Chicken and Chickpea Soup
- A 3½-pound chicken
- 2 cups chickpeas, soaked in water overnight
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 5 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
- Pepper
- ½-¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Salt
- 4 ounces vermicelli, crushed into bits with your hand
- ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 5 lemons, cut in wedges, to serve with
Instructions:
Another Moroccan soup, this one too makes a good meal to serve at a party.
- Put the chicken in a large pan with 3 quarts of water. Bring to the boil and remove the scum. Add the chickpeas, onion, tomatoes, and some pepper, and simmer, covered, for I½ hours, until the chickpeas are soft. Add the ginger, cinnamon, and salt when the chickpeas begin to soften.
- Lift out the chicken, remove the skin and bones, and cut up into small pieces. Return to the pan and add more water if necessary.
- Add the vermicelli, parsley, and cilantro and cook a few minutes until the vermicelli are tender.
- Serve hot, accompanied by lemon wedges.