Lamb and Chickpea Soup With Lentils

Submitted by mermaidmagic

"A Food & Wine recipe. Tastes even better the next day."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 30mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 3 quarts water
• 1 lbs tomatoes, coarsely chopped or (28 ounce) can peeled Italian plum tomatoes, chopped,juices reserved
• 1 large Spanish onion, coarsely grated
• 1 lb boneless leg of lamb, well-trimmed,cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1⁄2 cup brown lentils or 1/2 cup green lentil (3 1/2 ounces)
• 1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1⁄3 cup rice
• 1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup cilantro, chopped
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• pita bread, for serving

directions

1. In a large, heavy pot, combine the water, tomatoes, onion, lamb, chickpeas, lentils, olive oil, tomato paste and cumin.
2. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the tomato paste.
3. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the rice and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, whisk 1 cup of the soup into the flour.
6. Whisk the slurry into the soup and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes longer.
7. Stir in the parsley and cilantro.
8. Season the soup with salt and pepper and serve.
9. Serve with warm pita bread if desired.
10. The soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Reviews

[Natalia 3]

I was a little unsure of how this soup would turn out since the base is water and not broth and there are relatively few ingredients. It was delicious and hearty. Very nicely balanced too! I didn't alter it much - just used 1/4 cup arrowroot in lieu of the flour to make it gluten free. And here's the kicker. My children (6 and 10) each had 2 bowls!

 

[stormylee]

A wonderful, rich-tasting soup! I made a few small alterations (only 2 litres of water; 2 tbls of olive oil and 1 tbls of cumin) and instead of adding salt and pepper at the end, threw in two beef bouillon cubes and a handful of black peppercorns right at the start. The fresh herbs are a must, they really bring the flavours together! The servings are very generous - I think this makes more like 8-10 servings (it's a very hearty soup!), which is great, because this really is even better on the second day. :-) Thank you for sharing!