Ramadan has started. Time to pull out my mother-in-law's recipe for harira. This is a traditional soup served to break the fast. It took me a few years to get this recipe down. I finally got it when I took notes while watching my mother- and my sister-in-law make this in their very tiny kitchen in Tangier.
My husband likes this and beghrir, which is sort of a pancake made with yeast. I still haven't mastered this, either. Somehow his mother and sister cook these pancakes without them turning brown at all. The pancake is topped with honey and finely chopped almonds.
As for the harira, you can make this vegetarian by leaving the chicken out, or you can substitute lamb for the chicken. This recipe should make enough for 8-10 people.
*6 large ripe tomatoes
*1/2 tsp. salt
* 4 tablespoons butter
*1 large red onion, diced very fine
*1/2 cup finely chopped italian (flat-leaf) parsley
*1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
*1/2 cup finely chopped celery (Fatima used a baby celery which I haven't found in my part of the US, but regular celery is fine)
*chicken parts: I use 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but if you're the type of person who keeps a bag of frozen gizzards and other chicken parts, you can use those.
* 1/2 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
* 1/2 tsp. tumeric
* 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
* 1 tsp. salt (or more, to taste)
*10 ounces (a little over a cup) of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) that have been soaked, skins removed
*1/3 cup dry lentils (optional)
* 1/2 cup thin egg noodles, broken spaghetti, or some other small pasta
*lemon or lime wedges for serving
Directions:
* Core and half the tomatoes. Put them in a pot and fill the pot with enough water to cover the tomatoes. Add the 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring the tomatoes to a gentle boil. Remove the tomatoes from the water and remove the skins. Reserve the tomato-cooking water. Puree the tomatoes in a blender. Set aside.
*Melt the butter over low heat in a large soup pot. Add the onions, celery, parsley, and cilantro and toss. Add the chicken, the pureed tomatoes, and all of the tomato-cooking liquid. Cook without a lid over medium heat, skimming the surface until there is no more foam.
*Once there is no more foam, check to see that the chicken is cooked through. Remove the cooked chicken and dice or shred it.
*Add the garbanzo beans, white pepper, tumeric, cinnamon, ginger, 1 tsp. salt, and the dry lentils if you are using them. Return the chicken to the soup.
*Once the garbanzo beans are tender, add the spaghetti noodles. If you have fine noodles and you are not serving immediately, you can turn off the heat and cover the pot. The noodles will cook. Otherwise, cook the soup until the noodles are done.
*Taste the soup to make sure the seasoning is right.
*Serve the hot soup with lemon or lime wedges.
Notes:
* It is traditional to add, at the end of cooking, one egg beaten with fresh lemon juice. Stir the soup while you slowly pour in the eggs to create ribbons. (I don't like eggs in my soup so I leave this out.)
* I also believe (but I'm not 100% sure) that saffron is preferred to tumeric to add flavor and color to this soup, but saffron is much more expensive. If you know how to use saffron, go for it!
* I found a lot of recipes that recommend thickening the soup by adding a mixture of water and flour. But this makes the soup too thick for our taste. I think the pasta, beans, and lentils release enough starch during cooking to thicken it sufficiently.
