Silky Chickpea & Lamb Soup

Name: Silky Chickpea & Lamb Soup
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Morocco
Ingredients: 1 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro leaves, plus extra for sprinkling; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 wedge of Preserved Lemon, rind rinsed and finely chopped, or zest of half a lemon; 2 tbsp rye flour (optional); 125 g/4½ oz/½ cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked, or 250 g/9 oz/1¾ cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 250 g/9 oz/1⅓ cups brown lentils, rinsed; 1 bay leaf; warm Arabic Bread (optional), to serve; 700 g/1 lb 9 oz tomatoes; ¼ tsp ground cardamom; 20 g/¾ oz/4 tsp salted butter or smen; 350 g/12 oz lamb shank; 1 onion, finely chopped; ¼ tsp ground cumin; a pinch of ground saffron (optional); 1 lemon, quartered, to squeeze; 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 5 cm/2 in piece of root ginger, peeled and finely chopped; 2 l/70 fl oz/8¾ cups Vegetable Stock; ¼ tsp smoked paprika; ¼ tsp ground coriander; ¼ tsp ground cinnamon; 2 tbsp strong bread flour (optional); a few pitted dates, to serve

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
2 hr

Appears in

The Jewelled Kitchen

By Bethany Kehdy

Published 2013

About

During the holy month of Ramadan in North Africa, this silky textured soup is the first dish with which the fast is broken. It goes well with Pan-Fried Squares.

Ingredients

2 tbsp rye flour (optional)
2 tbsp strong bread flour (optional)
350

Africa
Morocco
Starter
Preserve
Mediterranean
Soup
Spicy

Method

If you are using the starter, which will give a thicker, smoother soup, early in the morning of the first day, put 2 teaspoons each of the rye and bread flour in a mixing bowl and mix together. Pour over a