Moroccan Chickpea and Lentil Soup

Do you ever have a feeling you can't get anything done even though having a massive to do list. And it's not even about boring chores but they might be hobbies which I enjoy doing but still I end up just procrastinating. Now I'm feeling exactly like that. Today I didn't go to my ballet lesson but ended up staying home doing... nothing. It's quite rare for me to have a whole afternoon free so it feels even more stupid: I missed my lesson and ended up wasting a free afternoon. I have so many foods I'd like to cook and blog about, so many books and articles I'd love to read but still I didn't manage to any of it.

I always have a hard time leaving from home after work. The easiest for me is to go straight from work and not to think about if I have energy. After having walked with Foxtail I immediately start feeling too tired to leave anywhere. And then at the same time I have a bad conscience skipping my plans, which leads to not enjoying my freetime, which leads to not getting anything done at home even though I'd like to use my few spare moments at home for blogging or tending Foxtail etc. (The following post wasn't done on an occasion like that, I just used this draft to write my annoyance out).

I've cooked this soup many, many times and it tastes always so great. You can try adding different spices, the original recipe used cinnamon, ginger and turmeric. On my trip to Morocco some years ago I bought there ras el hanout -spice mix and I love it (I can distinguish at least paprika and peppermint in the aroma). (And was totally ripped!!! It was a typical serve you some tea and talk nice -scam, then sell you something and make you pay at least a 10-fold price. And even though you know you are being hooked, you just do nothing about it (and feel even more stupid...). It was a lesson learned though. Now it's just a travel story but boy did I feel humiliated at the time!

(Scroll down for the recipe (in English and Finnish)).

Moroccan Chickpea and Lentil Soup (serves 4-6)

2 onions, diced
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ras el hanout (or paprika powder)
2 cans (in total 800 g) chopped tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1,2 l meat/vegetable broth or water
240 g (around 300 ml) red lentils
200 g (around 300 ml) dried chickpeas or 400 g in cooked weight
(dried) parsley
a bunch of fresh cilantro
salt, pepper

Heat some vegetable oil in a pot and saute onions. Add turmeric, cinnamon and ras el hanout and saute until fragrant (don't let the spices burn). Add the tomatoes, sugar and broth/water. Don't worry, if the soup seems too thin at this point. (lentils will thicken it up later). Bring the soup to boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Let cook for at least 10 minutes (but the longer you cook, the better the taste gets). Bring to boil again and add lentils (and dried parsley) and cook according to package's instructions (I cooked them for 10 minutes before adding the rest ingredients). Stir carefully after adding the lentils, as they will easily sink to the bottom and burn (the boiling also helps). Add the cooked chickpeas and fresh herbs and bring to boil. Season with salt and pepper.

Marokkolainen kikherne-linssikeitto

4-6:lle

2 sipulia, kuutioituna
2 rkl ruokaöljyä
1 tl kanelia
1 tl kurkumaa (tai currya)
1 tl ras el hanout'a (tai esim. paprikaa)
2 tölkkiä (yht. 800 g) tomaattimurskaa
1 tl sokeria
1,2 l liha- tai kasvislientä tai vettä
3 dl punaisia linssejä
200 g kuivia kikherneitä (tai 400 g säilöttyjä, valutettu paino)
(kuivattua) persiljaa
nippu tuoretta korianteria
suolaa, pippuria

Lämmitä öljy kattilassa ja kuullota sipulit. Lisää kaneli, kurkuma ja ras el hanout ja paahda mausteita hetki (varo etteivät ne pala). Lisää tomaattimurska, sokeri ja neste. (Keitto saattaa vaikuttaa vetiseltä, mutta linssit sitovat osan nesteestä). Kiehauta ja anna hautua ainakin 10 minuuttia. Kiehauta uudestaan ja lisää linssit. Sekoita hetken aikaa, kunnes linssit eivät enää vajoa pohjalle: ne muuten palavat herkästi pohjaan kiinni (kiehauttaminen ja sekoittaminen auttaa). Keitä kunnes linssit ovat kypsiä (keitin n. 10 minuuttia). Lisää keitetyt kikherneet ja tuoreet yrtit ja kiehauta. Mausta tarvittaessa suolalla ja pippurilla.

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