Harira - Moroccan soup

Preparation – 20 minutes

tip: soak the dried chickpeas in cold water overnight.  

Make sure the dried chickpeas are soaked overnight, then drain them and set aside. Peel and grate the onion, this way it will be sort of onion pulp. Rinse celery stalks and finely chop them.  

Remove the stems of the parsley (and cilantro) and finely chop them. Remove any excess fat or muscles from the chicken breasts and divide into small pieces.

If you're using beef or lamb you can also divide it into small pieces.  

Finishing the Harira – 1 hour 30 minutes

Heat some oil in a dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pan and cook the meat for a few minutes. Add chickpeas, passata, grated onion and cinnamon, turmeric and ginger.

After another few minutes you can pour in half a liter of water. Let it simmer with the lid on for about half an hour. Add lentils along with celery stalks and parsley, if you want you can keep some parsley aside for garnish.

Pour in the other 1,5 liters of water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for another 15 minutes. Add the rice and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the rice and lentils are softened enough.

If you want to add vermicelli it's best to wait a bit, because vermicelli is done very quickly. Season the soup with pepper, salt and maybe some more spices.

Combine a tablespoon of flour with 2 tablespoons of water and add the smooth mixture to the soup. Cook the soup for another 5 minutes, you'll notice the soup will thicken a bit.

Serve with some extra parsley/cilantro and maybe some lemon wedges to squeeze in every bowl. Enjoy!