Kubbeh, also known as kibbeh, is a style of dumpling that typically features ground meat wrapped in semolina, bulgur, or rice. It can be fried, or served in broth like it is in Pnina Shasha's Iraqi family.

For as long as Hilla Segev can remember, she’s eaten this fragrant Yemenite soup for Shabbat. It’s typically made with either chicken or beef, lots of vegetables, and a heady spice blend called hawaij.

When Sharon Fargo’s grandparents Nachum and Fahimah set out for Israel from Syria they brought lentils with them to sustain them for the journey. This simple family recipe for lentil soup comes together quickly and is brightened with fresh cilantro. 

In Shifra Klein’s family, hot borscht made with beets, flanken, tomato paste, and cabbage has sustained four generations across three continents. Today, the original recipe from Shifra’s grandmother Yehudis is preserved — tucked away in Shifra and her husband’s safe.

Mitchell Davis’s mother, Sondra, always made the lightest matzo balls in their kitchen in Toronto. “She said she used the recipe on the box, but when we cooked together,” Mitchell says, it was clear that she didn’t.

Ruth Abrams was known for her cooking prowess — three-course meals graced the family table and she was the winner of a Pillsbury cake competition. But it’s her split pea soup that is most cherished by her daughters.

The dishes on beloved Israeli food blogger Hagit Bilia’s table are always changing. But every Friday, there’s this chicken soup that’s studded with carrots and zucchini.

Harira is a traditional North African soup that’s often vegetarian. In Arielle Nir’s version, chicken thighs are seared and added to the soup, imparting a rich flavor to the broth. Season your soup with fresh parsley, cilantro, and a splash of lemon juice.

In scholar Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett’s home, her mother’s split pea soup represents the marrow of her family’s kitchen. “I think it’s because it’s an everyday food, not a festival food,” that it holds such a special meaning, Barbara says.

When Ayala Hodak hosts her friends for Yom Kippur break fast, she prepares a menu centered around this recipe: a meatball-laden soup made tangy with dried Persian limes and sweetened slightly with carrots. She serves it after breaking fast on challah, hard boiled eggs, and her family’s faloodeh.

Ever since Annabel Rabiyah was little, she’s helped her father prepare kubbeh, an Iraqi dumpling soup. There are different variations of the soup — tinged pink with beets, made green with okra or green beans, or sour with the addition of lemon to the broth.

In Nina Dahan's family, there's no Shabbat without hamod, a lemony potato soup made with celery and garlic that’s served over rice and, in her family, alongside peas cooked with allspice and onions.

Chef and baker Rinat Tzadok adapted her father’s slow-simmering recipe for chicken stew to her quicker-paced life. Her recipe is ready in 45 minutes, but still captures the flavor of her dad’s version.

This four ingredient soup made with yogurt, sour cream, a drop of flour and lemon juice comes together in just 20 minutes. Serve it warm alongside kubaneh (Yemeni bread) or challah.

Ron Arazi’s grandmother always made this simple soup for her sukkah, which operated like an open house. “Friends, family and neighbors stopped by for this special soup with harissa,” he says. Be sure to have good harissa, like one from NY Shuk, on hand for this recipe.

In this Syrian Passover recipe, the more common bulgur or semolina wrapping for kibbeh (sometimes called kubbeh) is replaced with one made from rice. If you don't eat kitniyot on Passover, save this recipe for another festive dinner.

This soup is even better the next day. Clear chicken broth is finished with pieces of white meat, large knobs of carrots and parsnips, and fresh parsley and dill. It’s “unequivocally” my favorite food, says cookbook author Julia Turshen.

Angela Josephsberg-Achsen’s kreplach are so popular in her family that she has to hide them when her grandchildren come over for Rosh Hashanah, so they aren’t devoured before the meal.

When chef and restaurant owner Ori Menashe was sick, his grandmother Rachel would prepare a pot of peshalo, a little-known soup with fresh cut noodles, cabbage, chickpeas, and a broth tinged with turmeric. It’s his family's version of a “cure-all” soup.

Hailing from the Nash Didan Jewish community near the borders of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Azerbaijan, these meatballs are made with a mix of ground beef, pork, and basmati rice. In Danielle Colen’s family, chefte can even be enjoyed cold the next morning, sliced into rounds.