Monday, July 2, 2012

Moroccan Harira

This is a thick, savory soup flavored with cinnamon and cilantro - somehow my partner caught bronchitis in the middle of summer (I don't know how he managed that one) so I made this soup to help him feel better.

Mats:
1/2 c green lentils
1 Tb olive oil
1 large onion, diced (2 cups)
1/2 c chopped parsley
3/4 c chopped cilantro, divided into 1/2 and 1/4c
1/2 tsp chopped fresh ginger (ground powdered will work fine too)
1 Tb ground cinnamon
1 15oz can chopped tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
1 15oz can chickpeas, drained
2c chicken stock
1/2 c vermicelli - it's a very thing spaghetti. Regular spaghetti will work fine too.
2 Tb flour
2 Tb lemon juice
1 Tb tomato paste

Process:
Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion, parsley, 1/2c cilantro, ginger and cinnamon; saute 5 minutes.
Stir in the drain tomatoes, saute for 5 more minutes.
Add chicken broth, reserved tomato liquid, chickpeas, lentils and 3 cups water.
Add 1/2 tsp salt and ground black pepper.
Stir, cover, and boil for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally

In a separate bowl, combine 1c water, flour, lemon juice and tomato paste. Mix with a whisk or fork until there are no more lumps.
Add the 1/4 c remaining cilantro to the flour mixture.

Once the 45 minutes are up on the main pot, stir in the flour-water mixture.
Snap the vermicelli pasta in half and add to the pot.
Boil uncovered for 4 minutes.

Serves 4.

This one went over very well. It's a nice, warming alternative to chicken soup (made that the previous day).

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