Moroccan Harira soup

The harira soup posted recently looked so delicious, but so different from the one I make I thought I would post this as well in case anyone wants to try it. I know I am going to try the other recipe tomorrow. 😊

I use the slow cooker method and let it cook for the day and then add the pasta near the end of the cooking time. Some lemon juice added to each bowl is a must. 😊 This recipe actually came from the website Mipasia.com and is wonderful. There are other versions on the internet that include meat if you are so inclined.

3 Tbsp oil

3 medium carrots, peeled and diced small

2 stalks celery, diced small

1 large yellow or white onion, diced small

3–4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp harissa paste, or 2 tsp harissa spice blend (or to taste)

2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp tomato paste

¾ cup dried chickpeas (soaked overnight), or 1 (15 oz) can

½ cup French green lentils, rinsed

½ cup red lentils, rinsed

6 medium tomatoes, or 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

8 cups vegetable stock, or water with 1 added bouillon cube

¼ bunch fresh parsley, stems and leaves chopped fine

¼ bunch fresh cilantro, stems and leaves chopped fine

1 cup fine egg noodles or vermicelli

salt, to taste

lemon slices, for serving

olive oil, for serving (optional)

Instructions

For stovetop: Add oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced carrot, celery and onion to the pot. Sauté for 5-6 minutes, or until starting to soften. Add the minced garlic to the pot and sauté for 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant.

Add the harissa, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, coriander, pepper and salt to the vegetable mixture. Stir until everything is well coated and sauté for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste to the pot, stir and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Add the soaked chickpeas (if using canned chickpeas do not add them at this point) and stir. Add the green lentils and red lentils to the pot. Stir everything so that it is well coated in the tomato paste mixture.

Add the diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, chopped parsley stems and chopped cilantro stems to the pot, then increase the heat to high. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for 60-90 minutes, or until the chickpeas are tender and the soup is starting to thicken.

Add the noodles and simmer for 15 minutes. If using canned chickpeas, add them along with the noodles. Taste and season as needed, add more liquid if needed. Turn off the heat and add the freshly chopped parsley and cilantro.

For Instant Pot or slow cooker: Combine all of the ingredients except the noodles in a pot and cook according to the manufacturer’s recommendation for soups and stews. Add noodles to the soup after it is cooked; simmer for 15 minutes or you cook the noodles separately and add them to the soup when serving.