I’m not sure if this is a soup or a stew. It is very sweet from the gently stewed garlic and lamb, just the most delicious comfort food. I found it in ‘Jerusalem’ by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 to 1/2 head of celeriac, peeled and chopped into small dice
- 20 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 500g lamb or beef, in 2cm squares
- 1.75L water
- 1 can of cannellini beans
- 7 cardamom pods, crushed
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp date syrup or brown sugar
- 250g small firm potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
- Salt and pepper
- Lemon wedges and chopped coriander, to serve
METHOD:
- Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion and celeriac on a medium heat for fie minutes, until the onion starts to brown.
- Add the garlic and cumin and cook for another couple of minutes before taking off the heat and setting to one side
- Put the meat in the water in a large pan, and bring to a simmer. Cook for ten minutes, skimming any foam from the surface.
- Add the onions, celeriac, beans, cardamom, turmeric, tomato puree and sugar. Bring to the boil, and then simmer for an hour.
- Add the potatoes to the soup season with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Bring back to the boil and simmer for a further 20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked and tender. You may need to add water and stir from time to time to prevent the soup from sticking.
- Serve the soup with a squeeze of lemon and some chopped coriander leaves.