Harira. Legume, meat and tomato soup. Traditional Moroccan recipe

For 4 € 1.18 /pers. 158 kcal/100g

How good a soup always goes. At Rechupete we are big fans of soups , it is a dish that is always desired and that can be prepared in a thousand ways. Whether it is the typical fish and seafood soup that always comforts us inside or the exotic beef Pho soup that teaches us new flavors, the point is to always enjoy it.

Today we are going far (but not too far) to bring you the delicious Harira, the traditional and best-known soup in Morocco. It is a hearty soup , we already warned you, but keep in mind that this soup is usually consumed during Ramadan , and with these periods of fasting, the body needs energy. With chickpeas, noodles, vegetables and meat (lamb or chicken), this soup is the food pyramid condensed into a single dish , ideal for when we are hungry and need a good shot of energy.

As in almost all traditional recipes, you can find this harira soup made with multiple ingredients and in different ways. It usually has lamb meat, although we have changed it for chicken to make it a little lighter (I hope our Moroccan readers will forgive us for such an affront). The recipe is very simple and it won’t cost you too much to carry it out, so don’t hesitate and enjoy this Moroccan delicacy because it is delicious.

Preparation of harira soup

1. We start by washing and cutting the celery and tomatoes. Once ready, we reserve them for later use. We peel the red onion and ginger and chop them very finely. We reserve them.
2. We season the chicken with salt and pepper and season it with turmeric and cinnamon. Then in a saucepan with a little oil, brown the chicken a little and remove it. In that same pot we sauté the onion and ginger for a couple of minutes and add the celery, tomatoes and butter.
3. We dilute the saffron in hot water and add it to the saucepan. We also add the chicken and cooked chickpeas. We cover with water and adjust the spices a little if necessary. Then we cook everything over low heat for 45 minutes with the lid on.
4. Once this time has passed, we add the noodles and let them cook until they are tender. After this, we take out the chicken, shred it and place the chicken meat in the pot. We serve the soup with a little parsley and chopped cilantro on the surface, as well as a few lemon wedges. Ready to eat.

Tips for perfect harira soup

• It is a very filling soup that almost looks like a sauce, so it is better to have a good loaf of bread next to it to fully enjoy it.
• We can make the vegetarian version by eliminating the chicken. It will still be delicious and without a hint of meat.
• The ideal is to use homemade chickpeas, but if we don’t have any we can use cooked chickpeas from a jar if we wash them well. If the preserve is trustworthy and quality, it will only contain chickpeas, water, salt and some antioxidant, but discarding that liquid, from which a white foam comes out when washed, reduces sodium intake. So my recommendation is to run them through the tap, although as I mentioned it is not dangerous.