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

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