NEW YORK, June 29 — My introduction to the holy month of Ramadan, during which observant Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, was a bowl of harira soup. It was served to me one evening in an antiques shop in southern Morocco. The hospitable owner of the shop knew that most of his customers had been fasting all day, so he passed little bowls of cinnamon-scented harira.
Harira is what happens to dried legumes — lentils, chickpeas, fava beans — when they are simmered slowly with onion, tomato and saffron, until the various components collapse into a delightfully spiced, velvet-textured whole. The soup is traditionally the first thing one eats to break the fast, every night, along with a few dates and beghrir (sweet semolina pancakes). A large dinner follows, and then a large morning meal is eaten before sunrise, when fasting begins again.
I have been making versions of that soup at home for years now. It is endlessly appealing, and variations, even in Morocco, are the norm, from house to house and region to region.
Harira has a lot of things going for it: The soup tastes best a few hours, or even a day, after it is made, so cooking it in advance is ideal, and it’s perfect for a crowd, so making a big pot of it makes sense. Last but not least, everyone loves it.
Recipes for harira typically call for lamb (in some cases, chicken) but usually in rather minuscule quantities, say, a half pound for an entire pot, cut into small pieces. It is added more as a flavouring than to have meat in the soup. Some cooks add a lamb shank to the simmering pot, or a meaty lamb bone, or some use broth instead of water.
This, however, is a vegetarian harira, and no less satisfying.
A combination of dried legumes gives this humble soup complexity. I used two types of lentil, red and brown. I sometimes use chickpeas as well, but because my spice man always stocks peeled dried fava beans, which disintegrate beautifully, I chose those.
The whole point of harira is a creamy smoothness, so you want the lentils and favas completely soft. You can purée a jarful in a blender and add it back to the pot to help achieve the proper consistency: Thick enough to eat with a spoon, yet thin enough to sip. (If you refrigerate the soup overnight, it may thicken significantly; thin it with a bit of water when reheating, and don’t forget to adjust the salt.)
The end of Ramadan, and of fasting, is celebrated with Aidilfitri, a three-day festival of prayer, charity and elaborate family feasting that begins in the Americas this year on July 6. Though savoury foods are served, harira during this period gives way to sweets and pastries of many kinds.
But Moroccan cooks make harira throughout the year as well, often as a handy one-pot meal. Consider yourself free to do so, too.
Harira Soup
Total time: 2 hours
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or butter
1 large onion, finely diced, about 2 cups
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon toasted and ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon crumbled saffron
1 (3-inch) piece cinnamon stick or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups diced ripe tomato, fresh or canned
2 tablespoons chopped celery leaves
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Salt
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
1 cup peeled dried fava beans (or substitute 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight)
1/4 pound angel hair pasta or vermicelli, broken into 1-inch pieces
Lemon wedges, for serving
1. Put olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly coloured, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger, pepper, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, saffron and cinnamon. Cook for about 2 minutes more.
2. Add tomato, celery leaves and cilantro and bring to a brisk simmer. Cook, stirring, about 5 minutes, until mixture thickens somewhat, then add 1 teaspoon salt, the brown lentils, red lentils and dried favas. Add 8 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, covered with the lid ajar.
3. Let soup simmer for 30 minutes, then taste broth and adjust salt. Cook for 1 hour more at a gentle simmer, until the legumes are soft and creamy. It may be necessary to add more liquid from time to time to keep soup from being too porridge-like. It should be on the thick side, but with a pourable consistency. (With every addition of water, taste and adjust for salt.)
4. Just before serving, add pasta and let cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Ladle soup into small bowls and pass lemon wedges for squeezing. — The New York Times
