Couscous Aromatique

I love this recipe because of the special way you steam the coucous over the vegetables which influes the coucous with lots of flavour! Also its one of those recipies where you dont have to dice the vegetables up finaly because they are steamed for a long time. Very delicious way to eat lots of vegetables with a Moroccan twist :) It is from the book "Vegetarian Cooking: A complete guide to ingredients and techniques, with over 300 delicious steb-by-step recipes" by Roz Denny and Christine Ingram.

Serves four to six

450g/1lb couscous grains

60ml/ 4 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, cut in chunks

2 carrots, cut in thick slices

4 baby turnips, halved

8 small new potatoes, halved

1 green pepper, cut in chunks

115g/4oz green beans, halved

1 small fennel bulb, sliced thickly ( i have never actually used the fennel bulbs it tastes fine without it but not sure how much of a difference it makes)

2.5cm/1in cube fresh root ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

5ml/1 tsp ground tumeric

15ml/1 tbsp ground coriander

5ml/1 tsp cumin seeds

5 ml/1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

45ml/3 tbsp red lentils

1x400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes

1 litre/ 13/4 pints/4 1/2 cups stock

60ml/4 tbsp raisins

salt and ground black pepper

rind and juice of 1 lemon

harissa paste, to serve (optional)

 1. Cover the couscous with cold water and soak for 10 minutes. Draina nd spread out on a tray for 20 minutes, stirring it occasionally with your fingers.

2. Meanwhile, in a large suacepan, heat the oil and fry the vegetabes for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.

3. Add the grated ginger, garlic and spices, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the lentils, tomatoes, stock and raisins, and add seasoning.

4. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. By this time, the couscous should be ready for steaming. Place in a steamer and fit this on top of the stew.

5. Cover and steam gently for about 20 minutes. The grains should be swollen and soft. Fork through and season well. Spoon into a serving dish.

6. Add the lemon rind and juice to the stew and chekc the seasoing. If liked add harissa paste to taste - but its quite hot. Spoon the couscous onto a plate and ladle the stew on top.

Nile River Soup

 This soup is from a highly recommanded site which has many authentic recipes from all aroudn the world, the International Vegetarian Union  http://www.ivu.org

This recipe is very quick to make, perfect for when you don't have many ingredients or you wnat something to warm yourself up on a winter night. The blending of the soup gives it a differnt texture and flavour from other lentil soups.

From roussea

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
• 2 t ground ginger (I used minced fresh ginger)
• 2 t ground cumin
• 2 t ground coriander
• 4 c water or vegetable stock
• 2 slices of lemon (1/4 inch thick or so)
• 1/2 cup canned (or fresh) tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cayenne or to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 T finely chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)

Heat oil in heavy pot on medium high heat.
Saute onion and garlic until softened.
Stir in lentils, ginger, cumin and coriander and coat with onion/garlic mixture.
Add lemon slices, stock, tomatoes, cayenne, salt and pepper
(you can add salt and pepper later, but like to put it in now).

Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer for about 45 minutes (it may only take 30 minutes) or until lentils are tender.
If you like your soup thin, add more stock.
Take the pot off the burner, discard lemon slices, and puree soup in blender or food processor.
Season if you have not already added the salt and pepper.
Sprinkle with coriander (cilantro leaves).
Alternatively, you can add the cilantro before you put the soup in the food processor.
Serves 4.

Egyptian Style Lentil Soup

This recipe is from Donna Klein's The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen." Apparently it has been a source of nourishment in Egypt since the beginning of history. I think you need to use a good quality vegetable broth for this, and she does not specify what type of lentils to use, but I used brown lentils. 

* this soup tastes great on its own, without the added lemon or the red onion, so its up to you to decide if you want the lemony taste or want to bother roasting the onion 

makes 6 servings

1 small red onion (about 4 ounces) sliced into very thin rings

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium yellow onions (about 6 ounces each) coarsely chopped

5 ounces (about 2 1/2 small) carrots, coarsely chopped

1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped 

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

4 cups vegetal broth (use the recipe posted above, or low sodium canned) 

4 cups of water 

1/2 cups of lentils, rinsed and picked over

1 small dried hot red chili pepper, left whole, or cayenne pepper to taste (optional) 

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

juice of 1/2 large lemon (about 2 tablespoons) 

lemon wedges (optional) 

 Prehead the oven to 425F (220C). Place the red onion in a pan and toss with 2 T oil. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 15 min or until  soften and fragrant. (For your health, i don't recommand using foil - use a lid instead) Remove from the oven an dlet stand, covered, until ready to use.

Meanwhile, in a large stockpot, heat the remaining oil over medium-low heat. Add the yellow onions, carrots, celery, garlic, cumin, and fennel seeds and cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the broth, water, lentils and chili if using, season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Immediately reduce the heat partially cover, and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Uncover and simmer for 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally or until the lentils are very tender and the broth is slightly thickened. Remove and discard the chilie. Stir in the reserved red onion and the lemon juice. Season with additional salt and pepper as necessary. Serve hot, passing hte lemon wedges separately if desired.