This classic Yemenite white bean soup is designed to be topped with herby, cardamom-rich zhoug. Zhoug is spicy, floral, and very springy — it’s worth a try if you’ve never had it before, even if you’re slightly spice-averse (I recommend using less jalapeno if that’s the case). While you can make this soup with canned beans, if you take the time to cook up beans from scratch and save their cooking liquid, that bean broth adds tons of flavor to the final soup.

Yemenite White Bean Soup with Zhoug ( hot sauce)
Originally published on The Nosher
Serves 6

For the soup-

1 cup dry white/Cannellini beans, or 2 15oz cans (about 3.5-4 cups)
Olive oil, as needed
1 large onion, diced small
1 large leek, diced small
1 carrot, diced small
1 celery, diced small
1 Roma tomato chopped small (or 1 tablespoon tomato paste)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and divided
2 large bay leaves, divided
3 sprigs thyme, leaves removed from stem
10 cups (2.5 Qts) liquid (chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water)
A spoonful of finely chopped parsley or cilantro stems from the zhug
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of ½ a lemon, or to taste

For the zhoug-

5-10 small Jalapenos (5 for mild, 10 for hot), sliced in half and deseeded
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch parsley
1 large clove garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons caraway seeds (optional)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Juice of ½ a lemon
¼ cup oil (a mild neutral oil: light olive oil, sunflower, canola, etc.

Directions:
For the soup:
If using dry beans: soak the beans overnight. In a large pot or in an Instapot, cover the dried beans with 2-3 inches of water. Add a large bay leaf and 4 peeled cloves of garlic to the pot. Simmer beans until tender.

To a large pot add a generous drizzle of olive oil over medium heat, and add the diced onion, leek, carrot, and celery. Sauté the vegetables until softened, about 6-8 minutes. Add the chopped tomato (or tomato paste if using), 2 peeled garlic cloves to the pot, 1 bay leaf, thyme, and chopped herb stems to the pot. Add the liquid to the pot; I like to add a few cups of the bean cooking liquid in addition to the broth if I’ve made the beans from dried. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the cooked or canned beans to the pot and simmer for another 20-25 minutes. Taste, and season accordingly. Turn off the heat, and add the lemon juice.

At this point, you can serve the soup as is. I however prefer to remove about a third of the soup from the pot. I blend the remaining soup until light and creamy. I add the remaining soup back to the pot. This makes the soup smooth and creamy, with pops of beans and vegetables. Serve topped with as much zhug as desired.

For the zhoug:
To a food processor add the deseeded jalapenos, parsley, cilantro, garlic, cardamom, caraway, and salt. Pulse until finely chopped. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also chop the ingredients finely by hand. Transfer the chopped chili and herb mixture to a bowl. Add the oil and lemon juice and stir until combined. Zhoug will last up to 2 weeks in a well-sealed container, or it can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Let me start by saying I broke some rules making this dish (and not just the most obvious one). For one, I made a cheater's version of vegetarian dashi. T

here are also some instant dashi mixes on the market. You can also find instant miso soup at many stores, and if that's your thing go for it. If you are still up for making miso soup from scratch I found this post helpful.

Aside from the lack of the dashi's authenticity, this soup is also a little disorienting from the matzo ball perspective. I'm highly accustomed to matzo balls floating around in chicken broth (or vegetarian chicken-tasting broth). When I took the first taste of this soup I wondered where all the familiar flavors had gone.

Then I took a second bite.

I quickly forgot about tradition and authenticity. This is the merger of two comfort foods from two different culinary cultures.

The sweet umami salty miso broth is happy to host hearty matzo balls (in lieu of soft tofu or shellfish).

The scallions add a refreshing bit of green and bite. I think you could even try out a little fresh dill (gasp!) in this soup.

One note about matzo balls: I'm not a fan of leaden sinkers, but I do like some chew to my matzo balls. You can make your matzo balls however your bubbe made them. If you really don't want to make matzo balls from scratch you can buy matzo ball mixes at the store.

There's a lot of room for controversy in this recipe. When you're making super traditional dishes everyone has a strong opinion about what is right and wrong. It's a little daring, but I was happy to throw out the rules and combine two things that aren't frequently brought together.

This recipe could happen in moments if you take all the cheats you want... or this recipe could take just a little longer and you could make every element authentically and from scratch. However you choose to make it, this merger is a happy one.

Miso Matzo Ball Soup

Serves 4

Makes 10-12 matzo balls

for the matzo balls

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons olive oil (or schmaltz)

½ cup matzo meal

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon soy sauce

½ teaspoon kosher salt

pepper to taste

for the miso soup

1 4-5 inch piece kombu, rinsed (can substitute with an extra sheet of nori)

1 sheet nori

5 cups water

4 tablespoons white miso

2 large scallions, sliced thin

for the matzo balls

In a bowl, beat the eggs and olive oil together. To the egg mixture, add the matzo meal, baking powder, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Mix together until combined. Your mixture should be sticky and wet. Let the matzo ball dough chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before using it.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once the matzo ball dough has chilled and the water is boiling, form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls. Lower the heat to a simmer, and then carefully drop the balls into the simmering water. They will float and begin to expand.

Place a lid on the pot, and simmer the matzo balls for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes turn off the heat, and serve the matzo balls, or let them cool in the liquid, and store them in the fridge until ready to use. Matzo balls can be made 1-2 days ahead of when you intend to serve them.

While the matzo balls are cooking, make the soup.

for the soup

In a medium pot, add the kombu, nori and water. On medium heat, slowly bring the liquid to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes until the seaweed has imparted flavor to the liquid, and the nori is falling apart. Before the water has come up to a simmer, when it is warm and about 100°F, take a few tablespoons of the liquid and combine it in a small bowl with the miso. Stir until smooth and reserve.

After the broth has simmered for 10 minutes, remove the kombu and nori from the pot. The nori may fall apart a little and that's ok; the seaweed sediment adds flavor. On low heat, whisk the reserved miso mixture into the pot. Add the onions to the pot. Simmer the soup for another 2-3 minutes, but be careful not to boil the miso.

to assemble the dish

Ladle the miso soup into bowls. Serve 2-3 matzo balls per bowl.