Harira is a wonderfully filling and hearty soup originally from Morocco. It can be made with many different ingredients (and can be made vegetarian), but it’s typically made with lamb, chicken, or beef, lentils, and chickpeas in a lightly spicy tomato broth.
This dish is a staple during Ramadan to break the daily fast, and also makes for an awesome dinner on chilly nights!
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 lb lamb chunks
1 large onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced (or if you’re like me and don’t like the texture of celery, keep large so you can remove later)
3 carrots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ to 1 teaspoon harissa paste, depending on your heat tolerance
1 (28oz can) crushed tomatoes
½ cup parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
¼ cup cilantro, chopped, plus more for garnish
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
1 (15 oz can) chickpeas, drained
6 cups chicken broth
4 oz vermicelli, broken into smaller, 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch to make gluten free)
Have you ever used ground sumac? Ground sumac is made from dried ground berries from the sumac bush, which is native to the Middle East. The flavor is similar to lemons, sour and tangy, but less tart than lemon juice.
I purchased ground sumac a while back patiently waiting for the “right” recipe to cross my path. After receiving eggplant in my most recent Hungry Harvest, I came across this recipe for Sumac Scented Eggplant and Chickpeas, which I knew I had to make!
I’ve been trying to think up more bring-to-work lunch ideas recently. We tend to just eat leftovers or traditional salads for lunch, which can get boring quickly.
So when my Hungry Harvest (note: this is a referral link) came with absolutely huge cucumbers, I figured I could make a slightly different lunch (or a make ahead side for dinner) with it!
This dish has chickpeas to make it a bit more hearty, red onions for flavor (and color), and of course, cucumbers. I tossed all of those in a lemony, zesty ranch Greek yogurt mixture.
Ingredients:
1 large (or two medium) cucumber(s), cut into bite sized pieces
As the weather turns cooler, it seems like everyone around me is fighting a cold. My husband is currently feeling a bit under the weather, so I wanted to make him a nice comforting soup. Cooking Light had this recipe for Turmeric Chicken and Chickpea Soup in their November magazine and their timing is impeccable!
This soup is packed with antioxidant-rich ingredients including turmeric, ginger, and garlic. It also substitutes in chickpeas for noodles for added texture and fiber.
The chicken broth in the recipe is further enhanced with the addition of coconut milk at the end.
Even better, this soup comes together really quickly, and has a bunch of ingredients that you may already have on hand in your fridge and pantry.
Ingredients: (serves 6)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1 large red bell pepper, seed and membranes removed, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups unsalted chicken stock
1 (15 oz) can unsalted chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Hummus is really easy to prepare and the addition of the beets makes this one a show stopper. Whip up a batch of this to serve with a crudite platter at your next gathering!
Ingredients:
2 red beets
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
8 garlic cloves, halved
grated lemon rind of two lemons
fresh lemon juice from two lemons
1/4 walnut oil (or good olive oil)
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
Tagine or Tajine dishes are Moroccan slow cooked dishes named after the pot they are cooked in. The dishes are typically a stew with a protein, spices, and fruit. Cooking Light had a version with chicken and chickpeas that sounds delicious. This recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Chickpea Tagine combines both sweet and spicy elements to make a really flavor-filled dish.
This recipe takes a bit more prep time that my usual slow cooker recipes, so be prepared for that. This recipe is great for a Saturday: prepare everything in the morning, run whatever errands you have for the day, and come back to an amazing smelling kitchen and dinner mostly ready! I shredded my chicken and served it over couscous but you can keep the chicken whole and eat it as is.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large or two medium onions (about 2 1/2 cups), chopped
Hummus is probably my favorite snack. On days I don’t feel like cooking, I tend to grab some hummus with pita, tomatoes, cucumbers, or anything else that will work as a yummy vehicle for the hummus. It’s also really delicious as a spread on a sandwich instead of mayo. So I usually have at least one container of hummus in my fridge at any moment. But homemade hummus is exponentially better than the store bought stuff. Plus, you can customize it to your liking.
I recently watched a video of the hummus master himself, James Beard winner Michael Solomonov. Mike Solo has arguably the best hummus found in Philly, at his restaurant Zahav. I wanted to attempt to make my own creamy hummus at home. I tend to like mine slightly spicy, which can be achieved by adding a lot of garlic. But I have this awesome Nudo Chili Olive Oil, so I thought I’d include that to give it a bit of a kick, so I decided to make this Chili Oil Hummus!
Today, I have a guest post from Trudy Abhood of GourmetGiftBaskets.com. Not only does she deliver a delicious (and super simple) falafel recipe, but she even helps take the guesswork out of dessert. Falafel, if you haven’t had it before, is a fried patty made from chickpeas or fava beans. They are delicious with some tahini, hot sauce, hummus, and cucumber on a pita, or as part of a mezze platter. The best part? This recipe only takes 15 minutes! Enjoy!
There comes a time when food and boredom go hand in hand and when finding something to eat is harder than going on a diet. I have found that Falafel can heroically fill both these problems. This Middle Eastern food has become more and more popular over the years, but my friends remain hesitant; most are even unsure of what food group it belongs to. Falafel is made of mainly mashed up chickpeas, so it is the protein food group, for all those now wondering. I have found a super delicious and easy recipe that has said it fifteen minutes, including prep time! I tried it out and yes, it takes fifteen minutes, but a food processor is in dire need to make this time!
Ingredients:
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon coriander
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flour
oil for frying (canola or vegetable)
Preparation:
Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste) in medium bowl. I have found that you may want to mash the chickpeas before combining everything. Also, having a food processor would be very handy for mashing them. Without a food processor, this may take longer than fifteen minutes! You want everything to be a nice thick paste that can be made into chick pea balls. Make them about the size of a ping pong ball.Now just use a frying pan with about 2 inches of oil at 350 degrees.
The balls should take about 2-5 minutes to be nice and golden. And that’s it!
Now serve falafel by itself, or with hummus and pita bread. Yum!
Everyone knows what comes after the meal…dessert! Since it was just Valentine’s Day, I have been searching for scrumptious sweets and came across a loaded gift basket with red velvet cake. They also have gift baskets with wine! Who doesn’t want to curl up with a bottle of wine and cake? I had never even though of gift basketsas an idea for myself, but why not? Some are only $24.99. This is less than a pair of jeans nowadays. Time for some falafel, wine, and cake!
My advice: Don’t be afraid of deliciousness.
About the author; Trudy Abood is the VP of GourmetGiftBaskets.com, one of the top suppliers of quality gift baskets. She is a mom of 2 boys, one of which founded GGB and the other is also VP at the company. She formally owned Chalifour’s Flowers in Manchester, NH; the largest flower shop in the state.
Thanks so much Trudy! The falafel sounds absolutely delicious! If you’ve never checked out GourmetGiftBaskets.com, I suggest popping over there soon. It’s a really great site, with inventive baskets as well as traditional treats. They have such a wonderful selection that I can’t choose my favorite! (The cocktail, breakfast, and the coffee & chocolate baskets are definitely at the top of my list but I also love the organic baskets and the unique gift baskets are really great. They even have a Phillies themed basket! See? Told you I couldn’t decide).
I can never have enough hummus, it is one of my favorite snacks (although I tend to eat so much of it, it’s not really a snack!) I’ve had hummus on the brain for a while now. Be Well Philly must have read my mind, because they posted this great Cilantro Lime hummus recipe that I just had to try. As a plus, cilantro came in my CSA share this week!
I think I’m on a hummus kick. Or maybe I’m feeling particularly lazy dinner-wise this week, and hummus is a quick and easy thing to make. Whatever the reason, it is hummus overload on this website. I have a good feeling no one is complaining though. One of the most appealing things about hummus is how versatile it is. Here is my version of roasted red pepper hummus.
Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained
1/3 cup tahini
The juice and zest of 1 lemon juice
1 jar of roasted red peppers (about 3 peppers)
1 garlic scape, chopped (or 2 garlic cloves)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
For dipping:
Grape tomatoes
Pita bread
Cucumber
First, prepare your red peppers. Remove the peppers from the jar. Take two of the peppers and roughly chop. You will use these in the actual hummus. Finely chop the remaining red pepper as a topping for the hummus. Set the finely chopped red pepper aside.
Combine everything (chickpeas to salt and pepper) in a food processor.
Blend until smooth.
Top with some of the remaining red pepper. Serve with pita, cucumber slices, or tomatoes.
Roasted red pepper hummus is one of my favorite. It always ends up tasting so smooth and creamy, it makes me so happy. The tiny addition of cumin gives a light heat to the hummus which I really enjoy. If you’re not a fan, feel free to omit the cumin. I loved the scapes in this hummus. Raw minced garlic can sometimes be overbearing in hummus, so the subtlety of the scapes was perfect.
Hummus is really easy to make and can be customized to whatever suits your tastes. I am still working through my parsley, so I decided to try a parsley hummus on Epicurious with a few adjustments.
Ingredients:
1 bunch of parsley leaves
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 can of chickpeas, rinsed
the juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons tahini
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
pita bread
cooking spray
salt, to taste
Preheat the over to 450 degrees. Cut the pita into triangles and arrange on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray.
Cook for 4-5 minutes and set aside. Place the chickpeas in a colander and rinse with water.
Roughly chop the garlic.
Put the parsley and the garlic in a food processor and process until thoroughly mixed, about 1 minute.
Add the chickpeas and process for another minute.
Add in the lemon juice, lemon zest, tahini, olive oil, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt (to taste). Process until smooth.
Place the pine nuts in a saute pan over medium heat. Shake the pan frequently to keep them from burning. When fragrant and browned, remove from heat.
Take 3/4 of the pine nuts and finely chop.
Add the chopped pine nuts to the hummus and mix in with a spoon. Top the hummus with the remaining whole pine nuts.
The spices add great flavor but there isn’t enough in it to give heat. The pine nuts give the hummus some crunch. And for some reason, it makes me super happy that this hummus is such a pretty green color. If you’re not in the mood for toasted pita, tomatoes or sliced cucumber would be quite tasty with this.
A friend sent me this recipe from Food & Wine, and I somehow had all of these ingredients on hand (yes, including the saffron and golden raisins… don’t judge me). This recipe said it would take 30 minutes, so I thought it would be a great weeknight meal, plus any time I can make something somewhat healthy, it’s a win.
Ingredients:
1 cup water
10 ounces baby spinach
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
Kosher salt
Pinch of saffron threads
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of freshly ground pepper
Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas with their liquid
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large tomato—peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
Crusty bread, for serving
To cook the spinach, boil the water in a pot and add the leaves. Stir frequently until wilted (about 2 minutes). Drain the spinach in a strainer, pressing the leaves against the sides to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Coarsely chop the spinach and set aside.
In retrospect, I feel like using frozen chopped spinach that has been defrosted would work just as well, and save some time.
Using the flat side of a knife, mash the garlic into a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the saffron.
kind of coarse, but oh well
In a small bowl, mix the garlic paste, paprika, cumin, cloves, and black pepper and mash until combined.
Stir in 1/4 cup of the chickpea liquid.
To seed the tomatoes, cut the tomato in half and use a spoon to remove the seeds.
I decided not to peel the tomato because I wanted the pieces to retain their shape. Feel free to peel them, it will make for a more soft and more incorporated into the dish.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a dutch oven or pot. Heat over high heat and add in the onion and tomato, (I forgot about the onion, oops) and stir occasionally until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add the spiced garlic sauce to the pot and cook for 1 minute.
Add the chickpeas and the liquid they came in to the pot. Add the raisins and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add the spinach, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top and serve with some crusty bread.
This didn’t have as much hit-you-over-the-head flavor as I was expecting (when cumin is in a recipe, I tend to prepare for some kick). But, the more I ate, the more I really enjoyed it. If I make this in the future, I will probably use more tomato, I was really craving more. Also, I hope to remember to use onion next time! Darn me. This is one of those dishes that will probably taste better the next day, when all the flavors have time to meld. (Update: it was delicious the next day!)
I try to bring my lunch into work at least four times a week, but sometimes I am just too exhausted at the end of a week day to think about and prepare a lunch for the next day. Soups in general are great for these days; you can make a huge batch on Saturday, freeze it in single portions, and then grab when on the run. Food and Wine had a “fast” soup recipe listed so I thought I’d try it out (most soups take at least an hour to prepare).
The original recipe is linked above. I made a few substitutions, based on what I already had in my house.
Ingredients:
7 cups diced tomatoes with their juice (two 28-ounce cans)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 /2 teaspoons dried sage
2 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
2 cups water
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup orzo
2 cups drained and rinsed canned chickpeas (one 19-ounce can)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
First puree the tomatoes with their juice in a food processor or blender. Feel free to puree at much or as little as you want. If you like your soup a bit chunky, only pulse the blender a few times.
In a large pot (and I mean large– my Dutch Oven was almost too small!), heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (The original recipe called for 1 whole onion. That seemed like quite a lot of onion for my tastes, so I used half of the onion in my ingredients photo.) Stir in garlic.
Add the pureed tomatoes, sage, broth, water and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil. Stir in the pasta and chickpeas. Bring the soup back to a boil.
Reduce the heat and partially cover, stirring occasionally.
Partially covered? Sure
Cook for 15 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir in the parsley, pepper, and grated Parmesan. Serve topped with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan.
Finished Dish
I was impressed with how quick this recipe was, maybe 35-45 minutes from start to finish. What made it even more manageable was during the down time (10 minute cooking of onion, waiting for it to boil, etc) I was able to clean up the mess I was making.
The soup was really tasty and deceptively fresh tasting (that parsley really helped!). If you like a little kick, I think a few drops of hot sauce during the final boiling stage would be a nice addition. If you don’t have and dried sage on hand, the recipe suggests substituting rosemary or marjoram.
This dish would be great to sop up with garlic bread or even a cheesy toast. I’m excited to have this for lunch some time next week!
