Moroccan Vegetable Soup (chorba)

Total Time: 1 hr 35 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 lb beef stew meat (such as chuck) or 1 lb lamb stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1/2 thick cubes (shoulder or leg)
• 6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth or 6 cups water
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 small turnips, peeled and diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, leaves included, thinly sliced
• 1 pinch saffron thread
• 12 sprigs flat leaf parsley, plus more leaves for garnish
• 8 sprigs fresh cilantro, plus more leaves for garnish
• 1 large zucchini, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 ounces angel hair pasta (capellini, broken into small pieces, about 1/2 cup) or 2 ounces orzo pasta, preferably whole-wheat
• 1 -2 teaspoon kosher sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Recipe

• 1 heat oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• 2 add onion and turmeric; stir to coat.
• 3 add meat and cook. stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
• 4 add broth (or water), tomatoes and their juice, turnips, carrots, celery and saffron.
• 5 tie parsley and cilantro sprigs together with kitchen string and add to the pot.
• 6 bring the soup to a boil.
• 7 cover and reduce to a simmer.
• 8 cook until the meat is tender, 45 to 50 minutes.
• 9 stir in zucchini and cook, covered, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes.
• 10 add pasta and cook until soft, 4 to 10 minutes, depending on the type of pasta.
• 11 discard the parsley and cilantro sprigs. season with salt (start with 1 teaspoon if you're using beef broth; add more if you're using water) and pepper.
• 12 serve sprinkled with parsley and/or cilantro leaves, if desired.