African · 55 min · Easy · 4 servings

Moroccan Harira

Name: Moroccan Harira
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, finely diced; 2 stalks celery sticks, finely diced; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 can chopped tomatoes; ¾ cup red lentils, rinsed; 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 5 cups vegetable stock; 2⅛ oz vermicelli or broken spaghetti; 1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped; 1 handful fresh parsley, chopped; 1 lemon, cut into wedges; salt, to taste; black pepper, to taste

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A fragrant tomato, lentil and chickpea soup thick with herbs and finished with lemon. Traditionally eaten to break the fast during Ramadan, and restorative at any time.

~430 cal per serving. Calories are approximate, per serving — a guide only.

Plan it:

Method

1
Soften the base
⏱ 10 min
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion and celery until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for a minute.
2
Spice and tomato
⏱ 7 min
Add the turmeric, cinnamon and cumin and cook until fragrant, then stir in the tomato paste and the chopped tomatoes and let it cook down and darken.
3
Simmer
⏱ 25 min
Add the red lentils, chickpeas and stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the lentils have dissolved into the soup and it has thickened.
4
Add the pasta
⏱ 8 min
Break the vermicelli into short lengths, stir it in, and cook until tender.
5
Finish with herbs
Take off the heat and stir through most of the cilantro and parsley. Season well and serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over: harira needs the acid.

Notes

The herbs go in at the end, off the heat, in quantity. They are an ingredient here, not a garnish. It thickens overnight into something closer to a stew; loosen with stock when reheating.

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Method

Soften the base

Spice and tomato

Simmer

Add the pasta

Finish with herbs

Notes