Harira (Moroccan Tomato, Lentil, and Chickpea Soup)

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 110 mins

Total: 2 hrs 10 mins

Servings: 6 to 8 servings

​Harira is a classic Moroccan comfort soup made with tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, fresh herbs, dried spices, and meat, making it a filling and satisfying dish. Although served year-round, it is particularly popular for breaking the fast during Ramadan. It can be offered as an appetizer or main, depending on the serving size, and is usually served with lemon slices (or lemon juice), crusty bread, figs, and a honey-rosewater flavored pastry called chebakia.

There are many variations on harira, and recipes are often passed down from generation to generation. Some versions feature broken pieces of vermicelli and smen—a preserved butter with a Parmesan-like taste. Harira is typically made with chicken, lamb, or beef, but some variations of this recipe skip the meat to be vegetarian and vegan. Make it gluten free by replacing the vermicelli with rice noodles and skipping the flour.

For this recipe, we use a pressure cooker for a shorter cooking time; to adapt for simmering on the stove, follow the directions for the traditional stockpot method. To make it easier, soak the chickpeas and lentils overnight.

“This Moroccan soup is bold, rich, and full of flavor. An ultimate comfort food for winter nights. The recipe is very straight-forward. You can make a big batch and freeze it to enjoy anytime that you want.” —Tara Omidvar

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1/2 pound lamb, beef, or chicken, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

• 6 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and pureed

• 1 large onion, grated

• 1 stalk celery with leaves, finely chopped

• 3/4 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and peeled

• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon ground ginger

• 1 tablespoon smen, optional

• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric, or 1/4 teaspoon yellow food coloring

• 11 cups water, divided

• 3 tablespoons dried lentils, soaked overnight

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste, mixed into 1 cup water

• 2 tablespoons raw rice, or 2 tablespoons broken vermicelli

For Thickening the Soup:

• 1 cup flour

• 2 cups water

• Coarsely chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Steps to Make It

Brown the Meat

1. Gather the ingredients.

   

2. Heat the oil in a 6-quart or larger pressure cooker on medium-high. Add the meat. Cook for a few minutes, stirring to brown all sides.

   

Make the Stock

1. Add the pureed tomatoes, onion, celery, chickpeas, parsley, cilantro, salt, ginger, smen, if using, black pepper, cinnamon, and turmeric. Stir and add 3 cups of the water. Cover tightly and heat over high heat until pressure is achieved. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and release the pressure.

   

Make the Soup

1. Add the lentils, tomato paste mixture, and the remaining 8 cups of water. If at any point there's an oily surface forming on top of the soup, simply skim it off and discard. This can happen because of the meat's fat, if left on.

   

2. Have the rice or vermicelli at hand, if using, but don't add yet.

   

3. Cover the pot and heat the soup over high heat until pressure is achieved. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking.

   If adding rice, cook the soup on pressure for 30 minutes. Release the pressure and add the rice. Cover and cook with pressure for an additional 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if desired.

   If using vermicelli, cook the soup on pressure for 45 minutes. Release the pressure, and add the vermicelli. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes or until the vermicelli is plump and cooked. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if desired.

   

Make Soup Thickener

1. Gather the ingredients.

   

2. While the soup is cooking, make a soup thickener by mixing together the flour and water. Mix well, but if the mixture is not smooth, pass it through a sieve to remove lumps.

   

Finish the Soup

1. Bring the soup to a full simmer. Slowly, and in a thin stream, pour in 1/4 of the flour mixture. Stir constantly and keep the soup simmering so the flour doesn’t stick to the bottom or cooks up in lumps.

   

2. Add another 1/4 of the flour thickener. You will notice the soup beginning to thicken when you've used approximately half the flour mixture. The thickness of harira is up to you.

   

3. Simmer the thickened soup, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes to cook off the taste of the flour. Remove the soup from the heat, serve, and garnish with chopped parsley.

   

Shortcuts

Here are some helpful tips to reduce the prep time:

• Process the cilantro, parsley, and celery together in a food processor or blender. Add the peeled and seeded tomatoes and blend until well pureed. Add the onion and process until the onion is reduced to small pieces. Add to the browned meat.
• If you plan to cook harira frequently, it’s helpful to prep large amounts of key ingredients in advance, like soaking, peeling, and then freezing chickpeas, or chopping an ample supply of parsley, cilantro, and celery, freezing them together in batch-sized amounts. Additionally, peeling, seeding, and stewing tomatoes for freezing can reduce prep time.

Thickening with Egg

In place of flour and water, 2 or 3 beaten eggs may be used to thicken harira:

• Beat the eggs with 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice. Add the eggs in a thin stream to the simmering soup, stirring constantly. You will see some cooked strands of eggs in the soup as it thickens.

Can I Cook the Harira Without a Pressure Cooker?

Yes. Here's how:

Use an 8-quart stockpot. Follow the directions above, but adjust the cooking time as follows:

• In the "Make the Soup" section, partially cover the pot, bring to a simmer, and cook for double the suggested pressure cooker times—either 60 minutes if using rice or 90 minutes if using vermicelli. Watch the level of the liquid and add a little more water if necessary.
• Proceed with thickening the soup according to the recipe, or try the egg thickening method below.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories	316
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g	16%
Saturated Fat 3g	16%
Cholesterol 27mg	9%
Sodium 530mg	23%
Total Carbohydrate 37g	13%
Dietary Fiber 6g	21%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 15g
Vitamin C 26mg	129%
Calcium 62mg	5%
Iron 3mg	19%
Potassium 720mg	15%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.