Um, yeah. Moldovan Chicken Soup (or Zeama) is THE BEST THING EVER.
And so totally easy. I keep saying this about many of the things I’ve cooked so far for this blog, but I will be making this recipe all of the time. Trust me – it’s a winner.
All ingredients for this meal were purchased at Findlay Market.
Both recipes in this post are adapted from PapaBuna.com.
Traditional Chicken Noodle Soup – ZEAMA
The original recipe calls for fresh, handmade noodles.
I used angel hair pasta from Ohio City Pasta (Findlay Market location); you can find a recipe for homemade noodles under the Miscellaneous category on Papabuna.com.
Fresh herbs are essential here. I’m sure you would end up with a tasty soup if you use dried, but it would be a significantly different thing…
Ingredients:
- 1 smaller whole chicken (about 3lb), cut up
- about 12 cups (3 quarts) water
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 medium onion
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 big fresh tomato
- about 2 cups homemade egg noodles
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped medium celery stalk (reserve celery leaves, if any)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill weed
- 3-4 small branches fresh thyme
Instructions:
- Saute the onion and carrots until soft in a dutch oven or deep stock pot. Add the chicken and water then bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium-low heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour (will depend on chicken). Skim any froth.
- Add salt, black pepper, tomato and celery.
- Cook for 5 minutes. Add the egg noodles and lemon juice.
- Continue cooking on medium-low for about 5 more minutes.
- Add the fresh herbs (including celery leaves, if any).
- Cover, remove from heat. Let stand for at least 30 minutes to let flavors blend.
Serving Suggestion:
Moldovans usually serve Zeama with a traditional corn bread called Mamaliga. My first attempt was a complete failure, but I’ll try again one of these days with this recipe

(image by Todd Farmer)
Moist Cherry Nut Bread
I’m allergic to walnuts and pecans, which is a total annoyance. Some recipes don’t do well with substitutions, but fortunately this one handles change nicely. I used almonds; walnuts are in the original recipe.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 2 cups chopped almonds
- 1 21oz. can cherry pie filling (drained)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1-2 tablespoons vinegar
- powdered sugar to sprinkle on top
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Grease and flour a 13 x 9 baking pan.
- Place milk in a large bowl. Slowly add flour a little at a time, mixing on low.
- Add sugar and mix together well.
- Add beaten eggs, oil, almonds and cherries.
- Place baking soda in a regular tablespoon and spread.
- Slowly pour vinegar on top of baking soda, a little at a time, mixing every now and then, until baking soda stops reacting.
- Pour over the rest of ingredients and mix. Pour into prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden brown. This is moist, so the toothpick test might not be a great guide.
- Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm or cold.

(image by Todd Farmer)
Love the photos, Todd!
Your house, and all the goodies in there, is a great backdrop to take photos in! Looking forward to seeing more 🙂
Love the photos!
And your house, with all the goodies in it, is a great backdrop for your food posts! Looking forward to seeing more
That soup looks yummy! I can almost smell the goodness pouring out. I’ll add it to my list 😉
Indeed! He’s improving this humble little blog immensely.
Todd is now The Official Photographer for The Global Reader.