Monday, October 19, 2009

Moroccan Lentil Soup



I loosely followed this recipe, but we had a Ras El Hanout spice blend that I really wanted to use instead of doing all the individual spices. The original recipe called for just throwing all the spices in at the same time as the water and beans. However, in general it's best to pre-cook dried spices up in the oil first, to bring out the flavor. We also ended up substituting brown lentils for the cannellini beans due to personal preference.

Here's the modified recipe, with all our changes:

1 chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
6 cups water
1 cup red lentils
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 can brown lentils, drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon Ras el Hanout*
1 tablespoon olive oil

In large pot saute the onions, garlic, ginger and spice mix in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Add the water, lentils, chick peas, diced tomatoes, carrots, celery. Bring to a boil for a few minutes then simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or longer, until the lentils are soft.


Ras El Hanout
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
A pinch of saffron

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