100g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water
110g puy lentils
450g lamb, trimmed of all fat and cut into 1cm cubes
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp each of ground ginger, saffron strands and paprika
50g butter
100g long grain rice
2 tblsp chopped fresh coriander
4 tblsp chopped flat leaved parsley
4 large ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper
Lemon wedges, to serve with the soup
How to prepare it:
Drain the chickpeas and discard the soaking water. Place in a saucepan with the lentils. Add the lamb, onion, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, saffron and paprika. Cover with 1.5 litres of water and stir gently to mix. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Bring to the boil and skim off any froth that rises to the surface. Add in half of the butter. Turn the heat down and simmer the soup covered, for 1-1 ½ hours until the chickpeas are tender. Keep an eye on the level of liquid in the pan and add a little more water if necessary.
Towards the end of cooking time, prepare the rice. Bring 850ml water to the boil in a saucepan. Add the rice, stir gently and cook until tender. Drain the rice, reserving the cooking liquid.
Cook the chopped tomatoes in 3 tablespoons of the rice cooking water. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. The tomatoes should have a ‘melted’ appearance. Add the cooked rice and tomatoes to the soup and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Taste and correct seasoning, if necessary adding some of the reserved rice cooking water to thin out the harira soup a little.
Add the chopped herbs and serve with lemon wedges on the side.
