Moroccan Lamb, Lentil, and Chickpea Soup

I made this for my make-ahead cooking group "The Make-Ahead Mamas'" holiday soup swap. The wonderful traditional Moroccan cinnamon-spice combination is lovely with the ground lamb and sweet potatoes, and the chopped apricots or cranberries add a surprising tart sweetness with every few bites. Whenever I make this recipe, I make a double (or triple!) batch and freeze a few portions.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 0.5 teaspoon ground ginger
• 0.25 teaspoon ground cloves
• 0.25 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 0.25 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 0.125 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 (10.5 ounce) cans beef consomme
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 (14 ounce) can organic beef broth
• 1 (14 ounce) can organic chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 large carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup lentils, rinsed and drained
• 0.5 cup chopped dried apricots
• 0.125 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 pinch ground black pepper to taste

Steps

1. Mix ground lamb, cinnamon, cumin, salt, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric, and curry powder together in a bowl. Cover and put in the refrigerator for 2 hours to overnight.
2. Melt butter in a soup pot over medium-high heat; stir in onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion has softened and turned translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add spiced lamb mixture. Cook and stir until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add consomme, diced tomatoes, beef broth, chicken broth, and honey. Stir in carrots, sweet potatoes, garbanzo beans, lentils, apricots, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.
4. Bring soup just to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until lentils and vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.