Who doesn’t love a good hot soup? Well, I never fancied soups before, but now I really love a flavorful soup – especially in winter when it is cold. Living in Denmark entails long periods of cold weather and therefore I try to cook many soups and stews during winter, so that we can warm our bodies after a long day outside in the cold.

Many countries have their own traditional soup e.g., the Thai “Tom Kha Gai” soup or the Moroccan “Harira”. In Algeria, where I have my roots, they call their traditional soup “Chorba”, which actually just means soup. Chorba is made in many ways depending on where in the country you are and comes in both a red (meat) and white (chicken) version. Every family or region has its own version – some with vermicelli and others with freekeh. I learned to make Chorba from my mom who is actually Danish, she was thought to make it by my grandmother (her mother-in-law) in Algeria when we where young and lived there some years. So, I guess the recipe has been altered a bit every time it was passed on, and I have also changed and made it my own. My version of the Algerian soup is plant based, as I wish to eat less meat and had a period some years ago, I did not eat meat at all. I am sure some people would say that this has nothing to do with traditional Chorba, but in my view, everything evolves also recipes and if the taste is still good – why not?

Chorba is a real Ramadan dish and, in most homes, they have Chorba every night for iftar (breaking the fast) in Ramadan. My father actually says: “A Ramadan without Chorba, is not a Ramadan”, that is an exaggeration but shows how important the soup is for many people. In many Muslim countries they have soup for iftar which it not a bad idea. The body is in need of something easy to digest and filled with nourishment, and what is better than a soup to fulfill these needs? So, in North Africa they have Chorba or Harira, in the Levant they have a lentil soup and in Turkey they have either lentil- or yoghurt soup.

As I mentioned earlier my version of the Chorba is plant based and without any meat, therefore I use more chickpeas to make a more fulfilling soup and to add more protein. I also substituted some ingredients to make a grain free version. If you wish you can make your version with either meat or chicken, I will make a note in the recipe to explain how. But the soup is really flavorsome without any meat as I start out by sautéing the veggies well to bring out the flavor in them.

Chorba – Algerian Soup:

Makes a large pot – enough for 6-8 persons as a main dish.

Ingredients:

2 table spoons coconut oil

2 onions (medium size)

2 cloves of garlic

2 small (or 1 large) carrot

1 sweet potato (medium size)

1 red bell pepper

½ squash

1,5 l water

2 table spoons tomato paste

1 can chopped tomatoes/peeled tomatoes

300 g chickpeas (from a can or pre-cooked)

30 g buckwheat groats

½ bunch of coriander

Spices: 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp paprika, 2 tsp black pepper, 3-4 tsp Himalaya salt, 1 tsp agave nectar, 1 tsp chili (more if you wish).

Directions:

1. Wash and prep all the vegetables, cut them into large pieces.
2. In a large pan melt the coconut oil and add the vegetables. Sauté the vegetables so they all get caramelized well.
3. Add the water (you can boil it in advance in an electric kettle if you wish), tomato paste and all the spices, cover and allow to boil. Let it simmer until the vegetables are cooked.
4. When the vegetables are cooked, add the can of chopped tomatoes/peeled tomatoes and allow to simmer for 5 min.
5. Now blend everything in the pan. I use a stick blender, but you can use another type of blender.
6. Add the chickpeas and buckwheat to the soup and allow to cook for some minutes.
7. Adjust the taste of the soup by adding more salt and/or chili. You can also adjust the thickness of the soup as you prefer, so if you like your soup thinner just add some more water. Let simmer a little and adjust the spices.
8. Chop the cilantro and add to the soup.
9. Enjoy hot with fresh lemon squeezed over, some extra cilantro and some bread on the side. I always have a large salad on the side.
   
   

(Note! Cooking Chorba with meat: start by sauteing the meat, then you add water and spices and let simmer for 30 min. Then you add the vegetables and let simmer till the meat is done. In stead of blending the whole soup you gently remove the vegetables and place in a bowl, add the chopped tomatoes and blend it all. Then you pour it back into the pan and follow the directions as the rest of the recipe.)