This soup is a firm favourite in our house as a mid-week meal and a dish we've cooked over a campfire for large groups of people. This flavourful and hearty soup is easy to make and uses mostly store cupboard ingredients which can be played around with depending on what you have. A good ras el hanout spice blend will bring plenty of Moroccan flavour to the soup.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin rapeseed oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
  • 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
  • 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tablespoons ras el hanout spice blend
  • 1 cinnamon stick or ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 100g green/brown lentils
  • 100g red lentils
  • 500ml passata (see tips)
  • 1.5 litres vegetable stock or water
  • 1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 100g dried pasta
  • 30g fresh coriander
  • Half a lemon, juiced

Herb & Garlic Laffa Flatbreads

Makes 8 large flatbreads

  • 14g dried yeast
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
  • 300ml warm water
  • 500g strong white/bread flour
  • 30g fresh herbs (one or a mix of coriander/parsley/mint), chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin rapeseed oil

Method

  1. In a large saucepan, fry the onions with ½ teaspoon of salt over a low heat until softened.
  2. Add the carrots and celery and fry for another five minutes.
  3. Add the garlic, ras el hanout, cinnamon stick and lentils.
  4. Fry for another minute.
  5. Add the passata, stock, chickpeas and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
  6. Add the pasta to the soup and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the pasta is ready. Add more water if needed and check the seasoning.
  7. Stir in the lemon juice and chopped coriander, reserving a little coriander for garnish.
  8. Spoon the soup into bowls and garnish with the chopped coriander.

Tips:

  • If you don't have passata you can use a tin of diced tomatoes instead. If you can, blend the tomatoes until smooth before using.
  • We sometimes add chorizo to this dish which you can add to the saucepan after the onions are softened.
  • This soup is a great way to use up leftover pasta or rice. Add for the last few minutes of cooking time to heat through.

Herb & Garlic Laffa Flatbreads

  1. For the dough, mix the yeast, sugar and warm water in a jug. In a medium mixing bowl mix the flour, herbs, garlic, and salt together.
  2. After a few minutes, once the yeast mixture starts to bubble, add with the oil to the bowl. Knead by hand or with a mixer for 3-5 minutes until the dough is smooth.
  3. Leave the dough ball in the mixing bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour until doubled in size.
  4. Divide the dough into 8 and roll into balls. This is easier on an unfloured surface. Place the rolled balls on a floured surface, cover with a tea towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
  5. Heat a cast iron or frying pan which is 22cm wide or wider on a high heat.