This week, I plan to enjoy a creamy tomato dukkah spice soup for lunch for as many days as I can. Oh – and I also added a little bit of preserved lemon. I made a batch of preserved lemons and preserved key limes a few weeks ago. They’ve been happily preserving in the fridge all this time and now it’s time to start making use of them. January is always time to start cleaning out the cupboards and fridge, which also means it’s when I tend to make tomato soup. I look into the pantry and realize I still have dozens of jars of diced tomatoes (and tomato sauce and tuna – but that’s a post for another day). I love how versatile canned diced tomatoes can be. I’m sure this won’t be the only week of soup and sandwich (or soup and salad) for lunch between now and the official start of spring.
The surprise ingredient for this recipe, though, is the dukkah spice. I discovered dukkah at our local Fred Meyer. They have a great section of spices and I’ve been seeing more and more interesting blends show up there. Dukkah is an Egyptian blend of spices that includes some variety of nuts and seeds. The blend I purchased had both flax seeds and sesame seeds, in addition to a number of various savory herbs and some salt. You can make your own blend, as well. Dukkah is often used as a crust for lamb or fish. I’ve still got some albacore tuna lurking in the freezer and I’m thinking it might be really tasty coated in dukkah and pan fried.
In the meantime, there’s creamy tomato dukkah spice soup to brighten up my week. I’ll be serving it on the side of sandwiches this week, as I’m working on using up some wonderful garlic sourdough we bought at the local bakery, as well as a head of lettuce. Not a bad way to start wrapping up the first month of the New Year.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 16 ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice
- 2 teaspoons dukkah spice
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped preserved lemons
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter and olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute the shallots until they are lightly browned.
- Add the chicken stock, diced tomatoes and juice, the dukkah spice, and the preserved lemons. Bring to a low boil and simmer for thirty minutes. Taste for salt and add as needed.
- Blend in an immersion blender or blender until creamy. Serve immediately or freeze for later.
- Serves 4. Enjoy!
