Moroccan Chicken Soup

Recipe submitted by Pamela Dupuis

Don’t you just love soups in the winter? I think they’re especially good when the weather is as cold as it’s been this season. I’ve been in Morocco of late, visiting Fez and other ancient Moroccan cities and trekking through Berber villages in the Atlas Mountains. One of the reasons I planned this trip was to experience Moroccan cuisine at its source. The most memorable meal so far has been at a Berber home, where we spent a wonderful night on our trek. My husband and I were the only guests for a couscous feast made by our hostess. To eat our meal, we sat on the floor with our host and hostess, and their family, on a large rug around a big platter. Since we had no eating implements, as is the custom, we all used our hands to break bread, scooping up lamb and other succulent ingredients from the couscous platter.

What is particularly remarkable about the food here is that Moroccans know how to combine the simplest ingredients to make delicious food, largely through the use of an unusual mixture of spices. I encourage you to try this to get a good idea of what I’m talking about.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion, finely chopped

2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts, quartered

1/4 cup flour, to dust the breasts

1/4 t. of ras al hanout (pinch of ground spices of each of the following, for seasoning chicken: cumin, ginger, coriander, cardamon, turmeric, nutmeg, clove, black pepper)

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 parsnip, cut into 1 inch pieces

6 cups chicken stock

1 4-inch cinnamon stick, or 1 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon paprika

a generous pinch of saffron (optional)

a few small pieces of preserved lemon rind, or regular lemon rind

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

2 tablespoons chopped mint

5 ounces couscous

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat the oil and butter in a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Fry the onion for 3 or 4 minutes until softened. Mix flour, ras el hanout, and salt and pepper together on a plate and dust the chicken pieces.

Fry the chicken until browned, careful not to tear the flesh. Remove the chicken from the pot and reserve. Add the carrots and the parsnip to the pot and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook the vegetables for a few minutes, stirring often.

Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock, cinnamon stick, paprika, and preserved lemon. Season with salt and pepper (and additional ras el hanout if desired).

Bring the soup to a boil, cover, and let simmer for about an hour. The vegetables should be very tender.

To prepare the saffron, add it to 2 tablespoons of boiling water and mix.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the lemon juice and add parsley and mint.

When the saffron is cooled, stir it into the egg mixture.

After the soup has simmered, remove the chicken breasts from the pot and increase the heat to bring the soup back to a boil. Add the couscous, remove the soup from heat, and cover.

While the couscous is cooking, chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces. After the couscous has cooked in the soup for 5 minutes, place the pot back over a low heat and stir in the chicken and the egg and saffron mixture. Cook for an additional one to two minutes, stirring.

Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve promptly!