Moroccan Harira – Chickpea & Lentil Soup with lamb

Moroccan Harira – Chickpea & Lentil Soup with lamb

Safira

Moroccan Harira – Chickpea & Lentil Soup with lamb - A hearty, healthy and velvety warming Moroccan lentil and chickpea soup with herbs and tomatoes. The word Harira means Silk which refers to the silk like texture of the soup. If, like us you always have a soup on the table at Ramadan why not try Easy Turkish Lentil Soup or Chicken and sweetcorn soup.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Moroccan

Servings

Calories 453 kcal

Ingredients

3 tablespoon Vegetable or Sunflower OIl or Ghee
350 g Lamb boneless, diced, any cut (or use Veal)
2 Onions diced
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
¾ teaspoon Ground Turmeric
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin Optional
2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper Optional
¾ teaspoon Smoked Paprika Optional
2 teaspoon Salt Adjust according to preference and check if your stock already has salt in it
¾ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Tomato Puree
1 l Chicken Stock or Veg Stock
80 g Brown Lentils washed, picked and drained
400 g Chickpeas from a tin
1 stalk Celery stalk and leaves, chopped finely
200 g Tinned Plum Tomato pureed
Small handful Coriander Leaves washed and chopped
Small handful Parsley Leaves Optional
4 tablespoon Vermicelli wheat not rice, broken
Lemon Wedges to serve

Instructions

In a large pot, add oil or ghee. Once hot, add lamb and sear till browned all over. If the meat is releasing a lot of liquid, allow the water to completely release so the meat can be browned properly.
Add the Onions and cook till golden (6 - 7 minutes).
Add spices - cinnamon, turmeric, cumin (optional), ginger, cayenne pepper (optional), smoked paprika (optional), salt, black pepper. Stir in and cook for 2 minutes.
Add Tomato Puree and let it cook for 2 minutes on medium high.
Add Stock, Lentils and Chickpeas. Bring to a boil, then cook and cover on low heat for 20 minutes.
Blend celery, pureed tomatoes and half the Coriander and Parsley. Add to the pot and cover and cook over medium low for 10 minutes.
Add remaining coriander, parsley and vermicelli and cook for 5 minutes.
Serve with lemon wedges and enjoy!

Notes

What to serve with Harira

As well as serving with lemon wedges, Harira is served to to open fast during Ramadan and is therefore often served alongside dates, figs, moroccan pitta bread, Honey cookies - chebakia.

Tips and Notes for making the best Harira

Here are my top tips to make this delicious soup:

Add a Flour paste

After adding the flour, it needs to be cooked to make sure there is no floury flavour in the soup. To do this cook for at least 3 minutes. Foam will appear at the top of the soup, once this disappears the flour has cooked enough.

Blend the Onions

Traditionally the onions are blended for this recipe. You can do this If you prefer.

Brown the Meat

Brown the meat first to seal it and bring out it’s flavour. Any excess water will need to be released first.

Make it Vegetarian

Replace the meat with your favourite veg and vegetable stock. Cooking times can then be reduced to 15 - 20 minutes.

Tomato Puree 0r Harissa

Instead of tomato puree, add a tablespoon of Harissa paste (I love rose harissa) or any other paste that you like.

Spices

I have added some extra spices such as cumin, cayenne, smoked paprika - Skip these if you prefer. I also add a tablespoon of Ras el Hanout sometimes, which is available in most supermarkets.

Smen

You can add a small grating of Parmesan or Grana Padana at the end to mimic the flavour of Smen which is sometimes added to this soup.

Storage and Leftovers

How to reheat

Allow the soup to cool completely and store in air tight containers for 4 days. To reheat, add a splash of water before mixing and warming on the stove over medium low heat.

How to freeze

Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To reheat from frozen, add a splash of water, stir though and warm over medium low heat till warmed through.

This soup is best frozen before adding Vermicelli.

How to reheat

Thaw the soup over low heat. Once warmed add the vermicelli and flour paste. Cook for 5 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 453kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 25gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 1199mgPotassium: 790mgFiber: 10gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 343IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 5mg

Keyword harira, harira soup with lamb, moroccan harira, Ramadan

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