North African Spiced Soup

By Bexter

Ingredients

• Serves 6
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp grated fresh root ginger
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 carrots,diced
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
• 1 lb floury potatoes, diced
• 5 strands saffron
• 14oz can chick-peas, drained
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• freshly ground black pepper
• wedges of lemon, to serve

Preparation

Step 1

1 Place the onion in a large pot with
300rnl/~ pint/1 Y4 cups of the
vegetable stock. Simmer gently for
about 10 minutes.
1Place the onion in a large pot with
300rnl/~ pint/1 Y4 cups of the
vegetable stock. Simmer gently for
about 10 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, mix together the
cinnamon, turmeric, ginger and
cayenne pepper. Add 30rnl12 tbsp of
the vegetable stock and mix together to
form a paste.

3 Stir the spicy paste into the onion
mixture and add the chopped
carrots, celery and the remaining
vegetable stock.

4 Bring the mixture back to a boil,
stirring, and reduce the heat. Cover
the saucepan with a lid and gently
simmer for a further 5 minutes.
The chick-peas in this soup are a good
source of fibre, which can relieve
constipation. They are also a good source
of low-fat protein, vitamins and minerals

5 Add the tomatoes and potatoes
and simmer gently, covered, for
20 minutes. Add the saffron, chickpeas,
coriander and lemon juice. Add
pepper to taste and when piping hot,
serve with wedges of lemon.