28 Mar Algerian Sweet Potato Noodle Soup With Chickpeas
This spicy vegetarian soup is the perfect way to handle winter this year! You don’t have to soak the lentils and you can of course use canned chickpeas. But if you’ve never tried cooking your own chickpeas from scratch, maybe now is the time to take the plunge!
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil or ghee
- 2 tsp. ground turmeric
- 2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. caraway seeds
- 1 tsp. hot smoked paprika
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 pinch saffron (about 40 threads) soaked in 2 Tbsp. hot water
- 3 medium onions
- 1 tsp. fine grain sea salt
- 14 oz canned whole tomatoes
- 6oz tomato paste (1 small can)
- 1 ½ cup dried chickpeas OR 3 cups cooked chickpeas (about 2 cans)
- 1 cup dried lentils, soaked overnight if possible
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 3 slices lemon
- 5 cups water
- ½ cup cilantro, leaves and tender stems only, plus more for garnish
- ½ cup flat-leaf parsley, leaves and tender stems only, plus more for garnish
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- cold-pressed olive oil and lemon wedges for serving
Directions:
1. If using dried chickpeas, soak them in pure water overnight with an acidic medium, such as apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. The next morning, drain and rinse. Place in a large stockpot, cover with fresh water, bring to a boil and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes. About 30 minutes into cooking, add about a tablespoon of salt. Drain and rinse.
2. Place saffron threads in a small cup with about 2 tablespoons of recently-boiled water. Let steep for 10-15 minutes.
3. Peel and dice onions. Heat coconut oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the turmeric, ginger, caraway, paprika, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir to blend, and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Lower the heat to medium, add onions and salt, stir to coat. Cook until translucent and slightly caramelized, about 10 minutes (add a little water to the pot if it becomes dry). Add the steeped saffron liquid, the canned tomatoes (break up any large pieces), tomato paste, chickpeas, lentils, lemon slices and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook covered until the lentils are tender, 15-25 minutes depending on whether or not you soaked them.
4. While the soup is cooking, make the sweet potato noodles. Scrub the sweet potato well under running water if it is organic, and peel it if it is not. Spiralize the potato if you have a spiralizer, or use a julienne peeler to create long, thin noodle-like strips. Wash the herbs well, spin dry and roughly chop, removing any tough stems.
5. Add the sweet potato noodles and herbs to the pot, stir to incorporate and let simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste.
6. Ladle out desired amount of hot soup into bowls. Drizzle each serving generously with olive oil and top with more herbs. Serve with a wedge of lemon, and enjoy.