I saw someone in this sub mention Moroccan Harira and I was immediately intrigued. I’d never heard of it before and they didn’t provide a recipe but they did say “it’s my favorite soup, but it is not easy to make”.
Challenge accepted.
I can now report that it is, in fact, absolutely delicious (this is up there on my favorites list with Mulligatawny and Pozole Verde)…and it’s not the easiest soup I’ve ever made, but it’s nothing my fellow soup pro’s can’t handle 💛
🚨 This recipe makes a double batch!
This soup is definitely a labor of love with many moving parts so I’m going to do my best to divide up the ingredients list and instructions in a cohesive, user-friendly manner.
It’s a lot but this soup is worth it! Let’s get started!
• Ingredients
-6 tsp extra virgin olive oil (divided; 2 tsp for browning the beef and 4 tsp for sautéing the aromatics)
-3 lb lean beef (I used top round but bottom round will also work; pat dry and slice into 3/4” chunks. See photo for size reference. This is important; size does matter, here!)
-13 cups (104 fl oz) beef broth + 1-2 extra cups to make up any lost due to evaporation when we’re making the soup (divided; we want 5 cups for braising the beef and 8 cups that we’ll use later to build the soup broth. More specifics on this, later.)
-2x small-medium (444g) onions (peeled and finely diced)
-4x ribs of celery (160g; finely diced)
-2x medium carrots (150g; peeled and shredded)
-8x heaped tsp of minced garlic (69g)
-2 tbsp (30g) of freshly grated ginger (or you can use ginger paste like I did :p)
-6 tbsp (95g) of tomato paste
-2x 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes
-4 tsp of homemade harissa paste (see ingredients and instructions below; start with 4 tsp at first, but you can add more to taste up to 3 tbsp, total. I found that the sweet spot for me was 7 total tsp). This is not a traditional ingredient in Moroccan Harira, but it’s a worthy inclusion. The chilies come through wonderfully without overpowering the main flavor profiles. It’s a great supporting note!
-1 cup (140g) dry green lentils (rinsed)
-1 cup (140g) dry red lentils (rinsed)
-2x 14-15oz cans of chickpeas/garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 cup loosely packed (16g) fresh cilantro (finely chopped after measuring)
-1 cup loosely packed (16g) fresh Italian flat leaf parsley (finely chopped after measuring)
-fresh lemon wedges (for serving; this particular recipe really benefits from fresh lemon juice. The prepackaged stuff will be more intense than we’d like when added to the existing acidity present in the canned tomatoes)
• Spice Blend:
-3 tsp black pepper
-3 tsp ground turmeric
-2 tsp ground cumin
-1 tsp ground ginger
-1 tsp ground cinnamon
-35-50 threads (0.2g) saffron*** (this will not be added with the rest of the blooming spices; more on this later)
• Tedouira (traditional flour slurry for thickening the soup):
-60g all-purpose flour (~1/2 cup; definitely weigh it if you can, though)
-1 cup cold water
• Homemade Harissa Paste:
-3x dried New Mexico chilies (slice open and remove most of the seeds and major veins. If you want your harissa to be spicier then leave the chiles intact. This applies to all chilies in the ingredient list)
-2x dried guajillo chilies (slice open and remove most of the seeds & major veins, or don’t)
-1x dried ancho chile (slice open and remove most of the seeds & major veins, or don’t)
-1x dried chipotle pepper (slice open and remove most of the seeds & major veins, or don’t)
-1x large red bell pepper (slice in half & remove stem and seeds)
-2 tbsp (32g) tomato paste
-4-6 large whole garlic cloves (13g; peeled)
-1 tsp whole caraway seeds (toasted and finely ground; more on this in the instructions)
-2 tsp ground coriander
-2 tsp ground cumin
-1/2 tsp smoked paprika
-1/4 tsp salt; more to taste at the end
-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
-1-3 tbsp water*** (this may not be necessary so don’t add it right away; this is for adjusting the consistency of the harissa paste after everything has been combined in the food processor)
• Instructions
• Stage 1: Harissa Paste
1. Start rehydrating your chilies; take your sliced dried chilies (seeds and major veins removed or not, if you want your paste to be spicier) and place them in a bowl of hot water for 30 minutes to soften.
2. Toast your caraway seeds. Add your whole seeds to a dry skillet and toast over medium-low heat for 60-80 seconds until slightly browned and subtly fragrant. Set aside and allow them to cool.
3. Broil & steam your bell peppers; place your halved red bell peppers on a baking sheet, preheat the boiler in your oven on high, and place the baking sheet 5-6 inches below the broiling unit. Allow the peppers to roast in intervals of 1-2 minutes (keep a close eye on them) until the exterior is about 75% blackened and blistered. Once the peppers have sufficiently blackened, remove them from the oven and quickly transfer them to a large bowl. Place a plate over the top of the bowl and let the peppers steam (using their residual heat from the broiling process) for at least 10-15 minutes until soft.
4. While your dried chilies are soaking & your bell peppers are steaming, get to work on the rest of your mise en place. Peel your garlic cloves, measure out your spices and tomato paste, juice your lemon and measure out the appropriate amount of juice, and measure out your EVOO.
5. Grind up your toasted caraway seeds. Use a spice grinder or a mortal and pestle.
6. Once your bell peppers are finished steaming, use your hands to remove the blackened exterior of the pepper. We want to use about 170g of roasted red bell pepper for our harissa paste. Portion and set aside.
7. Once your chilies are rehydrated, drain the water from the bowl and set the chilies aside.
8. Time to make the paste! In a food processor, add all of your harissa ingredients except the extra virgin olive oil and the optional water for adjusting the consistency to the food processor and start blending.
9. Once it appears the ingredients have been fully combined, slowly add in the EVOO while the food processor is still running. Continue to blend for another minute or so.
10. Turn off the food processor and taste the paste (hehe). Adjust the salt and acidity, first, before adding any water. I found that my paste wanted more salt AND more lemon juice. Pulse the food processor a few times to combine the new ingredients.
11. Once the taste is to your liking, evaluate the consistency. We’re looking for a slightly thinner consistency than canned tomato paste, but still thick and spoonable. If necessary, add the water 1 tbsp at a time and pulse the food processor a few times in between tbsp to fully mix everything together.
12. Once the harissa paste is finished, scoop it all out from the food processor and store in an airtight jar in the fridge. Pro tip: store the jar lid side down to create more of an airtight seal. This paste will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge but you can freeze it in 1 tbsp portions using an ice cube tray and I highly recommend doing so for future recipes that need a lil kick!
Total Yield: 375g | Serving size: 1 tbsp (~13g) | Basic Nutritional Info: 14 calories w/ 1P 2C >1F & 1g of Fiber
• Stage 2: Braising the Beef
1. As mentioned in the ingredients list, be sure to pat your beef dry with a paper towel and slice thinly into 3/4” chunks (see photo for size reference). Since we’re working with a very lean cut of beef, the name of the game is “small pieces of meat, small bubbles in the pot” so we can braise the meat to a state of fall-apart-tender without it taking the better part of the day.
2. After your meat is cut to appropriately sized chunks, heat 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil in a separate, smaller pot (it’s an extra dish to wash, but I’d recommend using a separate vessel from your soup pot for this task. That way you don’t have to worry about transferring the braising liquid to another container for temporary storage when it’s hot). A 3-5 quart pot should work nicely. I used a 5 quart pot and it ended up about half full.
3. Working in batches so you don’t overcrowd the meat, lightly season your meat in the pot with salt and black pepper & brown your beef on all sides. Once a batch is browned, transfer to a plate and start the next batch.
Once all of your meat has been browned, add 5 cups of beef broth to the braising pot and add your browned beef back in.
4. Bring the broth and beef to a gentle simmer (you should juuust start to see bubbles on the surface), then lower the heat (setting “low or 1” on your stove top) and cover the pot with a lid to preserve as much of the braising liquid as we can. Check in with your pot often during the first 10-15 minutes or so to be sure it doesn’t increase beyond a lively simmer (we can have 1-2 patches of small, rolling bubbles but the majority of the surface should be unbothered. If there’s more activity going on than this, lower the temperature. If you’re unable to lower the temperature further, crack the lid of the pot so some steam can escape). Remember: “small pieces of meat, small bubbles in the pot”.
5. Once you’re confident that your pot’s temperature has stabilized, set a timer for 30 minute increments. Once the timer goes off, check the fork tenderness of your beef, give the pot a good stir, then set another timer for 30 more minutes. Keep going in that cycle until your beef gives little to no resistance when you pierce a piece with a fork. My beef took about 90-100 minutes to yield.
6. While your beef is braising, start working on your mise en place for your soup. Chop, peel, and shred your mirepoix (onions, carrots, and celery). Measure out your spices, tomato paste, ginger, garlic, flour & harissa paste. Open your tomato cans. Open, drain and rinse your cans of chickpeas/garbanzos. Measure and rinse your dry lentils. Measure out and chop your fresh herbs.
7. Once your beef is fully tenderized, use a slotted spoon to remove all of your chunks from the pot and place them in a shallow, airtight container. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes, then put on the lid and move the container to the fridge until it’s time to add the beef to our soup. If you completed your mise en place for the soup, itself, while the beef was braising, you’re fine to just leave the beef braising liquid in its’ pot. We’ll be adding it to the soup pot shortly.
• Stage 3: Let’s make soup!
1. Alright, we’re finally doing the real deal! Start by heating 4 tsp of extra virgin olive oil in your soup pot on medium heat (for this double batch I used my new 12 quart pot and it still had plenty of room for comfortable stirring).
2. Add your mirepoix and a pinch of salt. Sauté for 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently until the onions are translucent and the celery softens.
3. Add the minced garlic and ginger. Stir constantly so they don’t scorch for 30-60 seconds until the mixture is extremely fragrant. If at any point the aromatics start sticking to the bottom of the pot, add 1-2 tbsp of braising liquid to the pot instead of more oil.
4. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Bloom the spices (everything under the Spice Blend section of the ingredients list, EXCEPT THE SAFFRON) for 30-45 seconds, stirring constantly so they don’t scorch.
5. Add the tomato paste. Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes until the color of the paste turns from bright to a deeper, brick red. Make sure to routinely scrape the bottom of the pot and don’t be afraid to add 1-2 tbsp of braising liquid, if anything threatens to burn.
6. Add your 2x cans of crushed tomatoes and stir thoroughly to combine. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot very well!
7. Add in your braising liquid to the soup pot. Important note: ladle the braising liquid into a measuring cup (1 cup) before adding it to the soup pot. We want to see how much extra broth we need to add, if any, to bring us back to 5 cups. I ended up not having to add any extra due to keeping my beef covered during the braising process.
8. Once you’ve added your braising liquid (and any extra amount needed to return the total to 5 cups), borrow 1/4 cup of broth from the remaining 8 unused cups of broth, add it to a small ramekin, and warm it briefly in the microwave. Bloom your saffron threads in the warm broth for 60 seconds, stirring occasionally. Add the contents of the ramekin to the soup pot.
9. Add the remaining 7.75 cups of broth that hasn’t been used, yet. The total amount of liquid that we want in the soup pot at this stage is 13 cups. Now is also when we want to stir in our initial 4 tsp of homemade harissa paste. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot!
10. Add the rinsed dry green lentils. Now, bring the contents of the soup pot to a gentle simmer (small occasional bubbles in patches on the surface of the pot), cover the pot, and let the green lentils soften for 15-20 minutes while stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot intermittently. Important note: we don’t want them to fully soften at this stage, after the 20 minutes are up, they should only be starting to soften.
11. Next, add your rinsed red lentils. Stir the pot well, scrape the bottom, then cover the pot and let the soup simmer for another 20 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes. The red lentils should start to dissolve into the broth to help thicken the soup, while the green lentils should continue to soften until they can be eaten comfortably. Important note: evaluate the thickness of the soup at this stage. The lentils need plenty of broth to cook in so if the soup is looking too thick before the red lentils have dissolved, you can add additional broth in 1/2 cup increments, as needed. If you keep the pot covered and the soup at a gentle simmer, this step shouldn’t be necessary.
12. Once the lentils have reached their respective levels of firmness, add: the drained chickpeas, the braised beef, and 3/4ths of the chopped herbs to the soup pot. Stir well and scrape the bottom of the pot to fully combine the ingredients. Cover and continue to simmer until the green lentils are completely tender. Check in with the celery at this stage, as well. If the celery needs more time to soften (as mine did) allow the soup to continue to simmer gently until the celery is soft.
13. Now that the lentils are fully tender, the beef and is warmed through, and the chickpeas are tender: it’s time to taste test. Assess the salt, pepper, and harissa paste levels. Add more of each, to taste. I used a total of 7 tsp of harissa paste in the entire double batch plus 1/2 a tsp for serving.
14. We’re almost done! Time to mix up the flour slurry. Whisk your 60g of flour into 1 cup of cold water until there are no lumps remaining. While stirring the soup, slowly pour the slurry into the pot. Scrape the bottom of the pot again, cover, and allow the soup to simmer for 12-15 more minutes so the flour fully cooks and the soup can thicken. Be sure to stir every couple of minutes so the bottom doesn’t scorch!
15. Finally, turn the heat off entirely and stir in the remaining 1/4 of the fresh chopped herbs. Taste again and adjust the salt & pepper, if needed.
16. Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a small amount of additional harissa paste.
Voilà! This is a soup that gets even better after some time in the fridge and it freezes well, too!
Total recipe yield: 6,300g | Serving size (suggestion): 600g | Basic Nutritional Info: 407 calories w/ 36P 52C 8F & 10g of Fiber
