Harira

Tamara West

Throughout winter I will often make up a big pot of soup, then freeze individual portions of it in zip-lock bags. These make the perfect healthy, convenient winter lunch to take to work. A small mug of homemade soup makes a great healthy instant snack too (there’s no need to buy the processed over-salty instant soup sachets). Here is a soup, full of nutritious ingredients that will satisfy and keep you nourished.

Ingredients

1	Onion, finely diced
2	Carrots, finely diced (Main)
2	Celery stalks, finely diced
2 cloves	Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp	Fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 cup	Fresh coriander, leaves picked, stalks chopped
2 Tbsp	Harissa paste
1 Tbsp	Tomato paste
1 Tbsp	Ground cumin
2 tsp	Ground coriander
2 tsp	Smoked paprika
1 Tbsp	Fresh thyme, chopped
1 can	Chopped tomatoes, 400g, or crushed (Main)
1 tsp	Liquid honey
½ cup	Puy lentils, dried variety, rinsed
4 cups	Stock, chicken or vegetable
1 can	Chickpeas, 400g, rinsed and drained

To serve

¼ cup	Fresh coriander, chopped
¼ cup	Flat leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped
3 Tbsp	Natural yoghurt, unsweetened

Directions

1. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pot over medium heat Cook onion, carrots, celery, garlic, ginger and coriander stalks until soft, about 6 minutes
2. Add harissa, tomato paste, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
3. Add thyme, canned tomatoes, honey, lentils and stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 25 minutes, then add chickpeas and continue simmering for a further 10-15 minutes or until lentils are cooked through (tender, but still firm to the bite).
4. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with coriander, parsley and natural yoghurt.