How to Make an Old Fashioned Eggplant Stew Or an Amish Cheese Soup

By Linda Carol Wilson

Here are a couple of recipes for some good soup and stew. This Amish recipe is from the Old Order Amish and uses the vegetables onion, carrots, and celery which gives this soup extra flavor and vitamins. The Eggplant Stew is an old Syrian family tradition. Whether you want a simple Amish Cheese Soup or something a little different with Eggplant Stew, be sure to add these recipes to your soup recipe files.

AMISH CHEESE SOUP
This is an old Old Order Amish recipe.

1/4 cup chopped onion
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Cook carrots and celery in boiling water until tender. Do not drain. Melt butter in large saucepan and add onion; cook until tender. Stir in flour and blend well. Gradually add the milk and chicken broth. Add the carrots and celery. Cook, stirring, until thickened. Stir in the cheese and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted.

Yield: 6 servings

SYRIAN EGGPLANT STEW
I got this recipe years ago from a lady in the Ft. Worth, Texas area. It was an old Syrian family favorite her grandmother had made for her.

1 large eggplant
3 or 4 garlic cloves
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cans tomatoes
1 cup water
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp fresh parsley
1 tbsp capers, rinsed
1/3 cup Greek olives, pitted

Prepare this dish in a large, heavy Dutch oven.

Peel and crush garlic. Cut eggplant into cubes and lay out on a clean kitchen towel. Salt eggplant and let sit for 10 minutes. Heat the olive oil in the Dutch oven. Saute garlic in the medium-hot oil until it just starts to brown; remove from the pan. Add the eggplant to the pan and saute for 10 minutes. Add the onion and saute for another 10 minutes or until onion is getting soft. Add the tomatoes and water. And additional salt and pepper to taste. Simmer mixture for 30 minutes on low heat. Add the capers and olives. Add the parsley just before serving.

Note: Serve a hot crusty bread with this stew. Also, this stew is great as leftovers.

Enjoy!

For more of my old fashion recipe collection visit my blog at http://grandmasvintagerecipes.blogspot.com. For more of Linda's recipes and diabetic information go to http://diabeticenjoyingfood.squarespace.com.