You know when you buy a new cookbook and it´s full of lovely recipes, but the reality is you probably won´t cook that many of them and feel a bit let down? Mmm, yes, we´ve probably all been there. Well, not so with my new Ottolenghi book. In fact, I had intended to leave it in the UK to use when we return in a few weeks to start work on the house renovation. But it kept whispering to me, “take me with you, take me with you”, so back to Spain it came and I have been cooking from it already with plans for many more dishes.
First up was Harira, a Moroccan soup made with chickpeas and lamb. Yes, I´m trying to clear out my freezer a little before we leave, so out came a piece of lamb. And you know how we love our chickpeas in Andalucía…it was meant to be. Of course, I made a few changes but I am sure Mr O won´t mind.
It´s not quite like other Harira soups I´ve made, but I was very pleased with the results. I think it would also be a very good vegetarian soup if you leave out the meat and use vegetable stock or water. I have also made this soup with rice and lentils also included. This is a lovely recipe too from Robert Carrier.
Ingredients to serve 4-6
- 200g dried chickpeas soaked overnight in water with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda (I don´t know the quantities for using ready cooked, canned but I would imagine it would be at least double the weight)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion roughly chopped
- 200g lamb fillet cut into 1cm dice (I used a piece of neck fillet on the bone which I cooked whole then pulled the cooked meat off and stirred into the soup
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tbsp sugar (I used 1 tsp)
- 1kg tinned chopped tomatoes (I used about half this amount of my own tomatoes)
- 1.2 litres of chicken stock or water
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- A pinch of Saffron strands (I used a teaspoon of turmeric)
- I also added 1 tsp each of cinnamon and hot chili powder
- 100g baby spinach (I used chopped chard from the veggie garden)
- 4 tbsp chopped coriander (didn´t have any, so omitted)
- 4-6 lemon wedges
- Salt and Pepper
Method
Cook the chickpeas in plenty of water until completely tender (about an hour or an hour and a half), drain and reserve.
In a large saucepan over a medium heat, gently fry the onion until translucent. Increase the heat and add the lamb and fry until sealed.
At this point I added the spices (Mr O does this later in his version). Now add the tomato purée, and sugar, cook for a couple of minutes then add the chopped tomato, drained chickpeas, liquid and a little seasoning.
Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 35-45 minutes until the meat is tender. Squeeze in a little lemon juice (I didn´t add it all at this stage as per the recipe) and this is where Mr O adds his spices.
Taste and adjust the seasoning. Just before serving, bring the soup back to the boil and add the finely chopped spinach (chard in my case) then remove from the heat. Serve with lemon wedges.
Very delicious, I may even spice it up a little more next time. And yes, the book will be coming with me again to the UK….it likes to travel.
Chica Andaluza 