Ingredients

1 qt chicken stock, fresh or can
1 cup dried milookhiyya*
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper, freshly ground
2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons coriander, ground
2 tablespoons butter

Details

Serves: 6

 

Method

* (Spinach-like Egyptian herb), picked clean and finely crumbled in a heavy 3 to 4 quart saucepan, bring stock to a boil over high heat.

Stir in the milookhiyya, tomato paste, salt and a few grindings of the pepper and reduce the heat to low. Stirring occasionally, simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the milookhiyya has dissolved and the soup is thick and smooth.

With a mortar and pestle or the back of a spoon, mash the garlic and coriander to a smooth paste. In a small skillet, melt the butter over moderate heat. When the foam has almost subsided, add the garlic, coriander and stirring constantly, cook for a minute or two until the garlic is lightly browned.

Add the entire contents of the skillet to the soup and stirring constantly; simmer for 2 or 3 minutes more. Taste for seasoning and serve at once from a heated tureen.