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Harira: Moroccan Soup with Chickpeas & Lentils

A fragrant spicy soup with chickpeas, lentils & lamb, harira is filling without being heavy. Lemon juice adds a refreshing, zesty note.

Replace the lamb with more pulses for a plant-based meal.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Middle Eastern, North African, Moroccan
Keyword stew, instant pot, pulses
Servings 4
Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 500 g boneless lamb, diced suitable for stewing e.g. shoulder
  • salt & black pepper
  • 1 pinch saffron threads optional
  • 2 medium onion roughly chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 2 sticks celery, including any leaves roughly chopped
  • 3 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½-1 tsp dried chilli flakes or harissa
  • 400 g chopped tomatoes tinned or fresh
  • 2-3 tsp pomegranate molasses or other sweetener
  • 600-750 ml low salt stock meat or vegetable
  • 230-250 g cooked chickpeas equivalent to 400g tin after draining
  • 230-250 g cooked green or brown lentils equivalent to 400g tin after draining
  • 1 medium bunch coriander roughly chopped
  • 1 small bunch parsley finely chopped
  • 80 g broad beans, fresh or frozen optional
  • 25 g plain flour
  • 75 g dried thin pasta (e.g. vermicelli, spaghetti) broken into small pieces
  • 1 lemon juice only

Instructions

  1. If you are going to cook the soup in the oven rather than in an Instant Pot (IP):

    You'll need a large casserole dish that can go on top of the stove and in the oven.

    Preheat the oven to 140C/120C fan/Gas ½

  2. In the casserole dish, or using the Saute function on the IP, heat the olive oil.

  3. Add all of the lamb to the hot oil, season with salt and pepper, stir, and cook until lightly browned all over.

  4. If you are using saffron: put it in a small bowl, cover with boiling water from a kettle and set aside.

  5. Stir in the onion, celery and garlic and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are starting to soften (5-8 min).

  6. Stir in all the spices and cook for 1 min.

  7. Stir in the tomatoes, the pomegranate molasses or other sweetener, plus 500ml of the stock, ½ tsp of salt and lots of black pepper.

    Bring to a simmer.

  8. If cooking the soup in the oven

    Put a lid on the casserole dish and put in the preheated oven. Cook until the lamb is tender (approx 2 hours). Stir occasionally and add more stock if it looks dry.

    Remove from the oven and switch the oven off.

    If using an IP

    Press the Keep Warm/Cancel button, lock on the IP lid and make sure the lever is pointing to 'Sealing'. Press the Manual button then use the + / - buttons to set the time to 30 minutes.

    When the time has elapsed, switch off the IP and manually release the pressure by switching the lever to 'Venting'. Remove the lid.

  9. Stir in the cooked chickpeas and lentils, half the parsley and coriander, plus the broad beans if using.

  10. If you cooked the soup in the oven

    Place the casserole on top of the stove over low-medium heat and cook for 10 minutes with the lid off.

    If using an IP

    Press the saute function and cook for 10 minutes.

  11. Put the flour in a small bowl and mix in enough water or cold stock to form a smooth paste the consistency of double cream.

  12. Stir about half of the paste into the simmering soup, stirring well while it thickens (2-3 min).

    Add more of the paste until the soup is your preferred thickness.

  13. Add the broken vermicelli or spaghetti to the pot and cook until done (10-15 min). Add more stock or water as needed.

  14. Taste and add more seasoning, spices or sweetener if necessary.

  15. Stir in the remaining herbs and half the lemon juice.

    Taste, then add the rest of the lemon juice if liked.

  16. Serve in bowls, with more spices and herbs sprinkled over if liked and/or yogurt.