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This is the archived version of the Milk Street website and is no longer up to date.

Please visit 177milkstreet.com to see the current website with all of the latest recipes!

North African Lamb, Chickpea and Bulgur Soup

4 Servings

45 minutes

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Chorba frik, a North African soup, was the inspiration for this meal in a bowl. A staple dish during the month of Ramadan, chorba frik typically simmers meat (usually chunks of beef or lamb) with chickpeas and freekeh (green wheat that has been roasted and cracked). For a simple weeknight version, we use quick-cooking ground lamb that has been formed into small meatballs, canned chickpeas and coarse bulgur, which is easier to source than freekeh. We season the lamb with ras el hanout, an aromatic Moroccan spice blend; look for it in well-stocked supermarkets, spice shops or Middle Eastern grocery stores. Warm, crusty bread is a perfect paring.

4

Servings

Tip

Don’t use double concentrated tomato paste (the type often packaged in tubes). Its potent flavor will overwhelm the other ingredients. While the bulgur and meatballs simmer, don’t forget to stir occasionally to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

45 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Reviews
Stephanie L.
April 23, 2023
Love this so much
Seasoned correctly and to your liking, this is an amazing recipe. I grind and freeze my own lamb and it ends up in 1 lb pkgs so I just up the seasonings and water by 1/3 and put the whole pound in. Doesn't seem excessive in there. Although the tomatoes in the end add some acidity, I did add a tiny splash of white wine vinegar to cut some of the richness and perk it up further, but this is such a fast and delicious meal and goes great with some of the yogurt and olive oil flatbreads from this site as well. I just brushed them with simple garlic in EVOO/butter to not compete with flavors of this soup. Such a comforting meal on yet another chilly night! Have made a couple times now so had to submit a review. So good!

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