Spiced Moroccan Vegetable Soup with Chickpeas, Cilantro, and Lemon (Harira)
reviews (67)
Photo by Gabriela Herman
This
is by far my favorite comfort soup. Until I met Meme Suissa, who comes
from Casablanca, I had been making a different version. But I swooned
after trying her recipe, enhanced with an egg-lemon sauce, that she may
have learned from a Turkish forebear. She has been making this for
almost eighty years, first watching her mother, then cooking for her
five children after she immigrated, like many Moroccan Jews, to
French-speaking Montreal.
A Muslim staple to break the daily fast of Ramadan, it has crossed over to the Moroccan Jewish tradition of breaking the fast of Yom Kippur. Although many cooks make this with meat, I have turned it into a vegetarian version and make it whenever I can.
A Muslim staple to break the daily fast of Ramadan, it has crossed over to the Moroccan Jewish tradition of breaking the fast of Yom Kippur. Although many cooks make this with meat, I have turned it into a vegetarian version and make it whenever I can.
- Yield
- 8–10 servings
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
- 3 stalks celery, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut in rounds
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon harissa or dried red chile flakes, plus more for serving
- Salt to taste
- 1 bunch parsley, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups/75 grams), divided
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups/75 grams), divided
- 1 (15-ounce/425-gram) can tomatoes, crushed, or 2 cups (450 grams) tomato sauce
- 7 cups (1 2/3 liters) chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 cup (200 grams) dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked or 1 (15-ounce/425-gram) can chickpeas, drained
- 1 cup (370 grams) green lentils
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour
- 1 large egg
- Juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup)
Preparation
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion, celery, and carrots until the onion turns translucent and begin to brown, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the turmeric, cumin, harissa or chile flakes, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 cup each of the parsley and cilantro, tomatoes, and the stock or water and bring to a boil. If using the soaked chickpeas, drain them and add to the pot. Simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, then add the lentils, another teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper and continue simmering until the chickpeas and lentils are cooked, about 20 minutes more. If using canned chickpeas omit the first 25 minutes of simmering and add with the lentils.
- Whisk the flour, egg, and lemon juice into 2 cups (470 ml) of water. Stir into the soup. Simmer the soup about 5 minutes more and serve, sprinkled with the remaining cilantro and parsley. And don’t forget to have some extra harissa in a plate on the side.
Note
This,
like most soups, is such a flexible recipe. Whereas Meme adds chicken
and noodles to her broth, I prefer to serve it as is. But sometimes I
replace all or some of the lentils with whole grains. If using whole
farro, barley, freekeh, or wheat berries, put them in with the
chickpeas, as they take about 40 minutes to an hour to cook. But do keep
in mind that pearled farro and barley as well as cracked freekeh take
about 25 minutes to cook.
Excerpted from King Solomon's Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking From Around the World by Joan Nathan. Copyright © 2017 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Buy the full book from Amazon.
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Nutritional Info
- Calories367
- Carbohydrates52 g(17%)
- Fat10 g(15%)
- Protein20 g(40%)
- Saturated Fat2 g(8%)
- Sodium880 mg(37%)
- Polyunsaturated Fat2 g
- Fiber9 g(38%)
- Monounsaturated Fat6 g
- Cholesterol24 mg(8%)
Reviews
- This is probably the best soup I've ever had. I would definitely be making this regularly from now on.
Very nice recipe. I like the interplay of the fresh herbs and spices. The egg and flour thicken in up nicely. I added exactly 1/4 cup lemon juice and the soup was definitely too acidic for me. To correct it, I added 1/4 tsp of baking soda and that dialed the acid down to a level I found more palatable. Next time I would add 1/8 cup lemon juice and adjust from there.- Hearty and delicious! Followed other reviewer's suggestions to reduce lemon juice, one was fine for us. Was a bit short on time so used 2 cans of chickpeas, poached two chicken breasts in the stew during the lentil simmering stage (although if planning to serve with chicken as a discretionary mix-in per eater, would poach separately—outer layer of chicken turns an unappealing color poached in the stew), and served over shredded chicken and barley.
- fabulous. everyone wants the recipe (which i share).
- I've made vegetarian Moroccan soups before, but will say this is our favorite. Perfect for our family Sunday dinner. All enjoyed the soup especially grandpa saying it was really good. Did not put in the cilantro into soup since several do no like it. Served on side. Soaked chickpeas over night and used Low Sodium vegetable broth adding about 1/4 cup water. Using the teaspoon Harissa I think made it especially good. Next time will add a bit more Harissa and less lemon juice. First time using Moroccan Harissa will use often.
- I liked this soup very much. My only criticism is that the recipe calls for 1 cup of dried chickpeas, cooked OR a 15-ounce can. I think they meant 2 cans, which would be about the equivalent of 1 cup dried.
- The night I made it was a bit too lemony for my family's tastes but after a day or two in the fridge it mellowed out and we enjoyed it even more as leftovers. Next time I'll make it a day in advance of serving on purpose.
Listen -- I read all the reviews before making this and, given how people raved about it (and not many offered suggestions for substitutions or alterations) I decided to trust the recipe as written and followed it exactly. I tasted the broth along the way and it was really delicious UNTIL adding the egg/lemon/flour at the end. If you add the suggested amount of lemon, the lemon flavor obliterates all the other flavors. I'd hoped for a complex, spicy soup but instead it just tastes sharply of lemon. Really disappointing! Two stars for the fact that I think this recipe is a good starting point and I would make again with some tweaks, but YIKES on the overpowering lemon.- This is one of my favorite soup. I like to soak the chickpeas overnight and make the soup in the morning. The orginal recipe is excellent then you add the lemon and egg that she recommends and it's even better. I have made this twice and I will be making it again.
- This soup is a definite keeper! It was easy to make—just a bunch of chopping—and didn't take long at all. At first I couldn't imagine that it would be all that interesting, because it just seemed like your ordinary everyday vegetables, but adding the spices and the herbs and the lemon juice slurry at the end brought it up to EXTRA-ordinary! It was truly delicious! Next time I will add some shredded rotisserie chicken to make it even more hearty. Make this! You won't be sorry.
- Absolutely delicious. Leftovers only lasted another day in this house. Definitely serve with a loaf of bread, this soup is perfect for dipping. I would say this is a good weekend recipe as it requires a lot of chopping. Could not recommend enough.
- Delicious! My picky husband loved it and it is substantial enough to have as fall/winter dinner with some bread. Made as written (using canned chickpeas) and added some pre-cooked chicken at the end.
- This soup is delicious! My husband who always needs meat with a meal didn't miss it at all. I will measure the lemon juice next time, as 2 lemons were a little overpowering. The egg is a beautiful thickener!
- Easy and delicious. My husband and I enjoyed this. My kids thought it was too spicy and didn’t like the texture.
- Someone asked if this recipe could be made in an Instantpot, and I took up the challenge. I have a 3 quart model, so cut the ingredients by about half. I sautéed the onion in a little olive oil until translucent, then added the carrots and celery. Next I added the turmeric, cumin and a half teaspoon of garam masala powder and stirred for about 30 seconds until the spices were aromatic. Diced tomatoes, harissa (Trader Joes), seasoned vegetable stock (Better than Bouillon brand). I skipped the parsley. Other reviewers said it needed something sweet, so since there is nothing more Moroccan than dates, I chopped up 2 Medjool dates to deliver a little sweetness. I also had some nice kale on hand, so chopped up about a cup and tossed it in for extra body and nutrition. I set the pressure cook for 12 minutes and did a 10 minute natural steam release, then manually released. I set the sauté mode and added the slurry of flour, lemon juice, egg and water. Topped it off with a little more chopped cilantro. The result was a knock-your-socks off soup.
- Good morning! I see some have used an instant pot for this recipe. Would anyone be able to share those instructions? Also, does this freeze well? Thank you!
- Let me add my four forks--exquisite! Very adaptable (I typically add any veggie that needs finishing and is waiting in my crisper) and satisfying. Do not skimp on the herbs, spices, and lemon. They are essential.
- This is so good. I made a half batch on Sunday and took it for lunch a few days. Everyone was asking for the recipe at work when I warmed it up. I used pepper flakes as I wasn't able to find harissa paste and also skipped the cilantro as my partner detests it. I also diced the carrots vs rounds as rounds are sometimes too big for soups.
- Good morning! I see some have used an instant pot for this recipe. Would anyone be able to share those instructions? Also, does this freeze well? Thank you!
- This was really delicious. I will definitely make it again.
- Very tasty and satisfying soup. Very much like the lemon taste.
- Fabulous soup. The lemon sauce at at the end puts it over the top! I used homemade harissa both in the soup and as a condiment. We loved the mix of flavors. I didn't add flour or water to the lemon & egg . I added rice vermicelli with the lemon sauce for the last 5 minutes of cooking.I did use a pressure cooker which took off about 25 minutes of cooking time. Will definitely make this again and again.
- Excellent! My whole family loved it. It was so delicious on a chilly and rainy night. I made this as written with canned garbanzo beans and dried lentils. I found harissa at Trader Joe’s but red pepper flakes would work just as well. You do need a large pot to fit all the ingredients and I used a 6 quart Dutch oven. This recipe is a keeper!
- Wow! This recipe was simply AmAzInG! I will certainly make it again!
- This recipe is wonderful for cold wintry days! I used the chili flakes because I didn't have harissa, and I didn't have turmeric so I substituted it with ginger and curry powder which seemed to do the trick. Other than those slight changes, I followed the recipe as is. I will definitely make it again!
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