I was relaxing on my couch the other day, with a stack of cookbooks beside me, and began flipping through them for inspiration on what to make for Sunday dinner this week.
I did have some parameters, though. I wanted the dish to include lamb, simply because I had a craving for it. I also wanted it to be a spice-rich, rib-sticking creation. I’ve just been in the mood for that kind of food lately.
After a bit of perusing, I found a recipe meeting those guidelines in a book I had not pulled off my cookbook library shelf for a while. It’s called a Taste of the Mediterranean, and was published in 1996.
The book offers a tasty array of recipes from countries along the Mediterranean sea and the one that caught my eye was Moroccan harira. The cookbook described it as a hearty meat, pulse and vegetable soup, often eaten by Muslims during Ramadan.
Eating this kind of soup after you’ve been fasting during the day makes sense, as its ingredients are rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and other good things. Rich with spice, it’s also very tasty and, of course, can be enjoyed anytime of year.
I was not surprised to discover after more research that, like other dishes made for eons, there are numerous variations on how this dish is made.
The type I created for today’s column is a quicker-cooking style using canned chickpeas and lentils. It’s also much thicker than most, almost stew-like, and is meant to be a filling meal.
Moroccan-style Harira
This stew-like, hearty soup is stocked with bits of lamb, lentils and chickpeas. Serve it for dinner with yogurt for dolloping on top, and pita bread, for dipping.
Preparation: 25 minutes
Cooking time: About 80 minutes
Makes: six servings
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp butter
400 grams boneless, cubed lamb stew meat, cut into smaller 1/2-inch pieces, if large (see Note 1)
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3 1/2 cups beef stock, plus more as needed
1 1/2 cups water
1 (28 oz./796 ml) can San Marzano plum (roma) tomatoes, crushed (see Note 2)
1 (14 oz./398 ml) can chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained well
1 (19 oz./540 ml) lentils, rinsed and well drained
1/4 cup orzo (optional; see Note 3)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus some small leaves for garnish
• Thick yogurt and warm pita bread
Place the oil and butter in a large pot (mine was eight inches wide) and set over medium-high heat. When butter is melted, add the lamb and onion and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook the lamb and onions, five minutes, then mix in the tomato paste and spices and cook one minute more.
Add the stock, water and crushed tomatoes and bring to a gentle simmer, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain that gently simmer (small bubbles should just break on the surface.) Partially cover the pot (don’t completely cover, steam needs to escape), and simmer 40 minutes.
Add the chickpeas, lentils and orzo, if using. Return to a gentle simmer, partially cover and cook 20 to 30 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is tender and the soup is fairly thick. (If at this point you find the soup too thick, simply add more stock.) Mix in the chopped cilantro and season soup, as needed, with salt and pepper.
Garnish servings of the soup with cilantro leaves, and serve with yogurt and pita bread.
Note 1: Lamb stew meat is sold fresh at some supermarkets. If you can’t find it, buy boneless, lamb sirloin (leg) chops or shoulder chops for this, and cube the meat yourself.
Note 2: Richly flavoured, deep red and ripe canned Italian San Marzano plum (roma) tomatoes are sold at Italian food stores and in the canned-tomato product aisle of some supermarkets. You can crush them by dumping them into a bowl and using your fingers to break them into small chunks.
Note 3: Orzo is small, rice-shaped pasta sold at most supermarkets. Adding it to this recipe will create a thicker soup.
Victoria grandmothers for Africa host dinner
If you would like to try some African-style food, attend the Victoria Grandmothers for Africa Dinner on Saturday, April 8.
This annual event is a fundraiser for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. This group supports community-based organizations in 15 sub-Saharan countries working to turn the tide of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, which has left a continent of orphans being cared for by grandmothers there.
This event, which includes a gourmet, African-style dinner buffet prepared by talented chef Castro Boateng, cash bar and silent auction, is being held at Our Lady of Fatima Church, 4635 Elk Lake Drive. Doors open at 6 p.m. Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets cost $65 per person. You can reserve a ticket or book an entire table by emailing Anne Anderson at anne.anderson@shaw.ca, or by calling 250-881-8643.
For more information about Victoria Grandmothers for Africa and this event, go to victoriagrandmothersforafrica.ca
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
