An Exaltation of Soups (55 page)
Read An Exaltation of Soups Online
Authors: Patricia Solley
Serves 6 to 8
T
HIS CREAMY, DELICATE
, but substantial soup is traditionally served in Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab countries—simple but thirst-quenching and full of protein for those who have refrained from all food and liquid from sunrise to sunset.
8 cups (2 quarts) cold water
2 pounds lamb with bones (shank is excellent)
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1½ cups red lentils, rinsed and picked through for stones
Salt and pepper to taste
Spices and finely cut vegetables that you have on hand (any combination of tomato, garlic, carrot, celery, potato, rice, chickpeas, chile peppers, leeks, cumin, paprika, saffron, cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon, or mint)
Lemon wedges and finely minced fresh cilantro or parsley, for garnish
O
P
REPARE
Prep the ingredients as directed in the recipe list.
O
C
OOK
1. Put the water, lamb, onions, lentils, salt, and pepper in a large soup pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce it to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours. Stir from time to time so the lentils don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
2. Remove the lamb and add any vegetables, herbs, and spices you like. Cut the lamb into small pieces, discarding the bones, and stir them back into the soup. Season to taste.
O
S
ERVE
Ladle the soup into bowls. Squeeze the lemon juice directly into each portion, then sprinkle with parsley and/or cilantro. (You may also serve wedges of lemon on the side.)
R
ED
L
ENTILS IN
A
NCIENT
H
ISTORY
This little legume, packed with protein, goes all the way back to 8000 to 7000
B.C.E.
, in southwestern Asia on the fertile lands that now border the Indus River. From there it spread all over the Mideast and to northeast Africa, then to Europe and throughout Asia.
Most famously, it figures in the Biblical story of Isaac’s boys, when Jacob extorts the birthright of his starving brother Esau in exchange for a mess of pottage, meaning red lentils. To this day the term
Esau
means “lentil” in many cuisines.
And Esau said to Jacob, feed me, I pray thee, with that same
red pottage; for I am faint …
And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
And Esau said, Behold, I
am
at the point to die: and what
profit shall this birthright do to me?
And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto
him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles.
—G
ENESIS
25:30–34
R
UMI ON
R
AMADAN
, P
ART 2
Fortitude is as a sweet cloud, wisdom rains from it, because it was in such a month of fortitude that the Koran arrived.
… Wash your hands and your mouth, neither eat nor speak; seek that speech and that morsel which has come to the silent ones.
—J
ALAL AL
-D
IN
R
UMI
,
thirteenth-century Sufi poet
OROCCO
LEMONY LAMB AND CHICKPEA SOUP
HARIRA
Serves 6 to 8
H
ARIRA
IS FULL
of lamb, lentils, chickpeas, vegetables, herbs, and spices, all stirred up with lemon and egg strands. Pardon my prejudice, but this is quite possibly the best soup in the world. If your guests
really
like the tang of lemon, serve traditional little bowls of freshly squeezed lemon juice with demitasse spoons on the side. One thing is sure: this is a lovely way to break a day of fasting in the loving company of your family.
1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned are fine), drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound boneless lamb, cut into small cubes
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ cup chopped celery with leaves
2 medium onions, chopped
½ cup chopped fresh parsley and cilantro
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or canned tomatoes with juice Salt to taste
8 cups (2 quarts) water
¾ cup lentils, rinsed and picked through for stones
¼ cup thin soup noodles
2 eggs, beaten with the juice of ½ lemon
Pepper to taste
Ground cinnamon and thick lemon wedges, for garnish
O
P
REPARE
1. If you are using dried chickpeas, soak them overnight in plenty of water.
2. Prep the remaining ingredients as directed in the recipe list.
O
C
OOK
1. Put the butter, lamb, spices, celery, onions, and herbs in a large soup pot and stir over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the tomato pieces and continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes. Salt lightly.
2. Pour in the water (or tomato juice and water to equal 10 cups liquid) and the lentils. If you soaked the chickpeas, drain them, rinse them, and add them at this point; if you are using canned, wait to add them. Bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low, partially cover, and simmer for 2 hours.
3. Add the canned chickpeas, if using, and the noodles and cook for 5 minutes. Then, with the soup cooking at a steady simmer, stir the lemony eggs into the stock with a long wooden spoon. Continue stirring slowly to create long egg strands and to thicken the soup. Season with salt and pepper.
O
S
ERVE
Ladle the soup into bowls and dust with cinnamon. If you have inveterate sourpusses in the crowd, serve with extra lemon wedges or pass around little bowls of extra lemon juice with tiny spoons.
A
RMIES
T
RAVEL TO
M
OROCCO ON
T
HEIR
C
HICKPEAS
Chickpeas graced the tables of Egypt and the Levant from earliest antiquity, then spread across the Mediterranean. They were popularized in Rome as poor people’s food, thus the Roman poet Horace, tired of power games in the Imperial City, tells Senator Maecenas in
Satire 1.6
that he’s gone back to his humble roots, eating dinners of leeks and chickpeas and crackers.
Above all, chickpeas were the staple of Rome’s conquering legions, traveling with them throughout the Roman Empire and taking root when climate permitted. That’s how they ended up in Volubilis, the third-century
B.C.E.
capital of Rome’s Mauritanian province in present-day Morocco. A thousand years later, in the eighth century, Arab armies brought them there again, conquering North Africa and Spain on the strength of their chickpea rations.
Where did chickpeas get their name? From the Romans
—Cicer arietinum
—who peered at the sculptured legume and saw
Aries
, a ram’s head, there. Take a look. You will see the curling horns.
AUDI
A
RABIA
(
AND
S
YRIA
)
BARLEY BROTH
TIRBIYALI
“B
ENEFICENCE
”
Who for the hungry spreads a bounteous board,
Of worldly fame lays up a gen’rous hoard.
In active goodness unremitting prove,
And imitate below your God above.
—S
AADI
,
thirteenth-century Persian poet
Serves 6 to 8
T
HIS SOUP PACKS
an unexpected punch. Not only is it traditional for breaking the fast during Ramadan in both Saudi Arabia and Syria, but its very tradition stems from the fact that Mohammed himself ended his daily prescribed fast in Ramadan with dates, water, and often this kind of barley broth, called
talbina
or
tirbiyali.
It’s smooth, tangy, thick, and rich—just the thing to slake one’s thirst and settle the stomach for the prayers ahead.
8 cups (2 quarts) rich Beef Stock or lamb broth
½ cup barley flour
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
O
C
OOK
1. In a large soup pot, bring the meat broth to warm over medium heat.
2. Mix the barley flour, lemon juice, and eggs, and whisk into the lukewarm meat broth. Turn up the heat to medium-high and whisk constantly, while bringing it to a boil, to thicken the soup.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
O
S
ERVE
When you hear the siren signaling the end of the fast, ladle the soup into bowls and serve immediately.
URKEY
DILLED YOGURT-RICE SOUP
YAYLA ÇORBASI
Serves 6 to 8
T
ALK ABOUT AN
awfully interesting soup—tangy and buttery yogurt deeply flavored with dill and made substantial with rice. Traditional, and obviously perfect, to break the fast at Ramadan or to start the main meal after evening prayers, because it is stimulating, thirst quenching, and satisfying. It’s good hot; it’s also good cold. You can count on it to refresh and stimulate the spirits of your family and guests.
1 cup raw rice
3 cups water
4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
3 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup Chicken Stock
1 large garlic clove, pressed
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, or 1 teaspoon dried, crushed between your palms
Sprinklings of fresh dill, for garnish
