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This is a very light and vibrant spring soup made from young vegetables just in season. “So what makes this soup French?” I asked Regina, an Odesan who now lives in Berlin and has a long lineage of ancestors who were born in Odesa. She explained that during Soviet times, calling someone French was a coded way of saying they were Jewish. It was more acceptable, at a time when being Jewish was at best a barrier against advancing in your career and at worst, downright dangerous. Regina learned this recipe when she grew up in a communal flat in Odesa where most residents, including her own family, were described as French.
1 parsley root
1 parsnip
1/4 celery root
1 carrot
2 small onions
6 peppercorns, such as Gefen
1 bay leaf
about 2 and 1/2 quarts (85 fluid ounces/2.5 liters) cold water
2 large potatoes
1/2 cauliflower, trimmed
1 large carrot
3 tablespoons long-grain white rice, such as Beleaves Jasmine Rice
1 and 3/4 ounces (50 grams) butter
5 and 1/4 ounces (150 grams) fresh English peas
a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
a handful of fresh dill, chopped
sour cream
Peel the parsley root, parsnip, and celery root. Leave the carrot and onions unpeeled.
Place the parsley root, parsnip, celery root, carrot, onions, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a large stockpot and pour in the cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
Discard the vegetables from the stock.
Peel and dice the potatoes. Cut the cauliflower into florets. Scrub and grate the carrot. Add the potatoes, cauliflower, and rice to the pot with the stock and season with salt.
In a frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the carrot and saute briefly, then add to the soup along with the peas.
Simmer the soup over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, adding the parsley and dill during the last two minutes of cooking.
Serve topped with a spoonful of sour cream.
Reprinted with permission from Cuisines of Odesa: Recipes and Stories from Ukraine’s Historic City by Maria Kalenska © 2026. Photography by Elena Groza © 2026. Published by Weldon Owen, an imprint of Insight Editions. Purchase on Amazon.
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