So I haven’t really spent much time in Africa or the Middle East, except for a short stint in Egypt. This was not a meal I ever had when I was travelling through Egypt though. This is just something that I used to have at this Mediterranean place by my work that had cheap soup for those lunch breaks when I forgot to bring a meal from home.
I re-discovered it recently when I was catching up with some old friends from high school at a Mediterranean place downtown. It’s a super delicious tomato and lentil soup that is just the right mix of heartiness and lightness, perfect for the change of seasons.
Research has told me that Hirira is quite a common soup as a starter in Morocco, but it also commonly used during the month of Ramadan to break fast. As with many national staples, recipes for Hirira often differ within communities. The recipe that I prefer is a little heartier than some of the lighter versions out there. I like to include chickpeas as well as red lentils. This means it is a super protein packed soup with a little spicy kick to heat up those rainy spring nights!
Ingredients:
- 1 large white onion
- 2 medium sized carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- A heafty handful of Kale, chopped
- EVOO
- 1/3 of a cup of parsley leaves and stems
- 1/2 cup of cilantro leaves and stems
- 2 tbsp. of minced garlic
- 2 tbsp of minced ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp of Turmeric
- 1 tsp. Cumin
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tbsp. of Hungarian paprika (at least, I usually put in 2 tbsp. because I love spice)
- 1 tbsp. of dried chili flakes (optional)
- 1 cup of dried red lentils
- 1 can of chick peas
- 1 can of crushed tomatoes (I used a can of tomato sauce and that was good too)
- 1 box of vegetable stock (although for the recipe on the pictures I used chicken stalk, it was what I had in the fridge at the time, but use vegetable if you want it vegan).
- Some chopped cilantro to garnish
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Coat a soup pot with a decent amount of Olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, kale, ginger, garlic and a little salt and pepper and saute until the onions start to brown. Now its time to add the spices; add the turmeric, cumin, paprika, cinnamon and chili flakes and saute for another couple of minutes. Heating the spices up is the best way to release their flavors.
Add the red lentils and cook for a few minutes to let them soften. After, add the chick peas (with the canning juice), tomato sauce and vegetable broth. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to simmer and let cook semi-lidded for about 30 minutes.
Add more broth or water if you want the soup to be more runny (I like it thick ;p)
I heated up some naan bread as an accompaniment. Serve and sprinkle some cilantro on top!
Traditionally I think they nix the naan and serve this with lemon, dates, philo dough and Aleppo chilies.
Enjoy!
Let me know what you think!
The Food Mosaic 