The Foodie Files

It was gross outside today...really gross.  A soup kind of day for sure.  I decided to give one of my favorites a go...it's hearty, delicious and- are you ready for this?- Moroccan!  I got my first taste of Harira (the official name of said soup) at the Fez, an amazing restaurant in Philly that's famous for their eight course feasts.  Since there's no Moroccan food in a 100 mile radius of Nashville (believe me, I've searched), it's either homemade Harira or no Harira at all.  Tonight was the second time I've tried this recipe (or some version of it...I didn't write it down as I was making it last time...typical).  I was nervous both times since I'm not totally familiar with Moroccan spices but I'm pumped to finally have it on record...it's pretty darn good!

Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery 

1 TBS chopped parsley

1 TBS turmeric

1 TBS cinnamon

1 TBS ginger

2 TBS butter

1 14.5oz can of chickpeas

1 14.5oz can of crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup dried lentils

4 cups vegetable broth

4 cups water

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 lemons

Before you get started you should know that Harira isn't really the kind of soup you can just throw in a pot and come back to an hour later.  It's not difficult to make, but it is time consuming.  First of all, there's some dicing involved...quite a bit of dicing, actually (enough to make me temporarily grumpy).  

Once you've conquered the onions, carrots, celery and parsley, melt butter in a large pot and toss 'em on in.  Here's where the layering starts...saute the veggies in the butter for about five minutes on medium low.  Add turmeric, cinnamon and ginger and saute an additional ten minutes.  Add the diced tomatoes and rinsed lentils and let simmer for ten more minutes.  Finally, bump up your heat to just below medium and add your chickpeas, vegetable broth and water.  Let it simmer for an hour, then salt and pepper to taste.    

Make sure you serve each bowl with two lemon wedges..they round out the taste of the soup perfectly.  I can't imagine eating it without them.  You might have to muster some courage to give this one a shot, but I'm telling you, it's worth it!