Chickpea and lentil soup
This soup is based on several traditional recipes from North Africa
The weather is cold and bitter again, which puts me in the mood to share a new recipe for a flavorful soup. This soup is based on several traditional recipes from North Africa that have lentils and chickpeas, with loads of vegetables and warming spices.
I like this recipe because it’s flexible. It can be made with chicken or vegetable broth and you can incorporate just about any vegetable into it. It has all of the basic ingredients that make up a flavorful broth and are generally on hand — like onion, celery, carrot and tomato. I add both regular and sweet potato but you can omit those, or add butternut squash or fresh green beans or spinach.
I measured the spices so they are flavorful and warming yet not too spicy. You can put extra harissa paste on the table to add to each bowl for people who love the added kick.
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This soup can be served with halved eggs, boiled to your liking, to add protein to the meal, and this is also lovely served over a bed of rice.
Ingredients:
¼ – ½ cup olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced, about 2 ½ cups
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped carrots
8-10 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 cups fresh diced tomatoes, or 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1 ½ cups Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced, about 1 cup
1 large zucchini, diced, about 1 ½ cups
12 cups (3 quarts) chicken or vegetable broth
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
¾ cup dark-colored lentils
1 bunch washed fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons ras el hanout spice
1 tablespoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried mint
1-2 tablespoons of harissa paste
2-3 teaspoons sea salt
2-3 large lemons, divided
Even if you don’t have the exact amount of vegetables listed, you can still make the soup. If I call for 2 ½ cups of onions, and after chopping a large onion you only have 2 ¼ cups, go ahead and cook. There is no need to chop into another onion to gain ¼ cup’s worth; and if you have 2 ½ cups of carrots after chopping a few, then likewise, just put in what you have. All vegetables can be within a half-cup of the amount in the recipe and this soup will turn out great.
Chicken broth adds both richness and flavor, but you can make this vegan if you use vegetable broth and add up to an additional ¼ cup of olive oil and a pareve chicken-flavored bouillon cube or powder.
Chop the onion.
Put a large soup pot on the stove over medium-low heat, and after a minute add ¼ cup of olive oil. Allow that to warm for a minute or two and then add the onion, stirring occasionally.
After 5 minutes, raise the heat to medium and allow the onion to sauté for 10 minutes.
While the onion is cooking, wash and prepare the celery and carrots.
Add the celery to the onions and cook for 5 minutes before adding the carrots to the pot. Sauté this mixture for 10 more minutes before adding in the chopped garlic — the more the better is my opinion.
Stir and sauté until fragrant.
Add the tomato paste, salt, ras al hanout spice, cumin, cinnamon, dried mint and turmeric to the pot. Stir this into the vegetables, mixing them constantly for a minute over the heat.
Add the fresh or canned diced tomatoes (with juice) into the pot and stir.
Add the chicken or vegetable broth and turn the heat to high.
While the soup is coming up to a boil, peel and dice the potato/sweet potato, dice the zucchini and add those to the pot.
Wash and drain 2 cans of chickpeas and add those to the soup with ¾ cup of brown, black or green lentils. Dark-colored lentils hold their shape and texture better than red lentils.
Add 2-3 teaspoons of sea salt. The salt content of the broth — whether you purchased it or made it at home — will vary, so let this cook completely before adding additional salt.
Add 1 tablespoon of harissa paste. I use 2 tablespoons of the harissa and I find it to be warming but not spicy when diluted in this amount of broth. If you have not cooked with it before, start with 1 tablespoon and adjust it later if needed. I use Picnic Tunisian Harissa, an Israeli brand that I get locally. Everyone knows their limit with the spice. Even when I use 2 full tablespoons, I still put extra harissa on the table for everyone to add to their soup, just as you would add zhug to a Yemenite soup.
Add half a bunch of washed cilantro to the pot to add fragrance. Make a small bouquet by tying the stems with string, or place the cilantro on top of the soup and let it rest there while cooking. Allow the soup to come to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low so the soup can simmer for 90 minutes.
Remove what you can of the cilantro.
Juice 1 lemon and stir into the soup. As with many recipes, the lemon brightens the entire meal. Allow to simmer, covered, for another 30 minutes before tasting for salt or spices. You can always add a little extra garlic powder or any of the listed spices if you think that the soup needs more flavor, and as I mentioned before, a chicken-flavored bouillon cube can add flavor to either a chicken or vegetable broth base.
You can eat this immediately, and it’s excellent and filling served over a bed of rice. Either way, serve it with extra lemon wedges and a sprinkle of freshly diced cilantro.
This recipe makes a large pot of soup that serves about 12; the leftovers are wonderful for lunch.
This soup is great served with challah, pita or homemade garlic croutons. It stores well for days in the refrigerator. The texture will thicken the more it rests because the lentils and potatoes will break down. Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC
Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.
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