We tried this a couple weeks ago and thought it was a winner. Nice and spicy. Red lentils cook easy and fall apart like spit pea.
Moroccan Red Lentil Soup
INGREDIENTS
2 sweet or yellow 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
2 medium potatos cubed
1 medium can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced chicken breast (or substitute)
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, diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, (garam masala-if you have it, otherwise mustard, cinn. nutmeg), 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. Cook chicken (or substitute) separately. Add chicken to soup before serving. Stir and enjoy! (I think the cardamom makes the difference in this soup)
Roast a free-range chicken and eat all the big bits of meat (that was yesterday). Keep the little bits. Boil for two hours (at least) all the bones (including gnawed legs and wings) and skin with a chopped carrot, a chopped onion, the coarser outer sticks from a head of celery, and a handful of parsley, thyme and a couple of bay leaves. Strain and reserve the liquid. Rinse bones with a bit more hot water to extract all the flavour. Throw away the bones and bits. Throw the small chicken bits you kept back from the roast into the stock and add the following: two carrots chopped small, the good bits of the celery head chopped small, a large chopped onion, a dash of Worcester sauce and a few drops of Tabasco or similar. Season with salt and freshly-milled black pepper. Simmer gently for 30 minutes, then throw in a handful of raw, rinsed Basmati. Simmer for another 15 minutes, check seasoning and eat with crusty bread and butter, followed by some good cheese and red wine. You can add even more flavour if desired by including one organic chicken stock-cube, but do this before you add any salt as the cubes are quite salty already. Manna fit for the gods and good enough to cure mild cases of hypothermia.
You sound like a good cook, Steve. Process and details! Isn’t that ½ the battle? But followed with cheese and red wine? You gotta try my pipers fruitcake recipe – I suppose it would work for a harmonica player.
An Uilleann Piper’s Christmas Fruitcake Recipe
1 cup water
1 cup of sugar
2 Tsp flour
4 large eggs
2 cups dried fruit
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
lemon juice
nuts
1 bottle whiskey
MIXING INSTRUCTION
1.Sample whiskey to check for quality.
2.Take a large bowl.
3.Check the whiskey again to be sure it’s of the highest quality. Pour one level cup for taste.
4.Take a break. Play your pipes a little until reeds settle in.
5.Turn on the electric mixer; beat 1 cup butter in the large fluffy looking bowl. Add 1tbsp of sugar and beat again.
6.Make sure the whiskey is still OK. Cry another tup.
7.Turn off mixer.
8.Break 2 legs into bowl. Chuck in cup of dried fruit. Add 2 tablespoons. Flour in. Mix on turner.
9.Let set for awhile. Play the pipes some more.
10.If fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry loose with a drewscriver.
11.Sample whiskey to check for tonsisticity.
12.Next, sift 2 cups salt. Add one can of soda.
13.Check whiskey again.
14.Sift lemon juice and chop your nuts. Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something.
15.Grease oven. Turn cake tin around 360 degrees.
16.Don’t forget to beat the turner off!!!
17.Check whiskey again and finish off.
18.Throw bowl out the window and go to bed. Who the hell likes fruitcake anyway?
Heheh! I was just about to say that anything with nuts in is very bad just before playing the harmonica (bad for the harmonica, that is). But then I got to the last line.
