Harira Soup

The Method for Harira Soup

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1. Soften the onions and celery in the olive oil over medium-low heat for 12 minutes.

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2. Add the garlic and all the ground spices and saffron and cook 90 seconds until fragrant.

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3. Stir in the tomato purée and cook 3 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes and cook 8 minutes until darkened.

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4. Add the lentils, chickpeas, stock and salt. Simmer, partly covered, for 35 to 40 minutes until the lentils are completely tender.

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5. If using vermicelli, add it now and cook 6 minutes more.

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6. Whisk the flour into the cold water until absolutely smooth with no lumps.

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7. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and pour the tadouira in a very thin stream while stirring constantly in one direction.

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8. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the soup thickens to a velvety consistency and the raw flour taste has gone.

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9. Stir in most of the herbs, taste for salt and pepper, and serve with lemon wedges and dates on the side, as is traditional.

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Keep an Eye on These

1. Whisk the tadouira until completely smooth before it goes anywhere near the pot.
2. Harira thickens considerably as it cools — make it slightly looser than you want to serve it.
3. The dates and lemon are part of the meal, not decoration. Eat a date between spoonfuls.

Swaps and Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Good to Know About Harira Soup

Tadouira — a slurry of flour whisked into water and stirred in slowly at the end — gives harira its characteristic velvety, slightly viscous body. It must be added gradually while the soup moves, or it forms lumps that no amount of whisking will remove.

On the Table Alongside

Mint tea, or simply water · Serve with chebakia or dates and bread · Follow with a tagine

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Moroccan Orange Salad, Msemen.

Leftovers

Refrigerate 4 days, freeze 3 months. Loosen with stock on reheating and add fresh herbs and lemon.

Nutrition per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: optional ingredients are counted; part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.

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