Harira Soup

It’s a grey day in Sydney folks.  A chilly twenty degrees (as a man born and bred in Edinburgh I never thought I’d make that statement), lots of low cloud and the threat of rain.  Perfect.

Perfect?  Let me clarify; I left the UK to get away from the endless grey, but there must be something genetic in me that requires it every so often.  Growing up in Scotland instilled in me an almost panic like response to sunshine ‘Quick!  Sun!  Let’s get out there and use it’.  I brought this to Sydney with me where the frequency of the sunshine means it’s hard to take it easy sometimes.  So a grey day is the perfect excuse to do nothing.  Kick back, watch a movie and, of course, plan an evening meal.

The greyness of the day naturally steers my thoughts toward something hearty and warming for dinner.  This is a bit of a novelty after a long summer of salads, seafood and simple light dishes. 

Deciding is half the fun of course, so the cook books come out and the browsing begins.  Nothing is catching my eye though; don’t fancy Indian, don’t want a roast, can’t be bothered with Bolognese (although it’s a close call). 

Then I remember a recipe for Harira Soup in an old edition of Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine and its case closed; a big steaming bowl of spiced lamb with pulses and vegetables, scooped up onto warm chunks of Afghan bread and eaten with generous dollops of tzatziki ticks all the boxes.

It’s one of those dishes that’s a pleasure to spend some time making.  Lots of chopping and measuring and then a satisfying process of combining ingredients as the smell of spices and lamb mingleA.

I’ve altered a few things in the recipe below and it’s a dish that is fairly robust to tinkering.  This makes enough for six hungry people.

The Means

For the soup:

  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 onions – finely chopped
  • 2 celery stalks – de-stringed and finely chopped
  • 2 carrots – peeled and finely chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic – can you guess?  That’s right, finely chopped
  • 500g leg of lamb cut into 1-2cm chunks. 
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 2 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 or 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp tomato paste
  • 1 litre of chicken of veggie stock
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes or 4 or 5 chopped fresh tomatoes
  • 1 tin of chickpeas
  • 120g lentils – rinsed
  • Flat leaf parsley, fresh coriander and a lemon to serve.

For the tzatziki:

  • Natural yogurt
  • A cucumber
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • Some salt flakes
  • Optional lemon, dill, mint, parsley….anything else you think might work

It looks like a lot, but if you take out the spices it’s just a bit of lamb, some veggies and a tin of chick peas.  Recipes like this, and a dozen others I can think of off the top of my head, are one reason it’s worthwhile to invest in a decent spice cupboard.  Once you have the spices sorted the rest is easy.

The Method

  • Heat the oil in a large pan.  Add the onions, celery and carrots and sauté for about 5 minutes until soft.
  • Add the garlic and the lamb and sauté for a further 5 minutes until the lamb is browned.
  • Add the cumin, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, bay leaves and tomato paste and stir well, coating the lamb with the soice mixture.
  • Add the stock, bring to the boil and then cover and simmer over a low heat.

Let it simmer for about an hour.  When the lamb is tender and cooked it’s done.

  • Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and lentils and cook for a further 30 mins.  Add a bit mo re water if it’s getting too thick.

Add the seasoning when it’s done and serve it with chopped parsley and coriander and a lemon quarter.  It’s great with warm fat breads and cool, creamy tzatziki.

To make the tzatziki simply grate the garlic clove into the yogurt, add the chopped chunks of cucumber and some salt.  The other stuff is up to you. 

Wine:

We opened a 2007 House of Straw Shiraz from Piggs Peake in the Hunter Valley with this.  I have a soft spot for Piggs Peake as it was the first place that I ever got to do some barrel tasting.  Luckily they also make cracking wine. 

The House of Straw is a beautiful purple colour and has a nose of blackcurrant and brown sugar with a little bit of liquorice hiding at the back.  The blackcurrant follows through to the palate nicely and there is definitely a bit of stewed plum and rhubarb.  It’s a great bottle for $26.

(download)

Tagged Moroccan Recipe
​