Name: Harira
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients: a handful of brown lentils, rinsed and drained; 2 teaspoons finely sliced preserved lemon rind; 150 g/5 oz freekeh, soaked in water for five minutes, rinsed and drained; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1.2 litres/2 pints lamb or chicken stock (combined with white wine if you like); 1 x 400 g/14 oz tin of chopped tomatoes, drained of juice; 1–2 teaspoons Harissa; 450 g/1 lb lean lamb or mutton, cut into bite-sized cubes; 4 tablespoons thick, creamy yogurt; 2 teaspoons tomato paste; 2–3 bay leaves; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 1–2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee; 1 teaspoon coriander seeds; 1 x 400 g/14 oz tin of chickpeas, rinsed and drained; a small bunch of fresh coriander, coarsely chopped; dusting of cinnamon; drizzle of honey; a large thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped; 2 onions, halved and finely sliced; 2–3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 celery stalks, trimmed and diced; 1–2 carrots, peeled and diced; 1–2 teaspoons turmeric; 1 teaspoon muscovado sugar

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Spirit & Spice

By Ghillie Basan

Published 2019

About

This traditional, hearty soup from Morocco is like a North African Scotch Broth. Packed with lentils and nourishing toasted freekeh or green wheat (which has a nutty texture and flavour), it is a meal in itself when served with a chunk of crusty bread and a dram. Bladnoch, Lagavulin 12, The Balvenie DoubleWood and Royal Lochnagar are all whiskies that could accompany harira as they would bring their own character with salt, spice fruit, malt, herb and honey notes.