Chickpea and Lamb Soup

Silky Chick Pea and Lamb Soup

The credit for this recipe goes to Bethany Kehdy it's from her book The Jewelled Kitchen: A Stunning Collection of Lebanese, Moroccan and Persian Recipes available in hardback and on the Kindle from Amazon.

It takes a bit of forethought if you make the full recipe, but otherwise it's simple and warming and hearty and just the thing for the weather we are having at the moment.

Also, I would note that both my daughter and my best friend cocked their nose a little when I said I was making this and I know what they mean. Chick peas, I could take them or leave them  (unless it's hummus) and lentils?...well let's say they are not top of my list, however, Lauren ended up saying this was the nicest thing I've ever made and I have to agree I think brown lentils are a revelation and the chick peas are meltingly soft, this recipe has converted us all!

So the forethought comes in that if you want to make this recipe "silky" you need to make a starter, but you can miss this bit out.

Making the starter involves setting aside 2 tbsp rye flour and 2 tbsp strong bread flour. First thing on day one, put 10g of the rye flour and 10g of the strong bread flour in a mixing bowl and mix together. Add 1 tablespoon lukewarm water and mix well. Cover this starter with kitchen paper and put to one side in a warm place (22– 25 ° C). The following morning “feed” the starter with the rest of the flours and another 2 teaspoons lukewarm water, stir very well to combine. Set aside as before, for at least 8 hours until you are ready to make the soup.

To get started mix a quarter teaspoon of each of the following - ground cardamom (I got mine on-line via Amazon), ground cumin, smoked paprika, coriander and cinnamon. Rub this over your lamb shanks. The recipe calls for 350g but I made it with 2 reasonably sized shanks and again with 4 small and at New Year I made double quantities with 5 shanks - so there is room for adjustments if you have a hungry meat eater coming for dinner. Once the meat is coated, season with some salt and set to one side.

Next job is to skin 700g tomatoes. Best way to do this is to slit the skins by cutting a cross in each end and plunging them into boiling hot water (be careful not to scald yourself - use a slotted spoon to put them in and remove them). Once the skins start to come away, peel them, cut them in half, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon or your thumb and then chop them up. Discard the peel and pips.

In a big heavy based pan, melt 20g butter (you can use smen - a North African salted, fermented butter if you have some). Finely chop an onion and 4 cloves of garlic. Grate a 2 in piece of peeled fresh ginger.

Sweat the onion in the butter for a few minutes until they become translucent and soft. Add the lamb to the pan including any loose spices, turn up the heat and quickly brown the shanks without burning the onion. Add the garlic and ginger and fry until the aroma starts to rise. Add the chopped tomatoes, 2 litres of vegetable stock, a pinch of saffron, 2 tins drained chick peas, 250g of brown lentils and a bay leaf.

Cover the pan and bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook covered for at least an hour until the pulses are soft and the meat is tender.

Discard the bay leaf. Put the lamb on a plate and pull away the meat, cutting into bite sized pieces. Return the meat to the pan.

If you decided to make the starter dilute it with 100 ml water, stir well and slowly stir it into the soup for 20 minutes until it thickens.

Before serving you can stir in the zest of a lemon or some chopped preserved lemon and some chopped fresh coriander. As I serve to people of varying tastes I serve bowls of preserved lemon and chopped coriander and let people add them themselves if they like.

You can serve this in bowls as a soup or on a plate like a stew, with flat breads or pittas and I have served it with spears of broccoli and roast potatoes as well and in a buffet with olives, dried dates, couscous, pickled chili and other mezzes.

It's warm, meaty and incredibly filling and satisfying. Even if you're not sure about lentils and chick peas I recommend you trying this, it's a great way to try them out.