Harira

beef chickpeas hearty soup lentils moroccan moroccan stew soup

N/A

Source

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

300g braising beef or boneless beef, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 3cm pieces

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp ground black pepper

¼ tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp tomato purée

pinch of saffron

70g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained (or 140g canned chickpeas, drained)

6 large tomatoes, grated or blitzed in a food processor

100g celery (2 stalks), finely chopped

80g dried green lentils

3 tbsp cornflour or plain flour

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander and lemon wedges, to serve

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the meat, onion and spices with 1½ tsp salt. Leave for 5-10 mins to lightly brown the meat, stirring occasionally. Add the rest of the ingredients except the lentils, cornflour, coriander and lemon wedges. Add 1 litre of boiling water, bring to the boil, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Leave to simmer for 1 hr.

Add the lentils to the casserole, cover with a lid and cook for a further 20 mins. When the chickpeas, meat and lentils are cooked, mix the cornflour in a small bowl with 3 tbsp water, and stir until smooth. Stir the cornflour mixture into the casserole. Simmer for 5 mins until the harira thickens and takes on a velvety texture.

Scatter over the coriander, then serve hot with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over.