Moroccan Harira Soup

"This thick soup is a wonderful comfort food. It's easy to make, delicious and healthy! I know the spices sound strange, but the end result is an excellent savory soup. Good enough for company!"
 
Download
photo by KateL photo by KateL
photo by KateL
photo by Prose photo by Prose
photo by Sharon123 photo by Sharon123
photo by mersaydees photo by mersaydees
Ready In:
1hr 15mins
Ingredients:
15
Serves:
8
Advertisement

ingredients

Advertisement

directions

  • Cook lentils in pot of boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain.
  • Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, parsley, cilantro, ginger, and cinnamon. Saute 5 minutes or until onion is soft.
  • Stir in tomatoes and saute 5 minutes more.
  • Stir in broth, chickpeas, lentils, reserved tomato liquid, and 3 cups water.
  • Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 45 minutes or until lentils are tender, stirring occassionally.
  • In separate bowl, whisk flour with 1 cup water.
  • Whisk in cilantro, lemon juice and tomato paste.
  • Add mixture to soup.
  • Add orzo to soup.
  • Cook for 5 minutes or until orzo is soft.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!
Advertisement

Reviews

  1. I followed this right on target and we loved it! Yum, lentils! I also used fresh parsley, cilantro, and ginger. The orzo was just as completely yummy and was so good for comfort anld so good for your soul. And the cinnamon was just the right amount, and gave this a delightful twist. I also used fresh tomatoes with the juice from the tomato instead of canned tomatoes. Loved it, and will be making it again this weekend, made for *Veg Vegan* Swap September 2009.
     
  2. Delish! I really liked this quite a bit. The spices and herbs were right on. It's quite simple to make as well. Only change I might make in the future would be to use a grain instead of pasta (maybe quinoa), just to up the nutritional valu. Thanks for posting, I'd make this again for sure. Made for the April 08 veggie swap.
     
  3. This soup was easy to make and delicious. I used chicken broth instead of vegetable because that's what I had and I didn't use cilantro because I've never tried it and wasn't sure I would like it. I love all kinds of soup and I will definitely be making this again.
     
  4. This was filling and full of flavour! I loved every moment of it, especially since the temperature dipped a little and I needed something warm.
     
  5. Very satisfying, the flavors sold the lentils and chickpeas to DH (a proud carnivore) , who insisted that this become part of our regular rotation. This is a perfect lunch dish, high in protein and fiber. Reviewed for Veg'n Swap 13.
     
Advertisement

Tweaks

  1. Added 1 tbsp of minced garlic and 1 tbsp of cayenne pepper. Left out the orzo and used corn flour instead of regular flour..... now the recipe is also gluten free!!
     
  2. This soup was easy to make and delicious. I used chicken broth instead of vegetable because that's what I had and I didn't use cilantro because I've never tried it and wasn't sure I would like it. I love all kinds of soup and I will definitely be making this again.
     
  3. This wasn't our cup of tea, but I feel the changes I made in preparation may have impacted the results so won't leave stars. We do like all of the ingredients and even the texture appealed. It just seemed to be lacking flavor wise for us. I did substitute barley for the orzo pasta. I also attempted the recipe in the crockpot. I added everything, reducing the water by 1 cup, thru step 6 (including the barley), and cooked on high 5 hours. At that point I added the flour with 1 cup water, remaining cilantro, lemon juice and tomato paste to cook another 45 minutes. The stew thickened nicely and looked good. The barley & garbanzo beans were perfect; soft, but yet still identifiable and the stew is very filling. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
     
  4. I can't think of anything better for a fall or winter evening. The ginger and cinnamon were so fragrant and warming! I made a few modifications. I subbed extra parsley for the cilantro because I had a lot of parsley that I wanted to use up. I definitely didn't miss the cilantro, but I'm sure it would be wonderful. I used fresh ginger (and lots of it) and threw in a dash of cayenne for heat. I used a fresh tomato and some extra water and the ketchup instead of tomato paste. Also, I made this gluten-free by subbing corn starch for the flour and quinoa for the orzo (Great idea, VegSocialWorker!) Also, I used vinegar instead of lemon juice, since I was fresh out of lemons. Despite all of my changes, the soup was absolutely wonderful. I will definitely make it again. I served it with Tofutti sour cream and chili sauce. Reviewed for Vegan Swap 14.
     
  5. Delicious soup. I found it a bit time consuming to make, because I pull the leaves off the parsley and cilantro stems, and there's quite a lot of these herbs in here! Although I made as directed, I like the reviewer's suggestion of substituting quinoa for the orzo. Thanks, Wish I Could Cook! Made for Veg*n Recipe Swap.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I'm a recipe junkie and collect way too many cookbooks. But when it's time to actually make something, I quickly turn to the internet... I started avoiding meat more than 20 years ago for environmental reasons. (It takes so many resources and the pollution risks of confinement operations are huge.) I've been vegan for years now and can report that the health benefits are also real. I really don't understand why people insist on eating meat
 
View Full Profile
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Find More Recipes