Boketof (morocco)
Ingredients
- 500 gram / 1 lb shin of beef
- 200 gram / 7 oz dried broad beans, soaked overnight
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, peeled and diced
- 200 gram / 7 oz courgettes, chopped
- 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp mild paprika
- a small bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
- 200 gram / 7 oz home-made or ought fresh pasta (see below)
- salt
- pepper
- 200 gram / 7 oz plain flour
- 60 gram / 2 oz yeast, fresh or dried
- warm water
Instructions
(Vegetable Soup with Beef). The night before making the soup combine the flour, yeast and water in a large bowl and transfer it to working surface. Knead the dough until the mixture is smooth and elastic. Once that is done, put it back in a bowl and cover with a tea-towel. Allows the dough to rise for two hours. When it has doubled in size, take a tray covered with a clean tea-towel and shape the pasta, making spaghetti-like strands about 2 inches long but roughly three times thicker than ordinary spaghetti. Lay them out one by one on the tray, then covers them again with another tea-towel and leave them overnight. The following morning the pasta strands are dry enough to put them in the soup. To make the soup, heat the oil in a large, heavy pan over medium heat and fry the meat. To that add the onions, tomatoes, drained broad beans, paprika and about 4 pints of water. After 30 minutes, reduce the heat and allow the dish to cook gently for 2 hours. Ten minutes before the end of the cooking, season the soup with salt and pepper and then add the pasta and the courgettes. Make sure there is enough liquid in the pan because, after all, this is a soup. If you need more water, always add cold water. Add the coriander immediately before serving. Put a small dish of harissa on the table for those who like a dash of chilli.