Harira (حريرة)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Deep 5 to 6 litre soup pot
• •Whisk for the tedouira
• •Fine sieve, optional, for straining the flour mixture

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the chickpeas

   Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of cool water, then drain them. If their skins slip easily, rub some away between your hands, but don't make a punishment of it. Soaking matters because chickpeas need time to soften evenly in the pot, and harira should comfort, not make you chase hard little stones with your spoon.

2. 2

   Build the base

   Warm the olive oil in a deep soup pot. Add the meat if using, the grated onion, celery, coriander, parsley, ginger, turmeric, pepper, cinnamon, saffron water if using, smen if using, and a good pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring until the onion loses its raw smell and the herbs darken into the oil.

   Keep the heat moderate. You want the onion and herbs to melt into the fat, not scorch and turn bitter.
3. 3

   Add tomato

   Stir in the grated tomatoes or passata and the tomato paste. Let the pot bubble for 10 minutes, until the tomato turns darker and the sharp raw edge softens. This is where the color begins, that deep red that tells you the bowl will have body.

4. 4

   Simmer legumes

   Add the soaked chickpeas, lentils, and 2.2 litres water or light stock. Bring to a strong simmer, then lower the heat and cook, partly covered, for 60 to 75 minutes, until the chickpeas are tender and the lentils have softened into the broth. Stir now and then, and add a little water if the level drops too far.

5. 5

   Make tedouira

   Whisk the flour with 180ml water until completely smooth, then let it rest while the soup finishes. Strain it if you see lumps. This thread of flour is not decoration, it is the hand that gathers the soup together, so it must go in smooth.

6. 6

   Add vermicelli

   When the chickpeas are tender, stir in the broken vermicelli and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Keep stirring from the bottom so the pasta doesn't cling. Taste now for salt and pepper; la balance est dans les yeux, yes, but the mouth must confirm it.

7. 7

   Bind the soup

   Lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Pour in the tedouira in a thin stream with one hand while stirring constantly with the other. Stop when the harira lightly coats the spoon but still pours like soup. Let it cook 10 more minutes so the flour taste disappears and the surface turns glossy.

   You may not need all the tedouira. Add it by sight, slowly. Too much turns harira heavy, and this soup must still move in the bowl.
8. 8

   Serve at sunset

   Ladle the harira into bowls and serve it with dates, lemon wedges, and chebakia if it's Ramadan. Some squeeze lemon into the bowl, some don't. Put the pot back on the stove with a little water nearby, because someone will ask for another ladle, and that is the point.

Chef Tips

• •Use ripe tomatoes when they are truly in season. Outside that moment, good passata is more honest than tired winter tomatoes pretending to be summer.
• •If you use saffron, use threads bloomed in warm water, not powdered yellow. The powdered kind gives color and takes your trust.
• •Harira can be meatless and still be harira. The legumes, tomato, herbs, and tedouira carry the dish; the meat is a family choice, not a law.
• •Add the tedouira slowly and watch the spoon. The soup should lightly cling, then fall back into the pot. That is the measure.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the chickpeas the night before.
• •Chop the herbs and grate the onion a few hours ahead, then keep them covered in the refrigerator.
• •Harira keeps well for 3 days. Reheat gently and loosen with water, because it thickens as it rests.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 470g)