Harira

One of the most popular soups throughout the Middle East is Harira which has Moroccan and North African origins. It's essentially a tomato based soup that is made with meat, chickpeas and lentils, as well as a number of herbs and warming spices. Once cooked, the soup is thickened, and the result is a warmly spiced soup with a silky smooth texture and a chunky array of meat and legumes.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Weigh out your chickpeas and give them a thorough rinse, then place them in a large bowl and cover with water. Soak your chickpeas overnight until they have doubled or tripled in size. The next day remove the chickpeas from the water and rinse briefly before using. You should also wash the lentils as well.
2. Mince your celery, parsley and coriander very finely. Remove any large stalks before mincing and keep the celery aside as we'll use it first. Dice your onion and tomatoes to a small dice so that they can dissolve into the soup. Dice your meat into very small cubes about 1 cm.
3. Place a pot on the stove over high heat and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the meat and sear stirring occasionally until a deep brown colour and a browned fond has formed on the base of the pot. Turn the heat down to medium and add the diced onion. Saute with the meat until it is translucent and softened.
4. Add some water or stock to the pot and deglaze the fond. Once the pot is mostly cleaned, add the tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, celery, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, salt and 1½ litres of water.
5. Bring the pot to a boil and once it boils reduce the heat to medium and cover the pot with a tight lid. Allow to simmer for
   45 minutes.
6. Once the 45 minutes are up, check the chickpeas, lentils and meat for doneness. The chickpeas and lentils should be soft but not falling apart, and the meat should be soft and cooked through. When cooked mix in the tomato paste.
7. Make a slurry with the flour and ½ a cup of water and stir into the pot (make sure there are no clumps before adding it in). Mix it with the soup for 2 minutes stirring the whole time to prevent it from clumping up.
8. Once the soup has thickened, add the vermicelli as well as parsley and coriander and allow the vermicelli to cook for
   10 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent burning.
9. Check vermicelli for doneness and then serve the soup with fresh lemon wedges.