Long soup, short sandwich

I ended up having to make the Two Hour Soup. Sometimes, you've got too many perishable ingredients for the one specific thing not to cave and just make it. I resented it mightily, and it's the wrong end of the week to be making soup especially in the evenings and ugh. On the good side, it's unusual and tasty and it's still bloody cold, so soup is good. (If you don't want to read about soup, there's a gorgeous and unexpected steak sandwich recipe later on. Feel free to skip.)

It's not that cooking stuff for a long time is a problem, it's just that this soup had phases. Many phases. I'll keep the title hidden for a while as it will surprise and (possibly) delight you.

1) Begin, with a sense of grim inevitability, with an onion. Roughly chopped for once. Caramelise it if you can bear, though mine was a bit more softened and a bit less caramelised. Add some garlic, and a smallish quantity of yellow split peas (85g for the full soup, I did more like 40g), cook briefly, then add loads of water (2 litres for the full soup), and cook part-covered for 30 minutes. (I had a bath and did some marking.)

2) Then add allll the chopped herbs in the world - triple chives, single coriander and parsley, half a mint packet. And lots of turmeric. Cook for 20 mins, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick. (This is when I made the sandwich.)

3) Then (a curveball) add basmati rice. As much as you did split peas, so a hefty tablespoon this time. Lid on, low heat, 30 minutes. (This is when I ate the sandwich.)

4) Then... add a couple of tbsps pomegranate molasses, and a load of pomegranate juice! I know! I was startled! You're meant to add loads of sugar too - I added a relatively limited amount, and might cut that further in future. It's from Persiana, btw. Pomegranate and meatball soup.

This can be a meatball soup, with lamb meatballs added I forget when, possibly now, but the veggie version is definitely viable. And purple.

One last 30 minutes, simmering half-covered. It turns a rich brown, which is reassuring. (I did more marking, obvs.) And then you don't need to eat it till lunch the next day, if you're me, so whether it was worth it, who knows?

It's actually very nice. Sharp-sweet, rich and just unexpected, but with loads of carby heft for winter. But not one to do for picky eaters, I feel. If I hadn't liked it, even I might have cried. 

Anyway. If you want a more reliable option, may I offer you a fancy steak sandwich? A good one from Simply, which suggests a) I now own too many Sabrina Ghayour books and b) she has, as advertised, simplified things now. 

Still many bits to it, mind you: 

a) Scorched onions - cut into half-moons, very lightly oiled, cooked for about 8 mins on medium high, stirring occasionally. With fennel seeds, but maybe add them halfway. Mine burned.

 

b) Tomato yoghurt - this is one I'll remember, just 100ml Greek yoghurt blended with some semi-dried tomatoes. It's very good, which is lucky as I've got masses more than I needed for two sandwiches. 

 

c) Steak, hard-fried for a couple of minutes each side, then rested. Then sliced, and reheated in...

d) Butter mixed with paprika and tarragon. The recipe tells you to make this as a mix, but there is no earthly reason to not just put them all in the pan, since you're using the butter melted. I realised this too late.

Served on bread, toast, whatever. I do have a picture of the assembled open sandwich. It is a horrendous mess. It is delicious. It is almost perfect consolation for having to make Two Hour Soup.