Inspiration: North Africa, with a twist
Harira is a Moroccan soup with lentils and chickpeas and is typically made with lamb/lamb broth. I’ve adapted the recipe below to include chicken/chicken broth. This soup is most divine 1-2 days after cooking and makes for the perfect winter comfort food. I was lucky enough to take a Moroccan cooking class a few years ago where I first learned the basics of harira, but I’ve taken some liberties with the recipe below and have adapted it to make it my own.
When you reheat it, add a little bit of water. Note that I haven’t added salt here because the preserved lemon and chicken stock (when not made from scratch) can often be salty, so be sure to taste and adjust as you go.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 leek, washed and finely sliced
2 tsp chopped cilantro
2 tsp ground cumin
1 cinnamon stick or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp saffron
2 tbsp harissa
4 cups of chicken stock
3 tablespoons tomato paste, mixed into 1 cup water
3/4 cup brown lentils
1 handful dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and peeled
¼ cup dried apricots, finely chopped
1.5 tablespoons preserved lemon, minced
1 cup fresh spinach
Heat the oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat and sauté the onion, leeks, and ginger until the onion turns translucent — about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the spices and sauté another minute.
Add chicken, stock, tomato paste mixture, lentils, chickpeas, salt, saffron, dried apricots, and chicken thighs.
Bring to a simmer for 30 minutes, then taste the broth and adjust the salt.
Remove the chicken from the chicken and shred it with a knife and fork before returning to the pot.
Keep the soup going for another 15 minutes to allow the lentils to become softer. Be sure to watch the liquid levels — the soup should be on the thicker side but still pourable. If you add more water, continue to taste to monitor the salt levels.
Add the preserved lemon, honey, spinach, and cilantro.
You can eat this solo or you may wish to add a bit of khobz, a traditional Moroccan bread, which you can also substitute with pita if you prefer to go the simpler route.