Harira
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Harira

By Nargisse Benkabbou

Make a warming bowl of harira, the Moroccan soup full of pulses, tomato, beef and spices. It’s hearty, satisfying and full of flavour – perfect for cold days

  • Prep:15 mins
    Cook:1 hrs 35 mins
  • Serves 6
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 224
  • fat 6g
  • saturates 2g
  • carbs 23g
  • sugars 0g
  • fibre 6g
  • protein 17g
  • salt 1.3g

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 300g braising beef or boneless beef, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 3cm pieces
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • pinch of saffron
  • 70g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained (or 140g canned chickpeas, drained)
  • 6 large tomatoes, grated or blitzed in a food processor
  • 100g celery (2 stalks), finely chopped
  • 80g dried green lentils
  • 3 tbsp cornflour or plain flour
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander and lemon wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the meat, onion and spices with 1½ tsp salt. Leave for 5-10 mins to lightly brown the meat, stirring occasionally. Add the rest of the ingredients except the lentils, cornflour, coriander and lemon wedges. Add 1 litre of boiling water, bring to the boil, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Leave to simmer for 1 hr.

  2. Add the lentils to the casserole, cover with a lid and cook for a further 20 mins. When the chickpeas, meat and lentils are cooked, mix the cornflour in a small bowl with 3 tbsp water, and stir until smooth. Stir the cornflour mixture into the casserole. Simmer for 5 mins until the harira thickens and takes on a velvety texture.

  3. Scatter over the coriander, then serve hot with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over.

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