Moroccan Vegetable Soup

Here in Dublin, Ireland the organic movement is in full swing. In fact, last week was Organic Week! Frost's Dulra gave tours and there were lots of events. We stopped by Browne's Cafe' in Sandymount and discovered that the chef had just travelled to Morocco. The menu features an irresistable soup:

Chick peas Tomatoes
Sweetcorn
Potatoes
Lentils
Sunflower oil
Onion relish
Lemon juice
Salt
Garlic
Black pepper
Mixed spices

I asked our waitress, a Polish émigré, what the mixed spices consisted of. She went away for a moment and talked with the chef. When she came back, she looked apologetic and smiled saying "It's a secret!" I explained that the flavor of the soup was so delicious that I wanted to try and make it myself, but not to worry, because the chances of my coming even close to making anything so good were slim to none.

She smiled again and went away. I noticed the chef, looking very chef-like in black checkered apron and toque, peering around the corner of the kitchen at me. I took a spoonful of the soup and smiled at her.

A few minutes later, the waitress came out with a hand written recipe for me. But, the last ingredient was simply "Mixed spices".

So, here's how I describe the taste of this unbelievably delicious soup. There are delicate spices that must include cumin and tumeric. The magic comes from the lemon juice. It's all blended into a near liquid, but fine grained soup with a beautiful, nearly chewable texture.

Part of the beautiful flavor of this recipe is a result of the way vegetables taste here in Ireland. It's hard to describe. I guess it's because the soil is so fertile, the air so sweet. Ireland is, of course, an island with huge amounts of rain and rich soil...

At any rate, it's a real winner of a recipe and I hope we can come close to duplicating it at home.

Slainte'!