Recipe: Harira soup by Hana Assafiri

Many Moroccans will be eating this hearty dish to break their daily fast during Ramadan. Hana Assafiri of Fitzroy North's Moroccan Soup Bar presents her take on the traditional Iftar soup.

This recipe is extracted from Moroccan Soup Bar: Recipes of a spoken menu, and a little bit of spice… by Hana Assafiri, published by Melbourne Books and available widely.

Prep time; 5 minutes

Cooking time; 40 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup black-eyed beans
1 cup cannellini beans
1 cup chickpeas
2 carrots, diced
2 potatoes, diced
half a celery bunch, diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp tomato paste
½ bunch parsley, chopped
½ bunch coriander,
chopped, plus extra to serve
squeeze of lemon juice, to serve
Spices
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp chilli flakes
salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Cooking method: Boiling Sauteing

Soak the beans and chickpeas, preferably overnight, as this will decrease the cooking time by half.

Place the beans and chickpeas in a saucepan, covering them with water. Bring to the boil. Allow to boil for about 20 minutes. When the beans are almost tender, add the vegetables.

In a separate pan, sauté the onion and garlic. Add the parsley, coriander, spices and tomato paste, stirring to combine. Add the entire mixture to the bean mix. Allow to boil for a further 15 minutes until thickened.

To serve, garnish with a few sprigs of coriander and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Enjoy.