HARIRA

(from a Washington Post food column several years ago, published during Ramadan. The author may be Mary Bartlett. The original recipe calls for thickening the soup with 3 tablespoons of white flour in a half cup of water – we didn’t think that was needed. Mary started with dried chickpeas instead of canned. If you do that, soak 1/2 cup chickpeas overnight before making this soup. Add them with the lentils and water.)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 pound lamb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (or chicken, or not, if wanting a vegetarian soup)

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 medium onions, chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

2/3 cup lentils

liquid from the canned chickpeas, plus water (or broth or stock) to total 8 cups

1 cup canned chick peas

4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped

3 tablespoons uncooked vermicelli, broken into small pieces

1 egg

juice of one lemon

In a large soup pot or stockpot over medium heat, melt the butter with the oil. Add lamb and brown well on all sides, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, onions, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, salt and pepper. Sauté’ for a few minutes until the onions are soft.

Add the lentils and eight cups of canned chick pea liquid and water and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley and cilantro, and summer for about 15 minutes more.

Then add the noodles, and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes or so, until they’re done to your taste.

Whisk the egg and lemon together in a small bowl. Stir this mixture into the soup and serve at once.