Moroccan Steel Cut Oat Soup (Lahshou) Recipe
Steel-Cut Oat Soup
This is a most unusual combination of flavors, and it works beautifully.
I have no doubt the funky Arabic name (Lahshou) will bring a smile to quite a few cyber-friends out there!
When we were children, we were often given this soup for breakfast to fortify our diet. We made it with wheat or barley, but steel-cut oats are just as delicious, accommodate gluten-free diets and are ready in no time. I couldn’t live without them!
Steel Cut Oat Soup: A Snap to Make!
So little work, and you end up with Such big flavors! And practically for pennies. Is it any wonder I adore Moroccan Food, my first and most enduring culinary love? Who would believe something like this steel-cut oats soup made with water, some grain and spices can turn up such a fabulous dish?
Such is the magic of our beloved Moroccan seasonings.
Just like that French Leo Ferre/Louis Aragon poem/love song, “Oh douce et forte comme un vin!” (sweet and strong like wine), so is the magic of our food. Would you believe I made this for children in summer camp just a few weeks ago? My Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen Cookbook is chock-full of wonderful and incredibly healthy and simple dishes like this steel-cut oats soup.
Fenugreek (Halba)
It may smell acrid and pungent, but combined with the other ingredients of the soup, it is simply wonderful, and is a superfood. It is easy to find in the spice section or in health food store, or online, and is the essential ingredient in this soup, so be sure not to skip it!
Ingredients
- 3 quarts (12 cups) water
- 1 1/2 cups steel-cut oats
- 8 large cloves garlic
- small bunch cilantro, stems cut off.
- one bunch fresh parsley, stems and leaves.
- one bunch fresh mint, leaves only.
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup ground fenugreek
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 3 tablespoons paprika
- Good pinch red pepper flakes, or more to taste
Instructions
Bring the water and the oats to boil in a heavy stainless steel pot.
In a food processor, grind the garlic fine.
Add the cilantro, parsley and mint and grind coarse.
Throw the ground mixture in the pot, with all remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil.
Reduce the flame to medium, and cook, covered, 20 minutes. Adjust the texture and seasonings.
Makes a dozen ample servings
I have dried fenugreek at home and also seeds. Would it work if I toasted the seeds and then ground them? or can I use the dried one instead? (which I have a lot of, but haven’t used in a while). Thanks!
Y, the recipe doesn’t call for toasting, or grinding, the fenugreek. If I don’t have to add unnecessary steps, why should I? And why should anyone?
This is one of the soups I grew up with, and today I will make it for my wife because she is breastfeeding our newborn and fenugreek increases milk production. Thank you for the recipe!
Good for you Aric. In a delicious and nutritious sort of way, you are sharing breastfeeding duties with your wife. Enjoy your baby!
You can find fenugreek seed in any Arab or Indian grocer. If your city has Trader Joes it also has an Indian grocer. :)
I made this but also could not find fenugreek. I used a little bit of the fennel frods instead. The cilantro was a bit overpowering the first day but when reheated the flavors were much more mellow and 1/2 cup of soup is so filling.
I only made 1/2 a recipe of the soup and will be eating this all week for breakfast.
Lori, Ha, no, fenugreek has a flavor not at all related to fennel. Fenugreek is easy to find in better supermarkets, and specialty grocery stores. You can just as easily get fenugreek tea (in tea bags) in the tea section of health foods stores, and empty the contents of the bags into the soup. When you make the soup the way it is instructed, I assure you you will love it, and will not be tempted to divide it. Costs pennies, takes minutes, freezes perfectly.
Gitta, as good as the soup was as is, that’s how much more wonderful it will taste with the fenugreek. Fairway and Zabars have it, and besides I beleive all health food stores have it. Then, ALL specialty grocery stores have it. FYI: I develop recipes with ingredients I am absolutely certain can be found with no trouble. So: It’s there! Let me know if you found it. I have tons of it in case you are (shot in the dark, I know!) on the UWS. I buy mine at Kalustyan’s http://kalustyans.com/ A visit there is a MUST!
Hi Levana!
I just cooked this. BUT, without the fenugreek (could not find it anywhere, not even my Trader Joe’s). And, it came out so gooooood! Such a good, hearty soup for such a dreary day :) Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes!
Gitta