Watercress & chickpea soup with rose water & ras el hanout

Ras el hanout is a spice blend brought to Jerusalem by North African Jews consisting of mainly sweet and hot spices, toasted and ground. There isn’t one definitive recipe, every spice shop in North Africa (hanout means ‘shop’ in Arabic) has its own ‘flagship’ spice blend with a typical set of secret components. Home cooks buy the blend or try to emulate it themselves. In any case, the name stuck, signifying a sweet and heady mix. Commercial varieties available in the UK are fine but feel fr