Eid (or holiday soup) is the name that stuck around after my grandmother started making it on Christmas. After going to church on christmas morning, she served us Eid to warm our bodies from the brisk winter (also because nothing goes to waste in an Arab home) Its customary for my grandmother to pre boil her big cuts of meat whether lamb, beef or chicken. So, whenever she served roasted and stuffed lamb or chicken, she would boil the meat first and reserve the stock to use in this
delicious soup and to flavor the rest of the dishes. In an Arab home during eid (holiday) time, there is always something
stuffed. Whether a meat of choice (often lamb or chicken) or vegetables (grape leaves, eggplants, squash kousa) So, after stuffing her meat and vegetables, my tita was often left with extra hashweh filling. The filling was
often a flavorful rice and spiced minced meat. So, Tita would combine the stock and the leftover hashweh filling to make what came to be called Eid soup. I adjusted the rice hashweh filling to make this soup anytime in the winter,
even when I am not stuffing anything. I make it with mini kiftah meatballs that simmer in the rich golden meat broth. I finish the soup with a
generous sprinkling of parsley just like my grandmother does, and I also
add ground mastic because it has the most luxurious and delicious taste (plus it is the holidays after all!)
And there is nothing a hot bowl of homemade soup doesn’t cure
And nothing can cure what’s ailing you quite like a steamy pot of homemade chicken soup.
So for the recipe I added for you 2 options:
1. Or make the soup with the leftover hasweh rice and meat filling if you have any left over from stuffing your chicken or vegetables. (recipe below)
2. To make the soup with mini meatballs (recipe below)
For the Kiftah meatballs:
To make your own homemade stock:
To make the rice (ruz) hashweh filling:
Eid Soup Scented with Mastic and Served with Kiftah Meatballs
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
Salt and black pepper
I bay leaf
1/2 tsp of ground cardamom
Pinch of nutmeg
4-5 pearls of mastic finely ground with a bit of salt (in a mortar and pestle) so they dont stick
8 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 cup short grain rice (rinsed few times until the water runs clear)
1/2 pound of kiftah recipe shaped into small meatballs (if you are using hashweh filling see recipe notes below).
To garnish you can use: chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, or few snips of chives or fresh dill and few cracks of fresh black pepper.
Mastic: An aromatic gum or resin that exudes from the bark of a Mediterranean tree, used in baked goods, chewing gum and as a flavoring.
Directions:
Bring the chicken stock to boil. Add the aromatics and spices. Season with salt and pepper. Once the stock comes to a boil gently drop the mini meatballs, stir gently so the meatballs take their shape about 1-2 minutes. Grind the mastic with a pinch of salt until it turns into fine powder. Add the rinsed rice, give it a stir, and cook until the rice is tender and the meatballs are cooked through 10-15 min. To finish add the mastic powder and let it simmer for an additional minute or so.
Season to taste with salt and pepper, discard the bay leaf. Serve topped with a few cracks of pepper and snips of fresh parsley
Recipe notes:
If are using a hashweh (rice and meat) leftover filling: omit the rice and the meatballs in the recipe.
You can then add the hashweh filling after the chicken stock comes to a boil. And once its cooked through about 15 minutes add your mastic. And serve with a squeeze of lemon and fresh chopped parsley.
Enjoy