Harira is Morocco's best-known, and best-loved, soup. Families eat this herb-rich, tomato-based soup year-round. During Ramadan, however, it's obligatory, and pots of the soup simmer away in kitchens across the country. Accompanied by dates and honeyed, flower-shaped cookies sprinkled with sesame seeds called chebakia, a bowl of harira is the traditional way to break the fast. The velvety-smooth soup—whisking in flour, or sometimes egg, at the end gives that distinct texture—is nourishing and easy on an empty stomach.
I have enjoyed harira around numerous family tables and at street stalls—each version has been different. As a woman in Fes once said to me, "There are as many recipes for harira in Morocco as there are cooks."
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
In a large soup pot, put the meat, celery, onion, parsley, cilantro, butter, ginger, and cinnamon. Season with salt and plenty of pepper. Cover with 6 cups/1.5 L water, stir well, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
Step 2
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and chickpeas, and stir in 1 1/2 cups/360 ml water. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, warm 1 cup/240 ml water and whisk in the flour and lemon juice. Remove from the heat, let sit for 10 minutes, and then whisk again.
Step 4
Add the flour mixture to the soup in a slow but steady stream while continually stirring. Cook, stirring frequently to avoid any sticking, for 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the vermicelli and cook until the pasta is tender, about 5 minutes. The texture of the soup should be velvety.
Step 5
Serve in bowls with lemon wedges on the side and with the dates and figs on a small platter.
