Recipe For Moroccan Harira Soup
This cosy warm soup is every Moroccan's comfort food, it's famous during Ramadan but it's also frequently enjoyed during the winter months too!
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1/4 kilo Halal lean Beef cut small (you can also use minced meat for meatballs as an alternative)
- 1 Large Onion chopped small
- 1/2 Batch Fresh Parsley washed and chopped very finely.
- 1/2 Batch Coriander washed and chopped very finely.
- 1 Large or 2 small sticks of Celery washed and chopped very finely.
- 3-4 tbsp Tomatoe Puree
- 3-4 Fresh Tomatoes washed peeled and chopped small.
- 1 can Cooked Chickpeas (skinned) or you can use 1 cup of raw chick peas but wash and soak before cooking
- 2 pints Beef or Lamb Stock or Broth previously made from bones or you can add the bones in to cook with meat at the same time if preffered
- 1 tsp Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric or Safron
- 3-4 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 Lemon juice
- 1/2 cup Vermicelli
- 1/2 cup Brown Lentils washed and soaked
- 2 tbsp Corn flour mixed with water to form a smooth paste
- 2 eggs optional if using
- 1 Beef Or Lamb Stock Cube (if no bones or broth available)
Instructions
- Add oil to the pressure cooker or large pot and stir-fry the cut meat and onions until brown.
- All the greens have to be washed & cut small, this can be time-consuming so it has become a popular, more modern trend to blend all the greens and sometimes even the onion if you want, together with the fresh tomatoes & paste in a blender/liquidizer with the previously made meat stock (or water if you are adding the bones to the Harira at the same time. The secret is to not blend until smooth but just until it is small enough to seem chopped ;)
- Add this blended mixture to the fried meat and onions and then add your spices and lemon juice. (Sorry I added my spices earlier ;)
- If you're adding the bones to the Harira you can do so now and if you're using raw chickpeas and lentils add these too at this point. Then close the pressure cooker and cook for 30-40mins from 1st blow. If you are using a standard pot then just cover and leave to boil until the meat is tender and the chickpeas & lentils are soft.
- When you open the pot the soup may have evaporated a bit so now you may add more water to the preferred consistency then check and amend salt and seasoning.
- If you are using tinned chickpeas, drain them, peel off the skin and wash. Then add them to the soup & boil until slightly softer.
- Traditionally at this point, we scramble the 2 eggs slightly and then add them to the soup stirring occasionally just so it's evenly separated but not too small and stringy. Personally, we as a family enjoy our Harira served with boiled egg, so I tend to skip the last bit normally but I did add this to half my soup afterwards for the pictures ;)
Notes
Allergens: Eggs