Harira
This is a traditional Moroccan soup, with many variations. I really liked the ingredients from Epicurious, with some minor alterations based on the reviews (love the reviews). I made this a day in advance so the flavours could really meld. Click on the heading to link to the original recipe. This soup reminded me very much of Mulligatawny, and was equally as flavourful. I am looking forward to ordering this soup in Morocco to see whether my version was authentic.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 4 cups water, I held off, adding after for desired consistency
- a 28-to 32-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and puréed coarsely
- 1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 2 cups canned chick-peas, rinsed, hulls removed
- 1/4 cup raw long-grain rice (I used brown rice)
- 1/2 cup dried lentils
- salt to taste
- 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Directions:
- Soak the saffron threads in the chicken stock for about 20 minutes (you get more flavour out of them).
- In a heavy kettle (at least 5 quarts) sauté onions, carrots and celery until tender and dust with cumin and coriander and sauté only until you smell the spice.
- Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, saffron, chick-peas, rice and lentils and simmer covered for 30 minutes, or until lentils and rice are tender.
- I took half the soup and puréed it to a smooth and velvety finish and then poured it back into the chunky soup. It made for a really delicious thick vegetable soup, add water to achieve the desired consistency.
- Soup may be prepared 4 days ahead (cool uncovered before chilling covered).
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and parsley, drizzle with EVOO
I remember the first time I tried harira-it was just so lovely and packed full of flavour. What a great recipe! 🙂
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Thanks Lorraine. It’s really going to be one of my favourite soups!
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This sound so warm and comforting! I’ll need to try this when it starts to cool down around here! Love the spice combo
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Thanks Stefanie. It’s a very tasty soup; I’m having it with BBQ’d chicken for lunch tomorrow.
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This sounds like one hearty — and tasty — bowl of soup. The list of ingredients is incredible.
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Thanks John. I sure did pick a winner. It’s going to be a staple in our household, that’s for certain.
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sounds awesome and it must be really filling with all the rice and chick peas in it. I also like all the spices that have gone in to this!
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Welcome to my blog, Manju. The recipe is indeed hearty and satisfying. I would have it again, and again!
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The soup looks so flavoursome! I would go for the brown rice too.
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I try to use the ‘healthier’ versions of things if available, Angie. That way, I don’t feel so bad indulging! Thanks for dropping by.
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Oh, this sounds too delicious for words! I think you’re going to have an amazing time in Morocco and find that you can make anything they can! Beautiful photos – as always!
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Thank you kindly, Ann. I am getting more and more excited about our trip. This little Moroccan food adventure dinner party on Saturday has really peaked my taste buds, I am ready for a flavourful holiday!
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This looks so spicy and warming. Great recipe!
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Thank you, Greg. This recipe will be a keeper for us. I really loved the flavours. Next time, I may add shrimp to it. YUM!
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I love the flavor combo of cumin and coriander. Coriander is easily one of my favorite fall spices. I have started soup nights here once a week and I think we’ll give this one a try. 🙂
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I agree about Coriander Kristy; that and cumin are my fav’s. You should also try the Mulligatawny (this recipe came from the Seinfeld Soup Natzi episode!) https://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/enhanced-mulligatawny-soup/. It’s wonderful with some shrimp or even chicken for a soup night meal.
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Did you see my recipe for Chorba where I spoke about how they sell it “instant” in packets here? Harira is another one they sell as an instant soup but believe me – where the chorba is “ok” to buy in the packet, you don’t want to do the same with the harira. Fresh harira, like yours is so wonderful and flavoursome. The packet stuff is like some sort of weird sludge :p Beautiful photo and recipe – will try to make my own too soon I think. I like your soup bowls by the way 🙂
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Hi Charles, I did indeed see the recipe for Chorba — I guess in a pinch a mix is OK, but I prefer the taste of fresh (not to mention home made is healthier — less salt). Harira sludge sounds terrible.
Thank you for the compliment on the soup bowls. They are part of our wedding china, but the soup cups are a new addition. I have always wanted these little soup cups, but they are ridiculously expensive (about $100 each!) so I kept checking ebay and finally found four which I bought for less than the price of one…and they are identical to my china pattern and they came from England! Gotta love ebay!
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Oh, what a bargain! My mother had one or two really cool “rustic” style soup bowls… Flat bottomed, pottery style bowls in brown earth colour, with a big handle on the side for grabbing with your hand. Really cool. We have no decent crockery or china unfortunately, although we did just get a small fine china tea service from my mother on a recent visit to England. It’s got a beautiful rose pattern around it. The problem is, we’re not planning on staying in France forever – one day we’re going to buy a house and move to Sweden, where my wife is from. Every time we visit her parents we have a habit of buying loads of stuff and stashing it in her parents cupboards – paintings, pans, plates etc, but it seems foolish to spend money buying nice things here when they’d probably just get trashed moving abroad (and would cost a lot in extra shipping too).
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That’s true, Charles. But a little something is always a treat, especially when it’s not too pricey. Your flee markets in France should have sone really cool finds!
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