Butha Buthe - Lesotho Spinach & Tangerine Soup

      A new country! I was looking at countries I hadn't cooked from and Lesotho was on that list. For those who aren't familiar, Lesotho is a small country of only 2.125 million people inside the country of South Africa. It's a country without a large presence in online blogs and recipe sites, which is such a shame; so many interesting recipes that I was excited to it was the pick for this months Eat The World recipe challenges

     This recipe come by way of Afro-Tourism. I have to say, as I was prepping and cooking I wasn't really completely sure what to expect from this recipe. But after my first taste I was in love with the flavor combination! This is a delightfully light and complex soup. I left the ingredients pretty much alone, something I always try and do when cooking a new recipe, at least on the first time I cook it. However, that mission, to always leave the recipe alone the first go-around was in direct odds with my aversion to using more than one pot when cooking soup so I switched up the method just slightly. I really have a hard time with soups that need more than one pot. I flip-flopped some of the technique accommodate using only one.  

Check out all the wonderful Lesotho dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us! 

• Pandemonium Noshery: Butha Buthe - Spinach and Tangerine Soup 
• Palatable Pastime: Lesotho Likhobe 
• Magical Ingredients: Lesothan Chakalaka With Papa 
• Making Miracles: Lekhotloane 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Chakalaka With Pap-Pap/A Vegan & Gluten Free Stew With Cornmeal 
• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Borotho - Bread from Lesotho 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Makoenva 
• Cultureatz: Butha-Buthe, a Spinach and Tangerine Soup 
• Kitchen Frau: Chakalaka with Pap (Vegetable-Bean Stew with Cornmeal Porridge)

Butha Buthe Recipe

1/4 c. red lentils

5 c. chicken stock

1 Tbsp. butter

2-3 green onions, sliced

1/4 tsp. turmeric paste

Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

3 clementine's, zest and juice

1/4 c. mochiko or other rice flour

1/3 c. water

1/2 lb. fresh spinach, chopped

Heat the butter in a medium sized soup pot. Add the green onions and sauté for 4-5 minutes or until the onions start to soften. Add the turmeric paste sauté one minute more. 

Add the red lentils and chicken stock and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Stir in the spinach, cilantro, and parsley. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Combine the rice flour and water. Bring the soup to a boil and add the rice mixture. Remove from the heat and add the clementine juice and zest. 

Serve with plain yogurt and more clementine segments. 

Other Eat the World contributions from Africa

• Sudan - Kamounia
• Senegal - Poulet Yassa
• Egypt - Ful Medames
• Ethiopia - Misir Wot
• Kenya - Nyama Choma