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HARIRA! ...the Amazigh soup of Ramadan

Okay, so I know it isn't Ramadan, but Harira is one of my favorite Moroccan dishes and on Wednesday night I had a cooking lesson with Rabha and so I thought I'd share my new recipe with you all. Hopefully, some of you will give it a try and let me know what you think! 


Traditionally, during Ramadan fast is broken at sunset with a bowl of this delicious soup (it's actually more of a stew) and a plate of dates. Everyone has their own variation and no two batches of this tasty soup are alike. I'll include the possible variations when listing the ingredients...


Ingredients:

• ½ lb. uncooked meat (lamb, beef or chicken), chopped into 1/2” pieces----Meat is optional!
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 bunch cilantro (coriander), finely chopped to yield about 1/4 cup
• 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped to yield about 1/4 cup
• 1 or 2 celery stalks with leaves, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, grated
• 1 can of chick peas
• 1 bouillon cube (any flavor will work, but I prefer lamb or beef)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon turmeric or ¼ teaspoon yellow colorant
• 6 large tomatoes (about 2 lb. or 1 kg), peeled, seeded and pureed (or scratch the tomatoes and double the tomato paste)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste, mixed evenly into 1 or 2 cups of water
• 3 tbsp lentils
• 2 to 3 tablespoons uncooked broken (2 inch pieces) vermicelli or orzo (I prefer orzo)
• 1 cup flour

Cooking Instructions:

Note: This recipe uses a pressure cooker, but a large covered pot will do the trick. 

Step 1  (If using Fresh Tomatoes)

Peel, seed and puree the tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Or, stew the tomatoes and pass them through a strainer to remove the seeds and skin.   

Step 2  (If using Meat) 

Put the meat and oil into a 6-qt. or larger pressure cooker. Over medium heat, cook the meat for a few minutes, stirring to brown all sides.

Step 3 – Make the Stock

In a food processor combine and process the cilantro, parsley and celery. 

Add the cilantro, parsley, celery, onion, chick peas, tomatoes and spices to the pressure cooker/meat. 

Dissolve the bouillon cube into one cup of water. Add to pressure cooker.

Stir in 2 additional cups of water.

Cover tightly, and heat over high heat until pressure is achieved. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and release the pressure.

Step 4 – Make the Soup

Add the lentils, tomato paste mixture, and 2 quarts (or about 2 liters) of water to the stock.

Cover the pot and heat the soup over high heat until pressure is achieved. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking.

Adding vermicelli/orzo: Cook the soup on pressure for 45 minutes. Release the pressure, and add the vermicelli. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for five to ten minutes or until the vermicelli is plump and cooked.

Step 5 – Thicken the Soup

While the soup is cooking, mix together the 1 cup of flour with 2 cups of water. Set the mixture aside.

Stir or whisk the mixture occasionally. The flour will eventually blend with the water. If the mixture is not smooth when you’re ready to use it, pass it through a sieve to remove balls.

Once the vermicelli has cooked, taste the soup for seasoning. Add salt or pepper if desired.

Bring the soup to a full simmer. Slowly — and in a thin stream — pour in the flour mixture. Stir constantly and keep the soup simmering so the flour doesn’t stick to the bottom.

You will notice the soup beginning to thicken when you’ve used approximately half the flour mixture. How thick to make harira is your own preference.

Simmer the thickened soup, stirring occasionally, for five to ten minutes to cook off the taste of the flour. 

Serve with crusty bread...and a plate of dates!