Moroccan Pumpkin Soup (featuring Ras el Hanout)

This soup just got better and better as the days went on. It was very good the day it was made, but several days later, it was even better.

Moroccan Pumpkin Soup (Chorbat al qara'a)
Cooking Light, January 2009

3 1/2 c butternut squash or pumpkin, peeled and cubed
2 c stock
1 3/4 c yellow onions, diced
1 c water
1 tsp Ras el Hanout (see below)
3/4 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 c whole milk **
1 T butter
8 tsp yogurt (opt)
1/4 c cilantro, chopped (opt)

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, or until tender.

Place half of squash mixture in a blender. Remove center from blender lid and puree unti lsmooth. Pour mixture into a large bowl. Repeat with remaining squash mixture. Return pureed mixture to pan over low heat. Ad dmilk and butter to pan. Cook 3 minutes, or until thoroughly heated. Serve with yogurt and cilantro.

** Note -- I like my soup thick and hearty, so I used whipping cream instead of whole milk. You could lower the fat by using a thinner milk, but you won't get as thick of a soup. Even with whipping cream, I still found the soup a bit thin for my liking, but it could easily be adjusted with some tweaking. And, of course, it thickened a bit as a leftover.

Ras el Hanout
Cooking Light, January 2009

2 1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 tsp cumin, ground
2 tsp ginger, ground
2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon *
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp ground red pepper *
1 tsp allspice, ground
1 tsp saffron threads, crushed **
1/2 tsp cloves, ground
1/4 tsp nutmeg, ground

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

* Note -- to be completely honest, I would adjust these seasonings in some pretty dramatic ways. I don't know how traditional this recipe is, but, I would lessen the cinnamon quantity, and increase the ground red pepper. As it stands, it's heavy on the sweet, but weak on the spicy depth.

** Also -- and I think this is important -- I went ahead and followed the instructions on the saffron. To be honest, I couldn't taste it at all. Likely because the recipe didn't ask for the saffron to be infused in any meaningful way, in order to bring out the flavor. In the interest of saving money, I might recommend omitting. Or, maybe I'll do some more research on traditional ways of making this spice blend.

Comments

Miranda said…

What a great roll recipe - and the end result looks so professional! Instant hit in my house, thank you

November 24, 2011 at 7:16 PM

Chicken Traybake with Roasted Poblano and Tomato Salsa

This dish is delicious! Easy! And, beautiful to look at! The original recipe calls for you to process all the cooked vegetables together into a chunky salsa, but I recommend serving it as is so you have an automatic side dish. The original also calls for cooking chicken bone-in, but, the more I cook traybakes, the more I advocate for slicing chicken into tenders and cooking boneless. Just a safer bake that way because everything comes to the same temperature at the same time. Chicken Traybake with Roasted Poblano and Tomato Salsa Milk Street 1 T chili powder 2 poblano, stemmed, seeded, chopped 1 yellow onion, root end intact, in 8 wedges 1 pint cherry tomatoes 1/4 c olive oil 1 T brown sugar 1 T oregano, dried 3 lb chicken, bone-in, skin-on, trimmed 10 cloves garlic, peeled 1 T vinegar 1/4 c cilantro, chopped Heat oven to 450. In small bowl, stir together chili powder and 2 tsp salt. In large bowl, toss together pobloanos, onion wedges, tomatoes, and 1 T of the chili-power/salt mix

Mayocoba Beans with Green Chiles

I love this dish so much that I can barely stand it. Delicious the night it was made, and fantastic as leftovers throughout the week. Mayocoba beans are easily replaced -- try pintos, if you can't find mayocobas. Mayocoba Beans with Green Chiles Baptism of Fire 3-4 green chiles, roasted and chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 T lard or olive oil 1/2 tsp oregano 1 tsp cumin pepper 1 c mayocoba beans, dry 3 c water 1 tsp salt Cook the green chiles, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, and black pepper in the fat until the onions begin to caramelize. Add the water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the beans sit, uncovered, for an hour. You may drain the water to remove some of the slightly indigestible sugars that cause gassiness. If you decide to drain them, add enough water back into the pot to cover the beans with about 2" of water above the beans for cooking. Bring the beans back to a boil and cook, until tender. This will take

Crustless Couscous and Spinach Quiche

This "quiche" is so simple to make - you can prepare everything the night before, assemble it in the morning, and have it ready to go soon after waking up. An ideal dish to serve company, too. Crustless Couscous and Spinach Quiche The Garden of Earthly Delights 1 1/2 c water 3/4 c couscous, uncooked 3 eggs, beaten 1 bunch spinach 3/4 c cottage cheese 2 c cheddar cheese, shredded 3 T salsa 1 tsp chile powder 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp oregano, dried 1/2 tsp coarse salt 1/2 tsp pepper Preheat oven to 375. Lightly coat a 9" pie plate with vegetable oil and set aside. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Add couscous. Stir once, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer couscous to a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Spread couscous evenly in the bottom of the pie plate. Placein oven and bake until a knife comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Remove quiche from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Donut Army

Search This Blog