Moroccan Chickpea Noodle Soup
This addictively delicious Moroccan Chickpea Noodle Soup, also known as Harira is from Dorie Greenspan's book, "Everyday Dorie". Harira is a traditional Moroccan dish served to break the fast during Ramadan. With a tomato base made with red lentils, chickpeas, angel hair pasta, and optional meatballs, the bold flavor comes from the spices. Ground ginger, black pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne and saffron are the reason for Harira's distinctive power punch of flavor. Using an Instant Pot or pressure cooker will reduce the preparation time to 55 minutes. You may want to halve the recipe (or freeze it before adding the noodles).
Servings: 8
Calories: 466kcal
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 Tablespoons ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Large pinch saffron threads
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 medium onions diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 celery stalks finely sliced
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound ground meat beef, lamb, pork or chicken
- 1 28- ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley or cilantro chopped
- 2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
- 3/4 cup red lentils
- 1 15- ounce can chickpeas garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 pound Angel Hair or Capellini pasta broken into pieces
- 1 to 2 lemons cut into wedges
Instructions
- Measure out the ground spices in a bowl. The ginger, black pepper, salt, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne and saffron are so colorful.
- Add cooking oil to a large soup pot, Instant Pot or pressure cooker along with the diced onions, garlic and celery. Cook on medium low heat for about 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Stir in the spice mixture for a minute and let the aroma fill your senses.
- While the vegetables are cooking, form ground meat into small meatballs (if you are adding), about 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Cook them in a fry pan in oil, just until browned, then set them aside.
- Once you have the onion base ready, add the can of tomatoes, the red lentils and half of the parsley/cilantro. Give it all a stir and turn up the heat. When the meatballs are ready, add them in along with the chicken or vegetable stock and give a gentle stir.
- Cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Turn it down to a simmer and then let it cook for about an hour In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add the drained chickpeas/garbanzo beans and cook for another 20-30 minutes.
- OR if you are using an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, tighten the lid on and cook under pressure for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pressure come down naturally until you can open the lid safely and then add the drained chickpeas/garbanzo beans. Cover and cook another 5 minutes. Then let the pressure come down naturally. (At this point, you could freeze some of the soup before adding the noodles.)
- While the soup is still hot and just before serving, add the broken angel hair pasta. Cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Stir in more parsley or cilantro and serve in bowls with lemon wedges.
- Place any leftover Moroccan Chickpea Noodle Soup in the fridge. The flavor will improve. Add more water or stock to keep it liquidy when you reheat it and you can add more noodles to keep it fresh.
- ENJOY THIS RECIPE FROM FreshFoodinaFlash.com
Nutrition
Calories: 466kcal