Moroccan Traditional Ramadan Harira

 This soup is made every night during Ramadan. It’s the traditional meal to break the fast along with dates and honeyed pastries. The soup can be as simple or complex as you like. Bulk up the spices for more flavor, remove the meat, swap pasta for rice, really the options are endless.

 

 INGREDIENTS

◊        1 medium to large onion

◊        3-4 cloves garlic

◊        5-6 tomatoes

◊        1 to 1-1/2 cups beef, lamb or chicken cubed (optional)

◊        1 handful chopped Italian parsley

◊        1/2 handful chopped cilantro

◊        1 small can tomato paste (approximately 6 oz.)

◊        Olive oil

◊        1 teaspoon salt

◊        1-1/2 teaspoon black pepper

◊        1 tablespoon paprika

◊        1 tablespoon turmeric

◊        1 small pinch Saffron crushed (if desired)

◊        ½ cup garbanzo beans (soaked overnight)

◊        1/4 cup lentils (washed)

◊        1/2 cup vermicelli pasta or rice (broken to small pieces)

◊        1/2 cup flour

◊        4 cups water

◊        Food processor

 

DIRECTIONS

◊        Heat olive oil in large stockpot.

◊        Puree onion and garlic in food processor. Add to pot and sauté with the oil.

◊        Add meat, if using, and brown until almost cooked.

◊        Puree tomatoes with parsley and cilantro and add along with another tablespoon or so of olive oil.

◊        Season soup with salt, pepper, paprika, turmeric (and saffron if desired).

◊        Add water and the tomato paste.

◊        Bring the soup to a boil and add lentils and garbanzo beans. Cover and cook until tender.

◊        The length of time will vary but should take about 25 minutes.

◊        Once beans are cooked, add the pasta or rice and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.

◊        When the lentils, beans and pasta/rice are cooked through it’s time to thicken the soup.

◊        In a separate bowl whisk together flour and 1 cup of warm water until it is a thin consistency. There should be no lumps. Begin to stream the flour water into the harira. The soup should begin thickening almost immediately.

◊        The final consistency will be between a soup and a stew.

 

Harira is typically served with dates, boiled eggs, and shbekiya during Ramadan but it also can be accompanied by lemons to squirt onto the soup and extra salt, pepper, and cumin to season.