Harira is a hearty Moroccan soup with this version made with beef merguez sausage, lentils, chickpeas, fava beans, vermicelli and aromatic spices such as saffron and anise.
Harira Soup with Merguez Sausage
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
My recipe of the day is with soup swappers. I am hosting this month so got to choose the topic and I went with Moroccan Soups and Stews (or Tagine). I thought about doing a tagine, since I have several vessels for that and love using them.
But at a trip to the market, I grabbed up several things for soup, including the mixed can of fava and chickpeas, a jar of anise seed, a bag of lentils and the merguez sausage I needed.
Everyone Stirs the Pot
The guy at the checkout said I had bought all the best things and asked what I was making. Quite the enthusiast, he began offering me tips on how to go about it. I could tell he liked to cook. But being a little possessive of my own cooking ideas, I just did my own thing.
After all, my soups aren’t too bad. And I generally know how to make pretty much all of them, with the odd exception. Not that I am older than time itself, but I have made and eaten an ocean of soup in my time. It is one of my favorite things.
Homemade is Always Best
When I was a teenager, I used to love to buy those Progresso lentil soups. I just loved them. Then one day I didn’t. As I realized my soups were much better and that the convenience of popping a can wasn’t worth it.
And once you smell the aromas from the spices, you will agree. The anise seed is special. But don’t confuse it with star anise. Those are the pods. Then the saffron. Oh my, but I adore saffron. And I could still smell it in the house for several days after, which was way better than burning a Yankee Candle for nice aromas.
Candles don’t taste good anyway. Well, maybe those red wax lips we used to get around Halloween when I was a kid but…
Soup Swappers
Are Sharing Moroccan Soups and Stews
Take a Peek!
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- Chicken Tagine Mchermel by Pandemonium Noshery
- Harira Soup with Merguez Sausage by Palatable Pastime (You are Here!)
- Moroccan Apple and Sweet Potato Beef Stew by Making Miracles
- Moroccan Bean Soup by Our Good Life
- Moroccan Carrot & Ham Soup with Coconut Milk by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Moroccan Lamb, Chickpea, and Lentil Soup (Harira) by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Moroccan Lamb Soup by Sneha’s Recipe
- Moroccan Lentil Soup by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Moroccan Tomato and Chickpea Soup by Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking
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You Might Also Like:
Pumpkin Saffron Rice
Cranberry Persimmon Couscous
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad (Balela)
Moroccan Harissa Potatoes
Harira Soup with Merguez Sausage
Moroccan foods in general tend to look more difficult than they actually are because of the length of the ingredient lists. Don’t be alarmed by that as most of it is the spice dump.
You will find the complexity of the spices to fill your home with aromas you can only dream of. Particularly the saffron. So add them all and let it transport you to a different world of food.
The mixed can of fava and chickpeas I don’t see everywhere (Zayad brand) but it accounts for about one cup of favas and one cup of chickpeas. Of course, the world will not come to an end if you add one can of each. Or you could incorporate any extras into a balela salad which I have listed above. That’s the one Trader Joe’s was selling off and on- that I took the liberty of adding feta to.
Adding feta is never the wrong thing to do. Except maybe in soup.
I served this soup with warmed pita bread in lieu of crackers.
Moroccan Harira Soup with Merguez Sausage
Servings 6Ingredients
- 3/4 pound beef merguez sausage sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons anise seed
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads crumbled
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 28 ounce can crushed or ground tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup uncooked brown lentils sorted
- 15 ounce can mixed fava beans and chickpeas undrained
- 1/4 cup uncooked cut fideo or vermicelli pasta
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Instructions
- Chop or slice the merguez sausages and saute them in a soup pot in the oil with the onions, carrots, garlic, and ginger until the sausage browns and the onions soften.
- Add spices and cook briefly until fragrant.
- Stir in the chicken stock, tomatoes, lemon juice and uncooked lentils; bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until the lentil are tender.
- Stir in the can of mixed beans and the pasta and cook ten minutes more or until the pasta is done, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the herbs before serving.
Notes
From the kitchen of palatablepastime.comHarira Soup with Merguez Sausage
