Robert Carrier's Moroccan harira

Robert Carrier's Moroccan harira

In Morocco this soup is served as an important part of the festivities of Ramadan: it's the traditional soup to break the fast

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6 - 8

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 2¾ hours, plus overnight soaking

Method

  1. Tip the chickpeas and lentils into a large saucepan or flameproof casserole. Add the lamb, onion, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, saffron strands and paprika, then pour in 1.5 litres/21⁄2 pints water. Season.
  2. Bring to the boil, skimming all the froth from the surface as the water begins to bubble, then stir in half the butter. Turn down the heat and simmer the soup, covered, for 11⁄2 -2 hours until the chickpeas are tender, adding a little more water from time to time as necessary.
  3. Towards the end of the cooking time, prepare the rice. Bring 850ml/ 11⁄2 pints water to the boil in a saucepan, shower in the rice, the rest of the butter and salt to taste. Cook until the rice is very tender. Drain, reserving 3tbsp of the liquid.
  4. To finish, put the reserved rice liquid in a small saucepan. Stir in the coriander, parsley (hold a little back for a garnish if you like) and tomatoes, then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add to the soup with the rice, and then taste for seasoning. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to thicken slightly. Serve hot, with a lemon quarter for each serving so guests can squeeze over lemon juice to taste.

Per serving

381 kcalories, protein 26g, carbohydrate 38g, fat 15 g, saturated fat 8g, fibre 5g, salt 0.35 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, March 2003.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • 04 January 2008

    jenny commented on this recipe

    I have now made this for the second time for Christmas as I have vegetarian daughters. We all love it, much more interesting than turkey which we also have. I substituted almonds with hazel nuts and roasted cashews for the pistachios as that was what I had in the larder. Equally delicious. Will definitely make it again, it looks stunning.

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  • 06 May 2008

    Beth rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really nice and easy to make (though I did misread the recipe slightly and so didn't do the thing with cooking the tomatoes and herbs in the rice water - it still came out well though. Added some carrots as well with the onions at the beginning.

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  • 29 April 2010

    teapot rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I didn't do the bit with the rice water either but it still came out fine.

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  • 28 November 2010

    Amanda commented on this recipe

    I did this in the slow cooker as a one pot dish adding the rice right at the end. It worked brilliantly. Only thing i may do next time is add some dried prunes too.

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  • 28 November 2010

    Amanda rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • 29 February 2012

    maria rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I did this twice and everyone loved it. Easy to make too.

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  • 10 June 2013

    Emma1505 commented on this recipe

    Do you think it could work with chicken as I don't eat lamb ?

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  • 10 June 2013

    Emma1505 commented on this recipe

    Do you think it could work with chicken as I don't eat lamb ?

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6 - 8

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 2¾ hours, plus overnight soaking

Ingredients

  • 100g dried chickpeas , soaked overnight and drained
  • 100g Puy lentils
  • 450g ready-diced lamb , cut into 1cm cubes
  • 1 large Spanish onion , finely chopped
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp each ground ginger, saffron strands and paprika
  • 50g butter
  • 100g long grain rice
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • 4 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
  • 4 large ripe tomatoes , skinned, seeded and chopped
  • lemon quarters, to serve
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Per serving

381 kcalories, protein 26g, carbohydrate 38g, fat 15 g, saturated fat 8g, fibre 5g, salt 0.35 g

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