Receta Tomato, White Bean and Pasta Soup, Moroccan markets
This is a quick and easy soup for a first course or light lunch.
I like to make it in the fall when it’s cool enough for soup but I still have tomatoes and basil in the garden.
It also works well with canned tomatoes and dried herbs – a taste of summer in the middle of winter.
Do remember to stir, though, or the pasta is sure to stick…..
Tomato, White Bean and Pasta Soup
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups (15oz, 450gr) whole tomatoes, peeled, chopped, juices reserved
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 rib celery, finely chopped
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 cups (16oz, 480ml) chicken stock
- 8oz (240gr) white beans (cannellini), drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup small pasta – elbow, shells, etc
- 2 tbs fresh basil, chopped
Instructions:
Sauté onion, garlic, celery in medium saucepan in olive oil over medium heat until soft and transparent, 7 – 10 minutes.
Add tomatoes, all of their juices, chicken stock, beans, and pasta to saucepan.
Cover and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring often so pasta doesn’t stick.
Stir in basil and serve.
We took a day-trip out of Marrakesh to the Ourika Valley. We hired 2 cars with driver / guides for the 9 of us for the day. Lest you think that’s expensive it worked out to less than 15 euros per person.
Having the cars totally at our disposal was great – we could go wherever we wanted and stop as long as we liked.
Our first stop was at a village for the weekly market.
As we came into the village we passed small carts of turkeys and chickens and vegetables and fruits; some pulled by donkeys, some by humans, some by scooters. Some of the produce was dropped off at the shops before reaching the market…. Like the chickens.
… Destined to become lunch.
The market was across a dry river bed. It’s flowing during the winter.
It was a lovely bridge – no guard rails or anything, of course.
The market is the biggest one in the valley and is held every Monday. It’s a bit different than the local markets here in France. There are stalls with grains, rices and flours.
There are stalls with dried beans, fruits, nuts and herbs.
There are household good and clothes and shoes and mobile phones and anything else you can imagine.
You can buy a saddle for your camel, of course.
There were even 25 or so barbers giving shaves and haircuts. Apparently, the local men come into the market every Monday to be shaved, have a trim if needed, then go to the local hammam for a bath and massage.
These are traditional barbers…. If needed they will also pull teeth.
I’m still cringing at that thought.
Last update on October 21, 2015
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