Eppes Essen

May 2002 - Moroccan Chermoula and Roasted Squash Soup

by Ellen Saxe

I feel successful when someone asks me to put a recipe in this column. They liked my cooking and they read my writing! A request for a recipe was what first inspired me to write Eppes Essen almost ten years ago. Recently Luna asked me to put in the recipe for the soup I brought to her seder this year. She had wanted all vegetarian, MIddle Eastern or Sephardi style food, so I asked my friend Michael WIld for help. He is one of the owners of Bay Wolf Restaurant, which has a Mediterranean influenced menu. First he told me what he was bringing to his cousin's seder, lamb and spiced carrots, then suggested I try a squash soup with a Moroccan sauce, chermoula. "You and Ronnie need to know about chermoula." I thanked him, wished him "hag sameach", and opened the ever helpful Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden.It is such a treasure trove. First I got to read about Iraqi Jews and their grilled fish picnic parties on the River Tigris. For grilling fish at home she recommends marinating in or serving with a sauce such as the hot and spicy chermoula. When the cilantro grows this spring we'll make lots more:

Moroccan Chermoula

If you have a food processor you can make this in it from start to finish. Otherwise, you'll need to whip and chop.

Beat 5 Tbsp. olive oil with 2-3 Tbsp. lemond juice.
Beat in 3 pressed garlic cloves, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. paprika, 1/4 tsp. cayenne and 1/2 cup finely chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)

I used a whole bunch from the store and it was a generous bunch. You can vary the quantity of any ingredient or replace the lemon juice with wine vinegar.

Roasted Squash Soup

Wash and place on a baking sheet, with their skins still on: 1 large butternut squash (or several small ones) 2 large brown onions 8 large cloves of garlic
Put into 350 degree oven.
The garlics will get soft before the onions and squash do so remember to remove them.
Cook the squash until soft. Cut open. Remove the seeds and any stringy or watery pulp.
Scrape the flesh off of the skin and puree in a food processor along with the peeled onions and garlic.
Add as much vegetable stock as you need to allow the processor to work easily. A store bought stock whose flavor I like is made by Imagine Foods, "No Chicken Broth."
Pour the puree into a pot and add more vegetable stock until the soup is the consistency you like.
Add some salt and pepper but keep it bland enough to contrast with the chermoula.
Cook on a very low simmer for about 30 minutes to blend the flavors.
To serve, a ladle full of soup in a bowl, swirl a few Tbsp. of chermoula on top.

You could also add yogurt which you have thinned with a bit of buttermilk. The two swirls, one white, one dark green will look beautiful on the orange soup.

updated 05/03/2002 - rge

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