There is nothing wrong with canned tomato soup, however once you've tried to make your own, you won't go back. This tomato soup is very easy to make, yet tasty and satisfying. We used canned tomatoes, but if you happen to have a lot of fresh tomatoes on hand, you could roast them first, and then add them to the soup.

2 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ½ onion, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups water + 1 vegetable bullion cube
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sour cream (or half-and-half or heavy cream)
• salt and pepper

Method:

Sweat the onion, celery and carrot in the oil and the butter. After about 10-15 minutes, add the garlic, the thyme, the bay leaf and the tomato paste. Continue to saute for a few more minutes and the add the diced tomatoes and the water + the bullion cube (or add 2 cups of broth).

Bring to a simmer, and let cook for about 15-20 minutes. Blend the soup well, bring it back to the pot and add the sugar, the balsamic vinegar and the sour cream. Salt and pepper to taste.

• 3 strips of bacon sliced into small pieces
• 1 large onion
• 2 medium carrots
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp thyme chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes 14 oz
• bay leaf
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper
• 1 cup lentils washed (preferably lentils de puy)
• 4 1/2 cups broth
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 cup white wine

Method:
Fry bacon pieces until crispy. Put in diced onion and carrot into the pot and cook with the bacon, press garlic and let it cook for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and lentils, cook 8-10 min on medium low heat. Add wine, bring to a simmer, add broth and water.

Cook for 30 min on low heat, partially covered. When soup is cooked nicely, puree 3 cups of soup in a blender and add 1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper if needed, add fresh parsley and serve with a dollop of sour cream.

The spices are very important, make sure to not skimp on them, this is a wonderfully rich and flavorful soup, yet “light” in calories. The spices as well as the lemon are an important addition. Feel free to experiment with various spices, if for example you happen to have some saffron on hand, that would be a wonderful addition.

Here we used the Indian spice mix garam masala which of course technically isn’t North African, but it’s such a wonderful mix of flavors which go very well here – feel free to substitute with other spices if you so choose.

Spicy red lentil soup is the perfect dish when you want something warming, flavorful and satisfying, yet easy and budget-friendly. Red lentils are optimal in this recipe, however you could use brown lentils or lentils de puy in a pinch.  

4 servings

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil
• 1 onion
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 large carrots
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon sweet vermouth
• 1 cup of red lentils
• 7 cups of water + 2 bullion cubes

Spices/Flavoring:

• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 ½ teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf
• juice of one lemon
• salt and pepper

Method:

Sautee onion, celery and carrots in vegetable oil for about 10-15 minutes. Add the garlic, the tomato paste and the spices. Sautee for a few more minutes, then add the sweet vermouth and the lentils. Continue to sauté for a few more minutes before adding the water and the bullion cubes (or broth). Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Tip! If you need to add more spices at the point when you already have added liquid to the soup, then stir the spices together with some oil and then add the mix to the soup. The fat will bring out the flavors of the spices, whereas if you added them dry directly to the pot they wouldn’t have the chance to fully express.

When you feel like having chili, but want to make it something special, then why not make a chili baked with cornmeal topping. It is a very tasty and comforting way to serve chili – the golden cornmeal topping bakes on top of the chili in a Dutch oven and provides a perfect meal in one pot.

Chili:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1.5 pounds beef chunks
2 onions, diced
8 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons sweet vermouth
2 14-oz cans of crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
1 ½ cups cooked black beans

Spices/Flavorings:

1 teaspoon dried coriander
6 teaspoons homemade chili powder
1 cardamom pod, bruised
2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons Worcester sauce
Juice from ½ lemon

Cornbread topping

1.5 cup cornmeal
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or cheddar cheese)

Method:

Start making the chili by heating up the oil in a large cast-iron pot (dutch oven). Sauté the meat in two batches in order to brown them properly. Once the meat is browned, remove from the pan and add the onions. Sautee the onions until soft in the same pan, then add the meat. Crush 6 of the garlic cloves and add them along with the tomato paste. Sauté for a couple of minutes, then de-glaze the pan with the dry vermouth, and make sure to scrape off any brown bits.

Add about half the amount of the spices (1/2 teaspoons coriander, 3 teaspoons chili powder, 1 cardamom pod, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cocoa powder). Sauté for a couple of minutes, then add the crushed tomatoes and the water. Let cook for a couple of hours on low heat – preferably 3-5 hours.

After a couple of hours, taste the chili, and add the cooked beans, press the remaining two garlic cloves and add the remaining spices plus the sugar, the Worcester sauce and the lemon juice. Add more spices according to taste and cook for another 30 minutes to an hour.

When the chili is done, make the cornmeal topping. In a bowl, mix together the cornmeal, the flour, the baking powder and the salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, the eggs and the oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, try not to over work the dough. Pour the topping on top of the chili and bake in a 425 F degree oven for about 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown. When it’s done, sprinkle the top with cheese and bake under the broiled for another minute or two. Serve with white onion, sour cream and fresh avocado.

This is a very tasty and hearty vegetarian stew which combines flavors such as chickpeas, apples and kale. If we are not making this dish vegetarian, we often add sausage, however this stew is very good without it as well.

The combination of chickpeas, kale and the surprising addition of apples makes for a wonderful dish which is perfect to serve during any time of the year really.

Method:

Saute cut up onions and carrots in olive oil for about 10 minutes. Clean, core and slice the apples and add those at this point. Add the herbs and the vermouth, let simmer for a few minutes. Then add the broth, let come to a simmer and add the rinsed chickpeas. 

Taste and add some salt and pepper. Clean, stem and chop the kale and add that to the stew. Let cook for about 5 minutes.