zarro enjoys it most with a lot of pepper. "I crave it in cold weather and when I am sick or down, it's a great comfort food," said Zarro.

 

David Feldman of Citi Habitats said his favorite will always be New England Clam Chowder from Friendly's, "of all places."

 

"It brings back great memories of skiing up and down the east coast with my family," he said. "We would all just be wiped out from the slopes, and I even remember breaking up the crackers into the soup to make it more substantial.

 

Elena Sarkissian, vice president at CORE Group Marketing, is originally from Greece and enjoys the traditional Greek soup, Avgolemono.

 

"I grew up eating it and it's not heavy," she said. "I have made it myself, but it's not as good as my grandmother's."

 

JP Forbes of the Corcoran Group said, "I'm not that complex. My favorite soup is Cream of Tomato. It's like comfort food and reminds me of cold winter days." Forbes suggested Sarahbeth's Kitchen in the Upper West Side for great Cream of Tomato.

 

Scott Palatnik of Citi Habitats' makes his own split pea soup. "It is an old favorite of mine from my childhood (like Campbell's but, umm, urnrn so much better!)" He's been working on the recipe for years and said there's "no better way to warm yourself up after a long cold day" than with his soup.

 

Palatnik brought Brokers Weekly a sample of his split pea soup with bacon and it was delicious. Thanks Scott!

 

Kris Sylvester, also of Citi Habitats, might have to battle it out for best split pea soup with Palatnik. He said his mom's soup is the best.

 

"A good friend and I successfully duplicated it, so much so that we had a fight over sharing the soup that was left over from a big batch we made. She would not let me take any home," Sylvester said.

 

"As a Feng Shui practitioner and a student of traditional Chinese medicine, I am very aware of the seasons and how they affect the rhythm of our bodies," said Debra Duneier, senior associate broker with The Corcoran Group.

 

"Our bodies need to rest in the winter, so that we can bloom in the spring with renewed energy. One way of resting our body is to eat soup. Not only does it warm us up, but is easy to digest."

 

Joyce Mincheff at Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy has a delicious soup recipe great for busy brokers that's quick and easy to make. "I adapted it from a recipe I saw on Rachel Ray's 30-Minute Meals show. It has an Indian quality to it and you can make it more or less spicy and add any kind of prepared meat you have around, like chicken pieces or beef. I often use shrimp," said Mincheff.

 

After the ingredients simmer for just 10 minutes, Mincheff promised, "you'll have a soup that tastes like you've been cooking for hours."

 

Here's Mincheffs recipes and two other brokers favorites:

 

Joyce Mincheff's Spicy Garbanzo Soup

 

2 cans of garbanzo beans

1 can of tomatoes (preferably fire roasted) 1/2 medium chopped onion

1.5 cups of chicken broth

2 cloves of garlic

Olive oil

1.5 cups of cooked chicken, meat or shrimp (Optional)

Spices: salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, coriander (cayenne pepper if desired)

 

Add the garlic to the garbanzo beans and either blend or put them through the food processor.

Saut‚ the onions in a bit of olive oil. Add the garbanzo beans to the onions and saut‚ a little longer while stirring. Add the spices. Add the tomatoes. Add the broth.

 

(Optional) Add steamed shrimp, cooked chicken or beef pieces.

 

Let it simmer about 10 minutes.

 

Debra Duneier's Chicken Soup Night-time Recipe

 

1 large onion or 2 small

1 leek

1 turnip

1 parsnip

Cilantro

Dill

Carrots

Chicken

1 package of Manischewitz soup mix (hold back the bow ties for later)

 

* If you would like a touch of Asia, add fresh grated ginger to the soup recipe

 

Cook to a boil and then cover on a very low light for 2 hours. Remove veggies (except for carrots 1 inch pieces)

 

Put in a blender the turnip and parsnip and puree-return to soup.

 

Remove chicken and throw bones away. Add the bow ties. Put chicken pieces back in the soup. It is okay to leave chicken wings as is.

 

Leave the very hot pot covered and let it sit overnight. In the morning, pot should still be warm. Turn the covered pot on low as soon as you get up.

 

Follow recipe for Matzo balls on matzo ball mix box. Add 4 tablespoons of plain seltzer. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Make your balls and put them into the boiling soup.

 

When the Matzo balls are done take the cover off of the pot and let the soup cool. If you are serving on this day, enjoy! For the next day, refrigerate and skim fat off of the top. Warm, salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

 

Scott Palatnik's Split Pea Soup

 

Split Pea w/ Bacon

6 cups water, vegetable, or chicken stock

1 lb. split peas (washed and rinsed)

1/4 lb. bacon (cut into small pieces)

1 carrot (diced)

1 parsnip (diced)

1 medium yellow onion (diced)

*salt & pepper to taste

*garnish with fresh chopped dill

 

Bring all ingredients to a boil in large pot. Boil for two minutes then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 20 to 45 minutes or until peas are tender, stir occasionally.