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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:

1. 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.
2. Add salt, black pepper, tomato and celery.
3. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the egg noodles and lemon juice.
4. Continue cooking on medium-low for about 5 more minutes.
5. Add the fresh herbs (including celery leaves, if any).
6. 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

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:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 baking pan.
3. Place milk in a large bowl. Slowly add flour a little at a time, mixing on low.
4. Add sugar and mix together well.
5. Add beaten eggs, oil, almonds and cherries.
6. Place baking soda in a regular tablespoon and spread.
7. Slowly pour vinegar on top of baking soda, a little at a time, mixing every now and then, until baking soda stops reacting.
8. Pour over the rest of ingredients and mix. Pour into prepared baking pan.
9. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden brown. This is moist, so the toothpick test might not be a great guide.
10. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm or cold.