Published in Bob’s Fresh and Local Newsletter, 10/25/2017.
I found this recipe last year on The Green Panda’s Kitchen. A group of women made it outdoors in Kenya, and when I read that, I started dreaming of making beautiful meals outdoors with veggies from Farmer Bob’s fields. The squash at this time of year is plentiful, and the fall weather has been amazing…just right for cooking outdoors. A cast iron Dutch oven, some heat, a place to cut up my veggies, and that’s all I needed.
But you don’t have to cook outside! You can use your kitchen cutting board and put a soup pot on your kitchen stove. I halved this recipe for the two of us, and I usually bump up the seasonings a little when I taste it toward the end.
MOROCCAN SOUP WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH & SWISS CHARD
Ingredients
- Chickpeas, 1 lb., rinsed and cooked until just tender
- Butternut squash, washed, remove seeds and fibers, cut into 1.5 inch cubes (Don’t peel – I tried this! It really works!)
- Carrots, 1 lb., washed and cut into medium dice
- Onions, 1 lb., cut into medium dice
- Tomatoes, 1 lb., cut into medium dice
- Swiss Chard, 1 large bunch, remove leaves from stems, finely chopped
- Garlic, 1 head, peeled and chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup
- Smoked paprika, 1 TB
- Cinnamon, 1 TB
- Cilantro, 1 bunch, washed and coarsely chopped
- Lemon, 1/2 – 1, juiced
- Cumin, 1 tsp. (Most recently I used 1 TB and no coriander)
- Coriander, 1 tsp.
- Salt, to taste (I usually use about 1 TB per gallon of soup)
- Hot paprika, 1-2 tsp. (Opt.)
- Water to cover (between the chickpea liquid and water, about 5 quarts)
Instructions
- Prepare the chickpeas by rinsing, covering with plenty of water, and cooking covered on low heat until tender (1-2 hours). Check periodically to make certain there is still sufficient water. Set aside with the remaining water.
- Prepare the veggies (squash, carrots, onion, tomatoes chard, cilantro) and set aside. Note: you can replace the fresh tomatoes with one-half of a 19 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes if you’re in a hurry)
Mince the garlic. - Add 2 TB extra virgin olive oil to a large soup pot. Saute the garlic and onion until softened.
- Add the squash, carrots and tomato (or one-half of a 19-oz. can petite diced tomatoes) and the reserved chickpeas with their water.
- Add additional water until all is cover — less for a more “packed” soup, more for a brothier soup.
- Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until the veggies are tender.
- Add the seasonings and lemon juice and check the taste. Adjust seasonings if needed.
- Stir in the cilantro and chard.
I hope you enjoy this delicious, aromatic soup.
Tonight I’m making pumpkin and black bean patties for dinner. I’d love to share the results with you next week, but we’ve reached the end of the season! I hope the winter isn’t too hard on us this year, and I’ll look forward to connecting with you all again when we start getting Farmer Bob’s veggies again in the spring.
For more, visit my blog, vegetatingwithleslie.org, “Like” me on FaceBook/Vegetating with Leslie or follow me on Twitter, @vegwithleslie.