Here's a soup to get you through the winter.
This is the longest running soup season that I can remember, a winter during which I may never eat salad or other cold dish for lunch. This week’s selection is a fairly new addition to my soup rotation. I included this recipe for Sopa Morisca in my new cookbook, FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain (Hippocrene Books).
Sopa Morisca, or “Moorish” Soup, is from Almería and Granada provinces in southern Spain, the region that was the refuge of the Muslim population after the fall of the last Moorish kingdom of Granada, in 1492. These people, called Moriscos, were ostensibly converted to Christianity and allowed to remain. They were finally expelled from Christian Spain in 1609.
This hearty soup is sort of a cross between Spanish sopa de picadillo that is made with the broth from a cocido, with chickpeas, chicken, and fideo noodles, and Moroccan harira soup, which may have lentils as well as chickpeas. As made today the soup has a base of chopped tomatoes and is seasoned with pimentón (paprika). As those ingredients come from the New World, I omitted them from the recipes in the cookbook as they are not flavors of al-Andalus. To tell the truth, I like to finish the soup with a spoonful of harissa, Moroccan hot-chile paste!
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| A heart-warming soup for cold weather--vegetables, chickpeas, and fideo noodles. Chicken optional. |
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| This recipe for Morisca Soup appears in FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS. |
Morisca Soup with Chickpeas and Noodles from Almería
Sopa Morisca Almeriense
This recipe uses canned or precooked chickpeas, so is fairly quick to prepare. (If you are starting out with dry chickpeas, put them to soak in hot water the evening before cooking. Drain and add to fresh hot water. Cook until chickpeas are tender, about 1 ½ hours.)
Fideo noodles, like vermicelli, come in sizes from the thinnest angel’s hair to medium-thick. For this recipe, use medium-thick ones or substitute spaghetti broken into short lengths.
Serves 4.
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onions
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced carrots
½ teaspoon coarse salt
3 cloves garlic
Pinch of saffron threads
¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
8 cups chicken stock or water
Salt
1 ½ cups cooked and drained chickpeas
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 cup medium fideo noodles
1 cup diced cooked chicken (optional)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Sprigs of fresh mint
Chopped cooked egg, to garnish
Lemon wedges, to serve
Bread to accompany the soup
Heat the oil in a soup pot. Sauté the onions, celery and carrots on medium heat 5 minutes. While onions are sautéing, in a mortar grind the coarse salt with the garlic, saffron, peppercorns and cumin. Stir this mixture into the pot with the vegetables.
Add the stock or water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Add salt to taste. Add the chickpeas, half of the parsley and the cilantro. Cook, covered, until vegetables are very tender, 15 minutes. Add the fideo noodles and cook them according to package directions, 12 minutes for medium fideos. Add the cooked chicken, if using, and remove the soup from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice.
Serve the soup with sprigs of mint and chopped egg. Accompany the soup with lemon wedges and bread.
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| I've added a spoonful of Moroccan harissa, hot-chile paste, and some chard from the garden to the basic soup recipe. *** *** *** |
FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS
The Culinary Legacy of Spain
FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain. Here's a fresh angle on the traditional cooking of Spain, with 120 recipes that trace their roots to Moorish Spain. See below for where to order.
This cookbook explores the fascinating story of the deep and lasting influences that Islamic culture has left on modern Spanish cooking.
Author and Spanish cooking expert Janet Mendel tells the story of the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking through 120 recipes and photographs for modern-day dishes, from salads and vegetables to fish, poultry and meat to sweets and pastries, that trace their heritage to foods served in medieval times. Dishes from this era include exotic spices such as saffron, the use of fruits and almonds with savory dishes, and honeyed sweets and pastries. The flavors of al-Andalus live on in modern Spanish cooking and are what makes Spain’s cuisine distinctive from the rest of Europe. (Hippocrene Books)
Order on IndiePubs (USA)
Use PROMO CODE HIPPOCRENE40 for 40% off on all Hippocrene titles at IndiePubs online bookstore.
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Order on amazon (USA)
(If you order on Amazon, please give my book a review!)
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