Moroccan Lentil Soup

Moroccan Lentil Soup -

Thick, delicious and nutritious, especially in the winter!

Ingredients:

 2 onions, chopped
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
 6 cups water
 1 cup red lentils
 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
 1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans
 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
 1/2 cup diced carrots
 1/2 cup chopped celery
 1 teaspoon garam masala
 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

In large pot saute; the onions, garlic, and ginger in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes.
Add the water, lentils, chick peas, white kidney beans, diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, garam masala, cardamom, cayenne pepper and cumin. Bring to a boil for a few minutes then simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or longer, until the lentils are soft.
Puree half the soup in a food processor or blender. Return the pureed soup to the pot, stir and enjoy!

Vegetarian Moroccan Stew

Vegetarian Moroccan Stew -

This delicious, healthy North African-inspired stew is served with warm bread or even over couscous. You can make the entire stew ahead of time, let it cool, and refrigerate it for up to 3 days or freeze it for several months. You can also chop the veggies and mix the spices ahead of time, freeze them, and assemble it with the canned ingredients the day you wish to cook it for a wonderful exotic meal in just 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

Spice Mixture:
 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 1 teaspoon ground cumin
 1 teaspoon kosher salt
 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
 1/8 teaspoon curry powder
Stew Vegetables:
 1 tablespoon butter
 1 sweet onion, chopped
 2 cups finely shredded kale
 4 (14 ounce) cans organic vegetable broth
 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
 3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
 4 large carrots, chopped
 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
 1 tablespoon honey
 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
 1 tablespoon water (optional)

Directions:

Combine cinnamon, cumin, salt, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric, and curry powder in a large bowl.
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion in the butter until soft and just beginning to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in kale and spice mixture; cook until kale begins to wilt and spices are fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Pour the vegetable broth into the pot. Stir garbanzo beans, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, lentils, apricots, and honey, into the broth; bring to boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until vegetables and lentils are cooked and tender, about 30 minutes. Season stew with black pepper.
Dissolve cornstarch in water; stir into stew and simmer thickened, about 5 minutes.

Moroccan chickpea soup

Moroccan chickpea soup -

Try something different for vegetarians with Moroccan chickpea soup.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
600 ml hot vegetable stock
400 gm can chopped plum tomatoes with garlic
400 gm can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
100 gm frozen broad beans
zest and juice ½ lemon
large handful coriander or parsley and flatbread, to serve

Method:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then fry the onion and celery gently for 10 mins until softened, stirring frequently. Tip in the cumin and fry for another min.
Turn up the heat, then add the stock, tomatoes and chickpeas, plus a good grind of black pepper. Simmer for 8 mins. Throw in broad beans and lemon juice, cook for a further 2 mins. Season to taste, then top with a sprinkling of lemon zest and chopped herbs. Serve with flatbread.

Tip:
Spicing it up
Spice it up further with a spoonful of harissa paste. Curry lovers can swap the cumin for 1 tsp of garam marsala. Or for a more hearty dish, fry 4 sliced chorizo sausages along with the onions and celery.

Moroccan Lamb stew with Pumpkin and Preserved Lemon

Moroccan Lamb stew with Pumpkin and Preserved Lemon -

Harissa and pickled lemons are an integral part of North African cooking and a perfect foil for lamb in this satisfying dish.

INGREDIENTS:

450 g lean leg of lamb
1½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 tbsp harissa, or hot pepper paste
400 g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
350 g peeled pumpkin, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
1 preserved lemons, finely diced
2 tbsp chopped mint
1 tbsp chopped coriander

METHOD:

Coat the lamb in the black pepper. Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan, add the meat and brown on all sides.
Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft and is slightly browned, adding a splash of water if necessary to prevent sticking.
Add the tomatoes, harissa and 425 ml water. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook over a medium heat for 1¼-1½ hours, topping up with water as necessary, until the lamb is almost tender.
Add the chickpeas and pumpkin and cook for a further 15 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Add the preserved lemon, mint and coriander and serve.

Moroccan tomato & chickpea soup with couscous

Moroccan tomato & chickpea soup with couscous -

This filling soup is healthy and packed with the flavours of North Africa: harissa, ginger, lemon and coriander.

Ingredients:

75 gm couscous
3 tbsp olive oil
750 ml hot vegetable stock
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, chopped into small cubes
4 garlic cloves, crushed
half a finger of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 tbsp ras-el-hanout
1 tbsp harissa paste, plus extra to serve
400 gm tin chopped tomatoes
400 gm tin chickpeas
juice ½ lemon
roughly chopped coriander, to serve

Method:

Tip the couscous into a bowl, season with salt and pepper and stir through 1 tbsp of the oil. Pour over enough hot stock just to cover and cover the bowl with cling film and set aside.
Heat the rest of the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion and carrot gently for 8 mins until softened. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 mins more then stir in the ras el hanout and harissa and cook for another minute. Pour in the tomatoes and stock and give everything a good stir. Season, add the chickpeas and simmer everything gently for 20 mins until thickened slightly then squeeze over the lemon.
Uncover the couscous and fluff up with a fork. Spoon the soup into bowls, top each with a mound of couscous, scatter with coriander and serve with extra harissa for those who want it.

Tip:
Ras el hanout, a North African spice mix, contains cardamom, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, turmeric and black pepper. Find it in larger supermarkets, or use a mix of the spices above.

Moroccan harira & chicken soup

Moroccan harira & chicken soup -

This North African-inspired soup is flavored with harissa and spices. Serve with houmous toasts and cooling yogurt.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 leek, washed and finely sliced
4 fat celery sticks, chopped into small pieces
3 large carrots, chopped into small pieces
2 big parsnips, peeled and chopped into small pieces
small pack coriander, stalks finely chopped, leaves reserved to serve
1 tbsp cumin seed
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp harissa (we used Belazu)
2 x 400 gm cans chopped tomatoes
2 chicken stock cubes, crumbled
85 gm raw green lentils
zest and juice 1 lemon
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
natural yogurt, toast and houmous, to serve

Method:

Heat half the oil in a frying pan, season the thighs and brown really well on both sides. Remove to a plate. Tip a mug of water into the pan and simmer, scraping up all the browned bits. Tip this liquid into a measuring jug for later.
Put the remaining oil, the vegetables and coriander stalks in a big saucepan. Gently cook until the veg is softened – about 5 mins. Stir in the spices, turn up the heat, and cook for a few mins. Stir in the harissa, followed by the tomatoes, the chicken, stock cubes and lentils. Top up your jug of chickeny juices to 500ml with water, then add this, too. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 mins.
Lift the chicken from the soup and shred finely using a couple of forks. Return to the soup with the lemon zest and juice, sugar, and season to taste. Ladle into bowls with a dollop of yogurt and the coriander leaves, and serve with toast, spread with houmous and drizzled with oil.

Moroccan sausage stew

Moroccan sausage stew -

Ras el hanout is a fragrant North African spice. It works perfectly with pork sausages in a tomato casserole sauce with dates and onions.

Ingredients:

2 tsp vegetable oil
8 good-quality pork sausages
2 red onions, cut into wedges
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp Moroccan spice mix or ras el hanout
100 gm soft pitted dates, roughly chopped
400 gm can chopped tomatoes
175 ml hot beef stock
1 tbsp cornflour
mashed potato, to serve

Method:

In a large saucepan or flameproof casserole dish, heat the oil and brown the sausages with the onions for 10 mins until golden. Add the garlic and spice mix with 75ml water to prevent them from burning, and cook for 2 mins until fragrant. Add the dates and tomatoes, mix well, then spread out onto 2 plates to cool before pouring into a freezer bag and freezing for up to 3 months.
To cook from frozen, put the stew into a large saucepan or flameproof casserole dish with all but 2 tbsp of the stock. Cover with a lid and gently heat to defrost for 25 mins, stirring occasionally.
Once the stew is fully defrosted, mix the cornflour with the reserved stock and pour into the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, for 5 mins until thickened and piping hot. Serve with mashed potato.

Moroccan spiced cauliflower & almond soup

Moroccan spiced cauliflower & almond soup -

Satisfying and comforting soup is the ultimate meal in a bowl, like this smooth and spicy North African blend.

Ingredients:

1 large cauliflower
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp each ground cinnamon, cumin and coriander
2 tbsp harissa paste, plus extra drizzle
1 Lt hot vegetable or chicken stock
50 gm toasted flaked almonds, plus extra to serve

Method:

Cut the cauliflower into small florets. Fry olive oil, ground cinnamon, cumin and coriander and harissa paste for 2 mins in a large pan. Add the cauliflower, stock and almonds. Cover and cook for 20 mins until the cauliflower is tender. Blend soup until smooth, then serve with an extra drizzle of harissa and a sprinkle of toasted almonds.

Moroccan Harira (Bean Soup)

Moroccan Harira (Bean Soup) -

A (mostly) vegetarian, shoestring-budget meal that will leave you feeling both very satisfied and with tons of leftovers. Bonus: it's super-healthy and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

 6 cups beef stock or vegetable stock
 1 cup dry lentils
 1 tablespoon olive oil, or to taste
 1 onion, chopped
 1 cinnamon stick
 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
 1 teaspoon ground cumin
 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
 1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
 1 cup cooked quinoa (optional)
 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves and thinner stems, chopped
 1 bunch cilantro leaves and thinner stems, chopped
 1 lemon, or to taste, juiced

Directions:

Stir beef stock and lentils together in a large pot; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and keep at a simmer while preparing onion.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onion, cinnamon stick, ginger, turmeric, cumin, and black pepper in the hot oil until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes; add to stock mixture.
Pour garbanzo beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, and quinoa into the stock mixture; stir and bring mixture to a boil. Stir parsley and cilantro into the stock mixture; reduce heat to low and cook mixture at a simmer until the lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. Drizzle lemon juice over the soup before serving.

Tips:
To make the soup wholly vegetarian, trade out the beef stock for vegetable stock.
If you do use quinoa, be sure to prepare it separately from the soup (1/2 cup unprepared = 1 cup prepared). Throwing it into the soup unprepared will cause it to absorb all the liquid and you will be left with a very, very thick stew.

Moroccan roasted vegetable soup

Moroccan roasted vegetable soup -

Roasted roots are perfect for making soup- we used parsnips, butternut squash and carrots, flavoured with ras el hanout spice mix.

Ingredients:

1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges
300g carrots, cut into 2cm chunks
300g parsnips, cut into 2cm chunks
300g peeled butternut squash, cut into 2cm chunks
1 small potato, cut into 2cm chunks
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp ras el hanout
1½ tbsp olive oil
1.3l hot vegetable stock
6 tbsp Greek-style yogurt and 1 tbsp finely chopped mint, to serve (optional)

Method:

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tip all the vegetables and the garlic into a roasting tin. Sprinkle over the ras el hanout and some seasoning, drizzle over the oil and give everything a good stir. Roast for 30-35 mins, turning the vegetables over halfway, until they’re tender and starting to caramelise a little.
Transfer the roasted veg to a large saucepan, pour over the hot stock and simmer for 5 mins. Purée the soup in a food processor, or in the pan with a hand blender, until smooth, then ladle into a flask for work. If eating at home, serve with a dollop of yogurt, a scattering of mint and a grinding of black pepper.