Harira soup

[Guest guest]

I made this recipe tonight from the Vegetarian Times Mediterranean cookbook. It

was delightfully spiced and aromatic, quite amazing. I will be having this

again several times tis winter!

 

According to the book, harira is a soup that Morrocan muslims use to break

their fast during ramadan. It looks like a long recipe, but it is very simple.

 

Savory Harira Soup (Note: Adapted from Vegetarian Times Mediterranean

cookbook with notations )

 

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil

2 cups diced onions

1 celery stalk, diced

1 carrot (I added this because I had it lying around and wanted to use it, it

was not in the original ercipe)

6 tbs minced fresh parsley (I only had about 3 tbs. of parsely in the fridge)

2 tbs chopped fresh cilantro (I used about 3 since I was light on parsley)

2 tsp. salt (I used 1 tsp. because the stock seemed salty enough)

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. tumeric

1 tsp. parika (I used hot paprika, the recipe did not specifiy)

1 tsp. caraway seeds

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. cinammon

1 small bay leaf

1.5 quarts veggie stock or water

1 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I used the whole can)

1/2 cup dried lentils (I used the little red ones since that was what I had on

hand)

1 can crushed tomatoes (Fire roasted, again what I had on hand)

3 tbs. unbleached flour mixed with 1/2 cup cold water

1 tbs. tomtato paste

8-10 lemon slices

 

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions,

celery, carrot and parsley, cook, stirring, until the onions are soft. Add the

cilantro, salt, pepper, tumeric, paprika, caraway seeds, ginger cinnamon and bay

leaf and stir to mix. Add water/stock chickpeas, lentils and tomatoes and bring

to a boil. I thought it needed more spice and added about 1 tsp. of chili

powder. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, until the lentils are soft,

about 20 minutes.

 

Before serving, add the flour mixture, stirring to avoid lumps. Stir in teh

tommato paste and cook until heated throug, 1 or 2 minutes. Adjust seasonings

to taste, I added some jalepeno sauce, just a little, for some extra heat.

Serve hot with a slice of lemon floating in each soup bowl. (I also squirted

some lemon juice on top, too!)

 

I hope everyone enjoys!

Susann

 

 

 

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