Harira is a hearty tomato-based Moroccan soup made with legumes like lentils and chickpeas, fresh herbs, and warm spices. I first tasted this at Andalousse Moroccan Restaurant in Cape Town and then simply had to make my own version. Paired with some middle eastern flatbread it’s a delicious midweek supper for winter.

Moroccan Harira Soup

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas
2 cans diced tomatoes (Use a stick blender to puree the tomatoes a bit. I do this in the tins. Or use as is for a more chunky finish)
1/3 cup lentils
2 stalks celery with leaves chopped in chunks
1 large onion chopped in chunks
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp fine ginger powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 to 1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp Tomato paste
1/4 cup broken vermicelli (optional)

Put onions and celery stalks in a food processor and mince but don’t liquidise. Add olive oil to a large pot on medium heat and saute the onion and celery with the garlic till dry. Add the tomato paste and cook for a few seconds. Add the tinned tomatoes to the pot with all the spices, sugar and the lentils along with 2 tins of water. Allow to cook till the lentils are soft. About 30 minutes. Add the chickpeas with brine, the broken vermicelli and another tin of water and cook for 10 minutes. Serve hot with wedges of lemon to squeeze into the bowls. Deeelicious!