Moroccan Harira Soup
Harira is one of the most delicious and flavorful soups you'll ever have. It's filled with good stuff like lentils, chickpeas, tomatoes, noodles and spices! And with my recipe, it's really easy to make too! A big bowl of this stuff is guaranteed to warm you up on a chilly day.
Servings: 7
Calories: 268kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, mined
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup dried brown lentils
- 1 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 (14.5 ounce/411 gram) can diced tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons dried vermicelli noodles (Note 1)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt, to taste
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion and celery. Sweat the vegetables for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they've softened up a bit.
- Stir in the garlic, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Sauté the mixture for about a minute, stirring constantly, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, lentils, and chickpeas. Raise the heat and bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about 25 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Add some hot water if the soup becomes too thick at any point while cooking.
- Stir the cold water and flour together in a small container, then add it to the soup. Stir in the tomatoes. Continue simmering the soup for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the vermicelli, then continue simmering the soup until the noodles are tender, about three minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat and stir in the parsley and cilantro. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with lemon wedges on the side.
Notes
- Feel free to omit the vermicelli noodles if you can't find them. You can also use capellini pasta broken into small (2-inch) pieces. Rice also works as a substitute, but you will need to let it cook for around 20 minutes (or longer for some varieties like brown rice).
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 912mg | Potassium: 618mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 970IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 5mg