Harira — The Moroccan Lamb and Legume Soup

Ingredients

• 400 g lamb shoulder, cut into small pieces
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 400 g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or tinned — reduced before use
• 150 g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, or use tinned
• 100 g red lentils, rinsed
• 1 large bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 pinch saffron threads, bloomed in 1 tbsp warm water
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for service
• For the tedouira
• 2 tbsp plain flour, whisked with cold water to a completely lump-free slurry
• 120 ml cold water, for the slurry
• Optional Fès refinement
• 1 egg, beaten, for ribboning finish off heat

Method

1. 1
   Warm the olive oil in a heavy pot over a medium flame. Add the onion, the chopped coriander, and the chopped parsley together with the tomato — if using tinned tomato, reduce the mixture first in the pan, stirring regularly, until the excess liquid has driven off and the base is thick and cohesive, so that water does not later dilute the aromatic character of the finished soup. Cook the herb-and-tomato base, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is deeply fragrant, reduced to a unified paste, and the oil begins to separate at the edges; this is where the dish lives or dies, because no amount of simmering later will recover an aromatic base that was rushed.
2. 2
   Add the lamb pieces, ground ginger, cinnamon stick, and black pepper to the base, and stir to coat the meat thoroughly in the paste so that the spices cling to the surface of the lamb rather than floating free in the liquid to come. Cook for 5 minutes, turning the pieces, until the meat has lost its raw colour on all sides.
3. 3
   Add the soaked and drained chickpeas and enough water to cover generously, then bring to a boil and reduce to a firm simmer — the chickpeas go in before the lentils because they need far longer in the pot, and adding them now prevents the lentils from turning to mush while the chickpeas are still chalky at the centre. Cook until the chickpeas are nearly tender, which may take 45 minutes to 1 hour for dried soaked chickpeas, or 10 minutes if using tinned; the broth will have darkened and taken on the colour of the herb base.
4. 4
   Add the red lentils and the bloomed saffron with its soaking water — the saffron is bloomed in warm water first so that its colour and perfume fully release into the liquid rather than remaining locked in the dry threads. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes, until the lentils have dissolved into the broth and the soup has begun to thicken naturally; the colour should be a deep terracotta-amber.
5. 5
   Whisk the plain flour with cold water to a completely lump-free slurry — the tedouira — using cold water deliberately, so the starch disperses evenly before it meets heat and cannot seize into clumps. With the soup at a steady boil, pour the slurry in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly as it enters the pot, then cook, stirring regularly, for a full 15 minutes until the texture shifts from brothy to a thick, flowing consistency at the boundary of a light sauce and the raw flour taste has gone entirely; taste for salt.
6. 6
   Optional Fès refinement: remove the pot from the heat before adding the egg, so the residual warmth sets the egg gently into ribbons rather than scrambling it into rough curds. Pour a beaten egg in a thin, steady stream into the soup while stirring in a slow circle, drawing it throughout the liquid.
7. 7
   Rest the soup, covered and off the heat, for 5 minutes; harira thickens as it rests, and the consistency after resting is the correct and intended one rather than a sign that the soup has been overcooked. Serve with lemon wedges, the acid left for each diner to add at the bowl.