Vegetarian Kubbeh in Beet Soup
A vibrant, sweet-and-sour Kurdish-Jewish soup filled with tender semolina semolina dumplings stuffed with savory mushrooms and walnuts.
Ingredients
- •1 cup fine semolina (160g)
- •0.5 cup water (120ml)
- •0.5 teaspoon salt
- •1 tablespoon olive oil
- •2 cups button mushrooms, finely chopped (200g)
- •1 medium onion, finely chopped
- •0.5 cup walnuts, finely chopped (60g)
- •0.25 teaspoon black pepper
- •4 medium beets, peeled and cut into wedges
- •2 tablespoons lemon juice
- •1 tablespoon sugar
- •6 cups water or vegetable broth (1.5 liters)
- •2 cloves garlic, minced
- •2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or dill
Instructions
- 1
In a bowl, mix the semolina, salt, olive oil, and water to form a soft, pliable dough. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
- 2
Heat a splash of olive oil in a skillet and sauté the chopped onion until translucent.
- 3
Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until their moisture evaporates. Stir in the walnuts, a pinch of salt, and black pepper, then remove from heat and let cool.
- 4
In a large pot, combine the beet wedges, minced garlic, lemon juice, sugar, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the beets begin to soften.
- 5
Wet your hands, take walnut-sized portions of the semolina dough, flatten them into discs, place a teaspoon of the mushroom filling in the center, and seal into oval dumplings.
- 6
Gently drop the kubbeh dumplings one by one into the simmering beet soup.
- 7
Cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes until the dumplings float and are tender, and the soup turns a deep, rich ruby red color.
- 8
Garnish with fresh parsley or dill before serving hot.
💡 Chef tips
- Keep your hands slightly damp while shaping the kubbeh so the dough does not stick to your fingers.
- You can freeze the uncooked kubbeh dumplings on a tray before transferring them to a bag, and drop them directly into the boiling soup later.
- Adjust the lemon juice and sugar at the end of cooking to achieve your preferred balance of sweet and sour flavor.
✅ How it should turn out
The soup is brilliantly crimson, tangy, and sweet, filled with tender, gelatinous semolina dumplings bursting with a savory mushroom and walnut center.