Rechta recipe

Thread-fine fresh noodles steamed three times over the pot, then served whole under a cinnamon-scented white sauce with chicken, turnip and courgette.

13 hours and 30 minutesmedium12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 500 g fresh rechta noodles
• 1000 g chicken
• 2 turnip
• 2 courgette
• 150 g chickpeas
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp smen or butter
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1500 ml water

How to make Rechta

1. Soak 150 g of chickpeas overnight. Loosen 500 g of fresh rechta noodles by hand with 2 tablespoons of oil so they do not clump.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of smen in a pot with 1 grated onion, add 1 kg of chicken pieces, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of black pepper and 1 cinnamon stick. Stir 5 minutes without browning: this sauce stays pale, so no colour and no tomato.
3. Pour in 1.5 litres of water, add the chickpeas and simmer covered for 40 minutes.
4. Steam the noodles in a couscoussier set over the simmering pot for 15 minutes.
5. Tip them into a wide dish, sprinkle with salted water and a little oil, separate them with a fork and steam again for 15 minutes. Repeat a third time. This triple steaming is what makes rechta rechta and cannot be replaced by boiling.
6. Add 2 peeled and quartered turnips to the sauce and cook 15 minutes, then add 2 courgettes cut into thick batons for a final 10 minutes.
7. Spread the steamed noodles on a serving dish, moisten them with a ladle of hot sauce and toss so they drink it.
8. Arrange the chicken, turnips, courgettes and chickpeas on top, pour over the remaining sauce and dust with ground cinnamon.
9. Serve with halved hard-boiled eggs on the side.

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