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Harira Recipe (Vegan Moroccan Tomato Soup)

With its velvety, aromatically spiced tomato base and hearty lentils, every spoonful is like a hug in a bowl. Grab a spoon, cozy up on the couch, and get ready to soup it up!

Prep Time
4 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 4 mins
Total Time
1 hr 49 mins
Servings: 8 cups
Calories: 94 kcal
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Ingredients

  • 4 ripe beefsteak tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion small dice
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 stalk celery small dice
  • 1 bunch flat leaf parsley finely chopped
  • 1 bunch cilantro finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
  • ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ⅓ cup brown lentils French lentils, or beluga lentils
  • ¼ cup broken thin vermicelli
  • 1 canned chickpeas drained
Optional to garnish:
  • Unsweetened plant-based yogurt
  • fresh parsley leaves
  • fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the tomatoes. Cook until the skins start to shrivel and crack in places.
  2. Drain the tomatoes in a colander and let them cool for ten minutes. Peel off the skins and dice the tomatoes on a cutting board.
  3. In a 6-quart or larger pressure cooker or stock pot, heat olive oil for 60 seconds over medium-high heat.
  4. Add diced onions, garlic, and celery, and sauté for four minutes until golden and fragrant.
  5. Next, add the diced tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, ginger, pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, and salt. Continue to sauté and stir for an additional 3 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down.
  6. Add 4 cups of water, bring to a boil, cover, and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes until the contents of the pot are thick and the vegetables have mostly fallen apart.
  7. Add the lentils, and 6 cups of water.
  8. Bring to a boil over a high flame, and cook covered for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender
  9. If you plan to add rice, add it now, and continue cooking over high heat for 15 minutes until the rice is cooked through
  10. Alternatively, add broken vermicelli, and cook the soup for a few minutes until the vermicelli is tender. 
  11. Stir in the chickpeas, and serve. Optionally garnishing the bowls with vegan yogurt, and fresh herbs.

Notes

  • Cut a small X in the bottom of each tomato before blanching them.  The skins come off very easily that way!
  • You can also skip the blanching, and just substitute canned whole peeled tomatoes in place of the freshly blanched and peeled ones.

Nutrition Information

Calories 94kcal (5%) Carbohydrates 9g (3%) Protein 3g (6%) Fat 6g (9%) Saturated Fat 1g (5%) Polyunsaturated Fat 1g Monounsaturated Fat 4g Sodium 587mg (24%) Potassium 256mg (7%) Fiber 4g (16%) Sugar 2g (4%) Vitamin A 548IU (11%) Vitamin C 10mg (11%) Calcium 21mg (2%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8cups

Amount Per Serving

Calories 94

% Daily Value*

Calories 94kcal 5%
Carbohydrates 9g 3%
Protein 3g 6%
Fat 6g 9%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g 6%
Monounsaturated Fat 4g 20%
Sodium 587mg 24%
Potassium 256mg 5%
Fiber 4g 16%
Sugar 2g 4%
Vitamin A 548IU 11%
Vitamin C 10mg 11%
Calcium 21mg 2%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.