Msoki

Matzah is crumbled into it at the end, and the vegetables are whatever the spring has given — a dozen of them.

Lamb. Not vegetarian — contains lamb.

Ingredients

the pot

• 700 g lamb shoulder, in cubes
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato purée
• 1 tablespoon harissa
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 litres water
• salt and black pepper

the spring vegetables

• 2 artichokes, trimmed and quartered
• 200 g broad beans, podded
• 200 g peas
• 2 courgettes, in chunks
• 1 fennel bulb, in wedges
• 200 g spinach or chard, chopped
• 2 carrots, in chunks
• 1 bunch spring onions
• 200 g green beans

to finish

• 4 sheets matzah
• a very large bunch of mint, chopped
• a large bunch of parsley, chopped
• juice of 1 lemon

Method

1. MATZAH IS CRUMBLED INTO IT AT THE END, and the vegetables are whatever the spring has given -- a dozen of them. Both things mark it out. The matzah goes in broken into rough pieces for the last ten minutes, where it swells and thickens the broth into something between a stew and a very thick soup; it is there because this is a Passover dish and no leavened bread or wheat flour may be used, so unleavened matzah does the thickening a grain would otherwise do. And the vegetable list is long on purpose: artichoke, broad bean, pea, courgette, fennel, chard, carrot, spring onion, green bean -- a count of the season rather than a fixed recipe.
2. THE MATZAH GOES IN LATE AND IS NOT STIRRED HARD AFTERWARDS. Ten minutes, folded through once. Added earlier it dissolves completely and the pot becomes paste; beaten about, the same thing happens faster. It should still be findable as soft pieces.
3. THE VEGETABLES GO IN IN TWO WAVES. The firm ones -- artichoke, carrot, fennel, green bean -- with half an hour to go; the tender ones -- peas, broad beans, courgette, chard, spring onion -- with ten minutes. A single addition gives either raw artichoke or dissolved peas, and there is no size of dice that fixes it.
4. THE ARTICHOKES ARE HELD IN LEMON WATER AS THEY ARE TRIMMED. They blacken within a minute or two of being cut. Trimmed into acidulated water and drained as they go in.
5. THE MINT IS A VERY LARGE BUNCH AND IS THE DEFINING FLAVOUR. More than seems reasonable, stirred in off the heat with the parsley. Against a pot of spring vegetables and lamb it is what makes the dish taste of the season rather than of stew; a modest sprinkle is lost entirely.
6. THE LAMB GETS AN HOUR BEFORE ANY VEGETABLE APPEARS. Browned hard, then simmered an hour. Shoulder needs it, and nothing green survives being cooked alongside.
7. IT IS EATEN THE DAY IT IS MADE. The matzah goes on absorbing and by the next day the pot has set solid.
8. The olive oil heated and the lamb browned HARD in batches. Lifted out.
9. The onions softened 8 MINUTES, the purée and harissa fried 2 MINUTES.
10. The lamb returned with the coriander, cinnamon, water and seasoning, and simmered, lid on, 1 HOUR.
11. The artichokes trimmed into LEMON WATER as they are cut.
12. FIRST WAVE: the artichokes, carrots, fennel and green beans added and simmered 20 MINUTES.
13. SECOND WAVE: the peas, broad beans, courgettes, chard and spring onions added and simmered 10 MINUTES.
14. The MATZAH broken into rough pieces and folded through ONCE. Cooked 10 MINUTES more without hard stirring.
15. The mint, parsley and lemon juice stirred in off the heat.
16. TESTED: the matzah should be soft but still findable in pieces, and the broth thick without being paste.
17. Served the same day.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Tunisia · All recipes