Tunisian tomato soup with chickpeas and lentils (katzen)
6 Servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | cup | Lentils; sorted & rinsed |
| 1 | Cinnamon stick | |
| 7 | cups | Water; more or less |
| 1 | tablespoon | Olive oil; may be doubled |
| 4 | cups | Minced onion |
| 2 | tablespoons | Minced garlic |
| 2 | teaspoons | Salt |
| 1 | teaspoon | Turmeric |
| 1½ | teaspoon | Cumin seed |
| 2 | teaspoons | Ground cumin |
| 3 | Bay leaves | |
| 28 | ounces | Tomatoes; crushed |
| 2 | cups | Cooked chickpeas; drained and rinsed |
| Black pepper; to taste | ||
| Cayenne pepper; to taste | ||
Directions
Cook lentils with the cinnamon stick in 7 cups water until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick and drain the lentils, saving the water, if any is left.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, salt, turmeric, cumin seeds, ground cumin, and bay leaves. Saute over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until the onions are soft.
Add 6 cups of water, including the reserved cooking water from lentils, if any. Add the canned crushed tomatoes with juice and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook for another 15 minutes or so.
The timing is not exact.
Stir in the chickpeas and lentils and cook for about 5 minutes to warm through. The legumes should not become mushy. Season to taste with the two peppers and lemon juice; adjust salt. Serve hot with some yogurt, a sprinkling of parsley or mint, and currants, if desired.
PER CUP: 282CAL, 4.9G fat (14.9% cff); 47.2G carb. If another Tablespoon of oil is used to saute and flavor the onion: PER SERVING: 302CAL, 7.2G fat (20.3% cff); 47.2G carb.
Recipe by: Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven (1997) Posted to Digest eat-lf.v097.n011 by KitPATh <phannema@...> on Jan 12, 1998