Harira is Morocco's best-known, and best-loved, soup. Families eat this herb-rich, tomato-based soup year-round. During Ramadan, however, it's obligatory, and pots of the soup simmer away in kitchens across the country. Accompanied by dates and honeyed, flower-shaped cookies sprinkled with sesame seeds called chebakia, a bowl of harira is the traditional way to break the fast. The velvety-smooth soup—whisking in flour, or sometimes egg, at the end gives that distinct texture—is nourishing and easy on an empty stomach.

　　I have enjoyed harira around numerous family tables and at street stalls—each version has been different. As a woman in Fes once said to me, "There are as many recipes for harira in Morocco as there are cooks."

　　

Ingredients

Serves 8

　　1 lb/455 g stewing beef, cut into 1/2-in/12-mm cubes

　　1 cup/170 g finely chopped celery stalks, tender green parts and leaves only

　　1 medium onion, finely chopped

　　1/3 cup/15 g loosely packed, finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

　　1/3 cup/15 g loosely packed, finely chopped fresh cilantro

　　1 Tbsp butter, smen, or olive oil

　　1 tsp ground ginger

　　1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　Two 14-oz/410-g cans peeled whole tomatoes, seeded and puréed with all the juices

　　3 Tbsp tomato paste

　　1 cup/170 g canned chickpeas, rinsed

　　1/4 cup/30 g all-purpose flour

　　Juice of 1 lemon

　　1 oz/30 g vermicelli or angel hair pasta, broken into 3/4-in/2-cm lengths

　　1 lemon, cut into wedges

　　12 dates, preferably mejhoul

　　12 dried figs

　　

Step 1

In a large soup pot, put the meat, celery, onion, parsley, cilantro, butter, ginger, and cinnamon. Season with salt and plenty of pepper. Cover with 6 cups/1.5 L water, stir well, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.

　　

Step 2

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and chickpeas, and stir in 1 1/2 cups/360 ml water. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, warm 1 cup/240 ml water and whisk in the flour and lemon juice. Remove from the heat, let sit for 10 minutes, and then whisk again.

　　

Step 4

Add the flour mixture to the soup in a slow but steady stream while continually stirring. Cook, stirring frequently to avoid any sticking, for 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the vermicelli and cook until the pasta is tender, about 5 minutes. The texture of the soup should be velvety.

　　

Step 5

Serve in bowls with lemon wedges on the side and with the dates and figs on a small platter.

　　Reprinted with permission from Morocco: A Culinary Journey with Recipes from the Spice-Scented Markets of Marrakech to the Date-Filled Oasis of Zagora by Jeff Koehler. Copyright © 2012 by Jeff Koehler. Published by Chronicle Books LLC.