One of the things I like most about Sephardic food is the enveloping aroma of warm spices that just screams comfort food. It’s like a cure for everything, from physical to mental.
Besides the Jewish-Lebanese-Syrian food we ate at home, we were exposed to a variety of different Sephardic cuisines. The first time we tasted a Yemenite soup was seven years ago, and we still remember the warming comforting spiced broth, that we could not get enough of.
Yemenite soup is typically made with hawaij, a spice mix that combines black pepper, cumin, cardamom, cloves, turmeric and coriander. For the Yemenite Vegetarian soup we made today, we used a mixture of turmeric, cumin, coriander and black pepper. We added a whole bunch of veggies and some enoki mushrooms for texture. The result is a warming, comforting and satisfying soup perfect for any occasion.
If you have a particular spice you love, or feel like getting creative, you can absolutely play around with the basic hawaij and make it your own!
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Vegetarian Yemenite Soup Recipe
Yemenite soup is typically made with hawaij, a spice mix that combines black pepper, cumin, cardamom, cloves, turmeric and coriander. We added a whole bunch of veggies and some enoki mushrooms for texture. The result is a warming, comforting and satisfying soup perfect for any occasion.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: Serves 6-8
Ingredients
- 1 medium celeriac (celery root), cubed (about 3 cups), divided
- 4–5 medium carrots, sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1 ½ cups cubed butternut squash
- 1 medium onion, cut into eight pieces (about 1 cup)
- 1 medium parsnip, sliced (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cubed (about 1 cup)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 10 oz enoki mushrooms, roots removed
Instructions
- Combine half the celery root, the carrots, onions and garlic in the food processor and pulse until chopped very small.
- Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add chopped vegetables and cook over medium high heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add tomato paste, salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander and pepper and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add 8 cups water, bring to a boil and add the rest of the celery root, butternut squash and the potatoes.
- Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 35-40 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Add enoki mushrooms and let it sit, covered for 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Yemenite
- Diet: Vegetarian
Can I freeze this soup?
We haven’t tested freezing this soup but please let us know how it turns out if you do