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Moroccan lentils (aadess)
Aadess: brown lentils in a thick tomato, garlic, cumin and paprika sauce rich with olive oil
Cheap, filling and ready in under an hour, aadess turns up on home tables from Fez to Casablanca and in the clay bowls of small medina eateries that sell beans and lentils with bread to workers at lunchtime. The lentils stay whole but tender, sitting in a thick, brick-coloured sauce of grated tomato, garlic, cumin and paprika, finished with a generous slick of olive oil and fresh herbs. Scoop it up with crusty khobz; a dab of harissa or a few olives on the side is all it needs. Chef's tip: pick through the lentils on a plate before you rinse them, since small stones turn up even in good bags.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz brown or green lentilspicked over and rinsed
- 1 oniongrated
- 2 ripe tomatoesgrated, skins discarded
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 garlic clovescrushed
- 4 tbsp olive oildivided
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ tsp sweet paprika
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 ¼ cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsleychopped
- 3 tbsp coriander leaveschopped
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put 10 ½ oz brown or green lentils, 1 onion, 2 ripe tomatoes, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 4 garlic cloves, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 ½ tsp ground cumin, 1 ½ tsp sweet paprika, ½ tsp ground turmeric and 1 bay leaf in a pot. Moroccan cooks often start everything together in cold water like this; the sauce comes together as the lentils cook.
Step 2: Pour in 4 ¼ cups water, bring to the boil over a high heat, then turn down to a steady simmer and half-cover.
5 minStep 3: Simmer for 25–30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils are tender but still whole. Add a splash of hot water if they absorb it all before they soften.
28 minStep 4: Season with 1 tsp salt, stir in 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley and 3 tbsp coriander leaves and simmer uncovered for 5 more minutes until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Do not add salt at the start: it can keep the skins firm while you wait for the insides to soften.
5 minStep 5: Take out the bay leaf, drizzle with the rest of 1 tbsp olive oil and serve hot in bowls with bread.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 10 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does moroccan lentils (aadess) take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of ripe tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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