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Chickpea Harira

During the month long observance of Ramadan, devout Muslims are asked to go without eating anything substantial from sunup to sundown. Harira is a soup that is traditionally served to break the fast after sundown in Morocco. Although harira is most often prepared with lamb or chicken, a mighty savory version can also be prepared without meat.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

1

cup dried chickpeas

8

cups water

3

tomatoes, diced

1

/4 cup chopped celery leaves

1

onion, finely diced

6

whole cloves

1

-inch piece cinnamon stick

1

/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

1

teaspoon cumin seeds

1

/2 teaspoon saffron threads

1

/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1

/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1

/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1

/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

1

/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2

tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Salt to taste

1

/2 cup Greek-style yogurt

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Throughly rinse the chickpeas and place them in the slow cooker insert along with the water, tomatoes, celery leaves, and onion. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the chickpeas are tender.

    Step 2

    In an electric coffee mill or a mortar and pestle, grind the cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, cumin, saffron, and red pepper flakes to a powder. Add the ground turmeric.

    Step 3

    Add the spices to the soup 1 to 2 hours before serving. (If you plan to be gone all day, you can add all the ingredients at the start. However, the spices will be just a bit more pungent if you hold off adding them until the chickpeas have cooked for a while.)

    Step 4

    Just before serving, stir in the olive oil, parsley, cilantro, and lemon juice. Add salt to taste and serve, topping each serving with a dollop of yogurt.

  2. Suggested Beverage

    Step 5

    Consumption of alcohol is generally not encouraged by Muslim religious practices, so it’s probably best to leave this one to your imagination or taste.

Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker