Harira Chickpea Soup
Ingredients
Serves 6
- 60ml (2 fl oz) light olive oil
- 1 medium onion – roughly chopped
- 100g (4oz) brown lentils
- 100g (4oz) chickpeas – soaked overnight
- 100g (4os) dried broad beans – soaked overnight
- 500g (1lb 2 oz) tomatoes – roughly chopped
- 1 whole celery head – including any green leaf, chopped
- A good pinch of saffron strands – dried and soaked in 2 tbsp boiling water for 10 minutes
- 1 dark vegetable stock cube
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 2 ¼ litres (4 ½ pints) water
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- Juice of half a large lemon
- A pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 large bunch parsley – finely chopped
- 1 large bunch of coriander – finely chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
How To Make
- Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and fry until transparent.
- Add the lentils and cook for a few minutes, stirring continuously.
- Then add the chickpeas and the broad beans as well as the tomatoes, celery, saffron stock, cumin, crumbled vegetable stock cube, garlic and some black pepper.
- Cover with the water, lib and simmer aromatically for a good half an hour until the pulses are quite soft.
- In a small bowl, add just enough water to the flour to make a smooth paste and add a ladle of hot soup, stirring it briskly to avoid any lumps from forming.
- Return it to the pan, bring the soup back to the boil, stirring vigorously until it thickens.
- Add the lemon juice and adjust the seasoning with salt and extra pepper and/or cayenne if necessary.
- Add the parsley and coriander, stir through and remove from the heat.
- Serve.