Middle Eastern Lamb And Spinach Soup Recipes

EASY MOROCCAN LAMB STEW RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven (affiliate) or heavy oven-safe pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking.
• In the heated oil, saute the onions, carrots, and potatoes for 4 minutes or so. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the pot and set aside briefly.
• In the same pot, add more oil if needed, and deeply brown the lamb on all sides. Season with salt and pepper.
• Turn heat to medium-high and return the sauteed vegetables to the pot. Add the dried apricots, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and spices and stir to coat.
• Add the plum tomatoes and broth and bring everything to a boil for 5 minutes or so.
• Cover the pot and place in the 350 degrees F heated-oven for 1 ½ hours (check partway through to add water or broth if needed). Now stir in the chickpeas, cover and return to the oven for another 30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and serve hot with your choice of Lebanese rice, couscous, pita bread or your favorite rustic bread.
• A simple Mediterranean salad like Fattoush makes a great starter for this hearty meal. Enjoy!

SHURPA - MIDDLE EASTERN LAMB SOUP

Steps:

• Sear the lamb chops in your choice of fat in a large pot (I used my dutch oven) until it easily comes off the surface. Flip over and sear the other side.
• Add enough water to cover 2/3 of the pot.
• Add bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt and allow the lamb broth to come to a boil on medium-high heat.
• Spoon the fat and impurities rising to the top with a slotted spoon. Reduce heat to slow simmer. Cook for 1 1/2 hours until lamb is tender and falls off the bone easily.
• Optional step: remove cooked lamb from pot.
• Add potatoes and diced onions and let them cook for about 15 minutes.
• While the vegetables are cooking in the rich broth, I use this time to pick the meat off the bones. Add the lamb meat back to the soup after the vegetables have cooked and I usually throw the bones into the freezer for some crock-pot bone broth later.
• Check for salt and add more as necessary. Top with chopped parsley and give the soup a stir.

MIDDLE EASTERN LAMB AND SPINACH SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pan, saute the chopped onion in 2 Tbs oil until golden.
• Add the turmeric, split peas and 5 cups water; bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes.
• Combine the lamb and grated onion. Shape into walnut-sized balls with your hands.
• Add meatballs to the pan and simmer 10 minutes.
• Add the spinach, cover and simmer 20 more minutes.
• Mix rice flour with 1 cup cold water to make a smooth paste. Slowly add the paste to the pan, stirring constantly.
• Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper and cook over low heat 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, saute the garlic in 1 Tbsp oil in a small skillet until golden. Stir in mint and remove from heat.
• Remove the soup from the heat and stir a little bit into the beaten eggs, then stir the eggs back into the soup.
• Sprinkle the garlic and mint over the top of soup before serving. Serve hot.

SPINACH, LAMB AND ORZO SOUP

Steps:

• Bring water and chicken broth to boil in heavy large saucepan or Dutch oven over high heat. Add lamb shanks, carrot, chopped onion, celery and bay leaf and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lamb is tender, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Transfer lamb to plate and cool slightly. Remove meat from bone and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Strain cooking liquid and reserve.
• In same pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sliced onion and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Add reserved cooking liquid, lamb meat and orzo. Cook soup over medium heat until orzo is tender but still firm to bite, about 20 minutes. Add spinach to soup and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. (Soup can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring soup to simmer before serving.) Ladle soup into bowls. Serve, passing grated Parmesan cheese separately.

EASTER LAMB SOUP WITH DOLMA

Steps:

• Tip the oil, bay, oregano, onions, garlic and leeks into a large pan over a medium heat and cook gently for 10 mins until the onions and leeks soften and become translucent. Add the lamb along with the bone, and cook for 10 mins more until the lamb has started to colour. Pour in the wine, then add the lettuce. Cook for 5 mins more. Tip in 3 litres cold water, cover and cook for about 1 hr until the lamb is tender.
• Meanwhile, tip the herbs into a bowl with 1 tsp sea salt and the spinach. Rub the salt and herbs into the spinach with your hands for 2 mins until the herbs and spinach have wilted. When the lamb has had 40 mins, add half the herb and spinach mix to the pan and continue cooking for the remaining 20 mins. Remove the bone and discard, then remove the meat using a slotted spoon, transfer to a board and shred using two forks. Return the meat to the pan, remove from the heat and add the rest of the spinach mix.
• To make the dolma filling, spoon a third of the lamb and spinach from the soup into a bowl using a slotted spoon, then mix with the uncooked rice, 3 tbsp of the oil, the lemon juice and some seasoning. Spread the vine leaves out on a board and put a teaspoon of the filling in the centre of each. Roll each one up into a cigar shape, tucking in the ends as you go to enclose the filling. Arrange the dolma in a single layer in a small saucepan and drizzle with the rest of the oil and a ladleful of the soup. Cover and cook for 20 mins over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Whisk the eggs with the lemon juice and a ladleful of the soup, then tip this back into the pan with the rest of the soup, then stir (off the heat) until the soup is glossy and silky. Put about three dolma in each bowl, ladle over the soup, sprinkle with some chilli flakes, if you like, and serve with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over.

MEDITERRANEAN LAMB AND LENTIL STEW

Steps:

• Heat oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the lamb cubes and bones and brown on all sides, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add onion and garlic and continue cooking about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Stir in the lentils, 2 cups of the chicken broth, tomatoes, carrots and the thyme, sage and basil. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the lentils are tender but not quite done, stirring occasionally. Depending on the type and freshness of the lentils, this will take from 15 to 30 minutes. If the stew seems dry, add more broth (up to one cup additional). Discard the lamb bones.
• Add the spinach and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in the lemon zest and juice. Garnish individual servings with some of the crumbled cheese.

LAMB, SPINACH, AND COUSCOUS SOUP

Steps:

• In a heavy kettle heat the oil over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking and in it brown the lamb necks. Add the onion and the garlic and cook the mixture, stirring, for 10 minutes, or until the onion is golden. Add the water, the broth, the wine, the parsley, and the carrot, bring the liquid to a boil, skimming the froth, and simmer the mixture, uncovered, for 2 hours. Transfer the lamb necks with tongs to a cutting board, discard the fat and bones, and chop the meat coarse. Add the meat to the kettle with the mint, the rosemary, and the spinach, bring the liquid to a boil, and add the couscous. Boil the soup, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the couscous is tender, and season it with salt and pepper.

MIDDLE EASTERN SPINACH WITH SPICES AND YOGURT

Steps:

• Heat a small dry skillet over medium heat and add the clove, allspice berries, and coriander seeds or cumin seeds. Heat, shaking the pan, until the spices begin to smell toasty, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool for a few minutes, then grind in a spice mill. Add the cinnamon, and set aside.
• In a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt to a paste, and stir into the yogurt. Set aside.
• Place the baby spinach in a bowl and pour on boiling water to cover. Let sit for a couple of minutes, then drain, rinse with cold water, squeeze out excess water, and chop coarsely.
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy skillet and add the pine nuts. Cook, stirring, until they begin color (2 to 3 minutes), then remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the spices to the oil. When they begin to sizzle, cook for about 30 seconds and add the spinach, toasted pine nuts, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until the spinach is heated through and coated with the oil and spices, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and spoon the yogurt over the top. This is very nice served with Arabic bread.