Harira

Serves 6 60 min total, 25 min hands on North African $0.79 per serving No added salt

• #one-pot
• #batch-cook
• #high-fiber

Ingredients

• 1 Yellow onion, chopped
• 2 stalks Celery, diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1 tsp cassia cinnamon, ground
• 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
• 3 tbsp Tomato paste
• 3 cups Canned crushed tomatoes
• 3/4 cup Brown lentils, rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups Chickpeas, cooked, or one 15 oz can, drained
• 3 tbsp Rolled oats, ground to a coarse meal
• 1/3 cup Whole wheat couscous
• 1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped, divided
• 1/2 cup Flat-leaf parsley, chopped, divided
• 2 tbsp Lemon juice
• 1 Lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Method

1. Put the onion, celery, and garlic in a heavy soup pot with 1/4 cup (60 ml) water over medium heat. Sweat, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns translucent and the celery softens, about 8 minutes. Add a splash more water if the pot dries out before then.
2. Stir in the ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, and half the black pepper. Cook for 30 seconds, just until the spices smell warm and toasted, before any liquid goes in: dry spice stuck to wet vegetables toasts almost as well as spice dropped in oil.
3. Add the tomato paste and press it into the bottom of the pot, stirring, until it darkens from bright red to brick red, about 2 minutes. Raw tomato paste tastes sharp and metallic; toasted, it tastes like a sauce that has simmered for hours.
4. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, rinsed lentils, chickpeas, and 6 cups (1.4 L) water. Bring to a boil, then drop to a steady simmer.
5. Simmer uncovered, stirring now and then, for 30 to 35 minutes, until the lentils have started to break down and the broth has thickened slightly from the starch they release.
6. While the soup simmers, grind the rolled oats to a coarse meal in a spice grinder or blender. Whisk the meal into 1/2 cup (120 ml) cold water until smooth. This is a whole-grain stand-in for the flour-and-water paste, called tedouira, that gives traditional harira its silky body.
7. Whisking the soup constantly, pour in the oat slurry in a thin stream. Simmer for 5 minutes, whisking now and then, until the broth turns from thin and watery to thickened and opaque. Poured in all at once, the oats clump instead of dissolving.
8. Stir in the couscous and cook for 4 to 5 minutes more, until the grains are tender but still have a little bite.
9. Take the pot off the heat and stir in half the cilantro, half the parsley, and the lemon juice. Taste and add more lemon juice before reaching for salt: the acid does the job salt would.
10. Ladle into bowls, scatter with the remaining cilantro and parsley, and serve hot with lemon wedges alongside.

Nutrition

Estimated per serving: 250 calories, 14 g protein, 10 g fiber. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement.

Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt.