The magic of the Orient

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g soup meat with bones
• 2 liters of water
• 60 g beluga lentils
• 2 stalk(s) celery
• 2 small zucchini
• 2 carrots
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 120 g broccoli florets
• 1 onion(s)
• 60 g vermicelli
• 1 small can of chickpeas
• 2 Sucuk (Turkish garlic sausage)
• 60 g green olives, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp Chubritsa (Bulgarian spice mix)
• 1 tsp, leveled Ras el Hanout (oriental spice mix)
• ½ tsp coriander seeds, ground
• 1 pinch of cumin
• ¼ tsp fennel
• some orange zest
• 1 pinch of mustard powder
• 2 tsp salt
• n. B. Pfeffer
• n. B. Harissa
• 300 ml tomatoes, pureed
• some parsley, chopped

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 4 hours 10 minutes; Total time approx. 4 hours 25 minutes

Chickpea stew with lots of vegetables and spices

Place the meat in cold water. The meat should be completely covered with water. When the water boils, season with 1 teaspoon of salt and reduce the heat so that it simmers gently. Crush the garlic cloves, but do not peel them, and add them to the meat along with the bay leaf. Simmer for 1 hour. Meanwhile, remove the strings from the celery and thinly slice them. Wash the zucchini and cut into larger pieces. Peel the carrots and thinly slice them. Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes. Wash the broccoli and divide it into florets. Peel the onion, halve it, and thinly slice it. Set everything aside. After 1 hour of cooking, add the passata to the meat broth and season with chubritsa. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Fish out the garlic cloves, squeeze the skin from one of the cloves, and add them to the soup. Wash the lentils and add them to the pot. Simmer for 15 minutes. Then add the celery slices and simmer for another 5 minutes. Then add the prepared vegetables, vermicelli, and all the seasonings. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the skin from the sausages, halve lengthwise, and cut into thin slices. Drain the chickpeas. Add both to the stew along with the green olive slices. Add a little more liquid if necessary, but the stew should be thick. Let it simmer for about another 5 minutes. Remove the meat from the pot, remove the bones, dice, and return it to the stew. The stew should now rest for at least 2 hours, but can also be left overnight. Reheat while stirring and season again with salt, pepper, and ras el hanout. Sprinkle with chopped parsley when serving. Serve with white bread.