Harira (Moroccan Lamb Soup)

When it is cold, as it is in Johannesburg right now (2°C with exceptional snow on the ground this morning!), I find it difficult to eat cold salads and vegetables. In order to make sure I do get my veggies in, I turn to soups. Today, I flipped through my Essential Soup Cookbook and picked Harira.

Harira is a chickpea and lamb soup from Morocco usually served in the evening when it's time for the Muslims to break the daily fast during Ramadan. In Senegal, where the vast majority of the population is also Muslim, there are many culinary influences that have come from the Middle East and North Africa, following trade routes across the Sahara desert, riding on the back of various conquests and migrations. So for my version of harira, I combined a traditional Moroccan recipe with my friend Djenaba's to create a Senegalo-Moroccan blend.

The recipe calls for many ingredients and a lot of chopping so it is wise to make a batch and freeze some for later. I actually think it tastes better the day after or reheated after a few days in the freezer. There are few things sweeter than getting home late, thinking you have nothing to eat and not feeling like cooking, only to find some neatly frozen soup in the freezer. I equate the feeling to finding a long lost and definitely forgotten $20 bill in a coat pocket.


Harira
Serves 6

Ingredients

• 500 g of lamb (you can use beef as well), cut into small cubes
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped coarsely
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons of ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 6 saffron threads (optional)
• 3 trimmed celery sticks (~220 g), chopped coarsely
• 1 can of chickpeas (425 g)
• 7 medium tomatoes (~1.2 kg), seeded and chopped coarsely or use 2 400g-cans of tomatoes
• 2 1/2 liters (10 cups) of water
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 100 g (1/2 cup) lentils
• 1/4 of fresh coriander leaves, chopped or whole

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Make sure it is large enough to accommodate all the ingredients since this is a one-pot dish.
2. Cook onions until soft.
3. Add spices and stir for ~2 mns until fragrant. Note: I found myself frantically adding spices fast enough and trying to stir to avoid them burning so I would recommend mixing all the spices beforehand in a bowl and pouring them all in at the same time.
4. Add lamb and celery and cook for 2 mns until lamb is all coated with the spices.
5. Add tomato and cook for 10 mns until tomato softens.
6. Add water, chickpeas and salt and bring to a boil. At this stage, Djenaba suggests adding 1 carrot and 1 turnip (both chopped into tiny cubes) if you wish to include even more vegetables.
7. Simmer covered for about 1 1/2 hours.
8. Add lentils and cook covered for another 30 mns.
9. Add coriander just before serving.

Moroccan Muffins

For people who love fruits and nuts, Morocco is a wonderful place. Many fruits and nuts such as almonds are native to the country and Morocco is Africa’s #1 producer of almonds. They also feature prominently in Moroccan cuisine.

I first discovered the country when I was 12 years old and kept very good memories. So for part II of my birthday celebration last year (part I was a wonderful trip to Bamako with my husband Sim. It will be the subject of another blog entry and recipe!), I went back to Morocco with a few girlfriends for 4 days of eating, sightseeing and quite frankly more eating. We were in Marrakech and stayed in a lovely little riad that served delicious home cooking. Every day, we would walk to the Djemaa el Fna , the Square of the Dead. The square is surrounded by souks that sell fabric, babouches, djellabas, teeth… and more importantly every piece of fruit, fresh or dried; every nut, raw or roasted; every spice that one can dream of. Snack time was always a bountiful time (not that we needed to snack, given how much we enjoyed the homemade tagines made by our hostess back at the riad).

So today, when I felt in the mood for a muffin, I thought to combine warm, colorful memories of Morocco like apricots, peaches and almonds with my favorite spice nutmeg. I translated and adapted the following recipe from a great book of recipes called Muffins et Petits Gâteaux by Suzie Smith (pg 25: Muffins aux pêches et aux abricots). I added the full fat milk (this blog may not be for the health-conscious!), the nutmeg (because I use it in most things) and the cinnamon.

Moroccan Muffins
Makes 4 large or 6 regular muffins

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups (235g) of all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon of nutmeg
• ½ cup (105g) of brown sugar (you can use white)
• 1 tablespoon of dry yeast
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup (60 ml) of olive oil (you can use vegetable oil)
• ¼ cup (60ml) milk
• ½ cup (120 ml) of apricot jam (make sure it is one with real fruit, you will taste the difference. If you don't have jam, you can buy canned apricots and puree them in the mixer or use apple sauce)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (NOT vanilla essence)
• 1 can (300g) of peaches (or use fresh sliced peaches)
• ½ cup (60g) sliced/diced/shaved almonds
  

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180° C (350° F)
2. Butter or spray a muffin tin ( either a 4-geant-muffins one or a 6-regular-muffin one)
3. In bowl #1: sift flour, add cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and yeast
4. In bowl #2: beat the eggs, add oil, apricot jam and vanilla.
5. Pour bowl #2 into bowl #1 and mix until the dry mixture is all wet. Do not over-mix, you do want a certain coarseness to the mixture.
6. Add peaches
7. Fill the muffin tin and leave room since the muffins will rise.
8. Sprinkle almonds flakes onto each muffin
9. Bake for 20 to 25mns. The muffin is cooked when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
10. Let the muffins cool down for 1 mn or 2 before serving with tea.