Soup Nazi Night

Soup Nazi refusing soup to George Costanza

Thanks to my mom, I’ve had a copycat recipe for one of the infamous Soup Nazi’s soups. Tonight was the night to make it! Brian was coming into later than usual from work, which allowed for the 4-hour simmer time.

Chances are if you are a Seinfeld fan of any kind, you know what I’m talking about when I refer to the Soup Nazi. In an episode in season 7, the seinfeld characters visit a soup kitchen modeled after a real-life restaurant run by Al Yeganeh in NYC. (Which, ironically, has just reopened its doors as I heard on NPR!)

Apparently, the fictional and real-life owner are quite similar and deadly serious about the soup. “It’s all about the soup,” Yeganeh said on national news. You either comply with the kitchen’s rules, or “No soup for you!”

Would Brian make the cut and be served a bowl of Mexican Chicken Chili? Well, he greeted me with a kiss when he came in the door (as usual!), so I decided he had earned the right to enjoy some soup. (Guess I’m not quite as brutal and strict as Al!)

After enjoying the soup, we watched several clips from the actual episode. Here’s a list I complied for your viewing pleasure (and ours!):

clip 1
clip 2
clip 3
clip 4
clip 5

Curious how to make the soup? Here’s the actual recipe…

Mexican Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken breast fillets (4 fillets)
  

  my bowl of goodness

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 10 cups water
• 2 cups chicken stock or bouillon
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 potato, peeled & chopped
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 cup frozen yellow corn
• 1/2 carrot, sliced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, plus liquid
• 1/4 cup diced canned pimento
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
• 1 clove garlic, minced                               On the side:
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder                      •  Sour cream
• 1 teaspoon cumin                                     •  Pinch chopped Italian parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• dash cayenne pepper
• dash basil
• dash oregano

1. Sauté the chicken breasts in the olive oil in a large pot over medium/high heat. Cook the chicken on both side until done — about 7-10 minutes per side. Cool the chicken until it can be handled. Do not rinse the pot.

2. Shred the chicken by hand into bite-sizes pieces and place the pieces back into the pot.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and turn heat to high. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 4-5 hours. Stir mixture often so that many of the chicken pieces shred into much smaller bits. Chili should reduce substantially to thicken and darken (less orange, more brown) when done.

4. Combine some chopped Italian parsley (or cilantro) with sour cream and serve it on the side for topping the chili, if desired.

Apparently the secret is the long simmer time. Enjoy!