Harira Soup That Fixes a Rainy Evening in One Pot

It is 6:15 on a wet evening, the kitchen window has fogged over, and you have decided that tonight needs a bowl and a spoon and nothing that argues back. This harira soup is 56 minutes, mostly a lid on a pot, and it comes out thick with lentils, chickpeas and chicken in a tomato broth that smells of cumin and cinnamon before you have finished stirring. Comfort food after a bad day should be this undemanding: it hugs you from the first spoonful and never asks where this is going.

Brown the chicken, bloom the spices, then close the lid and leave it alone.

Harira is a Moroccan soup, and this version is a weeknight take on it: chicken thighs, onion, celery and garlic, then cumin, coriander, turmeric and a little cinnamon, then tomatoes, chickpeas, brown lentils and six cups of broth. There is no soaking and no second pot. It serves six, which means a night of bowls and then a few lunches that seem to have been waiting for you.

How to make it

1. Dice the 1 yellow onion and 2 celery stalks, mince the 4 garlic cloves, chop the 0.5 cup cilantro, cut the 1 lb chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces, and rinse the 0.75 cup brown lentils, about 10 minutes.
2. Heat the 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until lightly browned on the outside.
3. Add the diced onion, celery, and minced garlic. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the onion softens.
4. Stir in the 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 0.5 tsp ground turmeric, and 0.25 tsp cinnamon, then add the 14 oz canned diced tomatoes, drained 15 oz chickpeas, rinsed lentils, and 6 cups chicken broth.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 to 35 minutes until the lentils are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
6. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Stir in most of the chopped cilantro and squeeze in the juice of the 1 lemon.
7. Ladle into bowls and finish with the remaining cilantro.

Notes

Cooked leftovers keep three to four days refrigerated, per USDA FSIS. Cool the pot a little before it goes in the fridge, and expect the soup to thicken overnight as the lentils keep drinking the broth.

This harira soup improves on day two. The spices settle, the cinnamon rounds out, and the lentils soften further into the broth. Loosen it with a splash of water or broth when you reheat, and taste before you serve.

Day-two harira is the leftover that never asks where you have been. It sits in the fridge, warm and ready with no questions, no commitment. Swipe it once and the agent has the lentils back in the cart before this pot is empty, which is as close as a grocery list gets to remembering your order.

It freezes well in a lidded container, leaving a little headroom for the soup to expand. Freeze it without the cilantro and lemon, and add both after it has thawed and come back up to a gentle simmer.

The method begins with chopping: the onion, celery and garlic, the cilantro, the lentils to rinse and the chicken cut into 1-inch pieces. Give the chopping about 10 minutes. Do all of it before the pot goes on the heat and the rest of the recipe runs by itself.

Brown the chicken pieces in the olive oil first, for 5 to 6 minutes, until lightly browned on the outside. They do not need to cook through here. The brown bits on the bottom of the pot are the foundation of the broth, so do not scrub them off, and let the onion pull them loose as it softens.

When the spices go in, stir for the length of a breath or two before the tomatoes, chickpeas, lentils and broth follow. That is the moment the kitchen starts to smell like dinner.

Simmer covered for 30 to 35 minutes, until the lentils are tender and the chicken is cooked through. USDA's safe minimum for poultry is 165F, so if you want certainty, a thermometer in a larger piece settles the question.

Swaps that actually work

In harira soup the spices are the point, and the cinnamon, small as it is, gives it the Moroccan note. Leave the quarter teaspoon alone.

Chicken thighs can become chicken breast, though breast dries out more easily, so add it a little later and check it sooner. For a vegetarian pot, skip the chicken, use vegetable broth and add another can of chickpeas, then brown the onion in the oil for a little longer to make up for the missing flavour.

Brown lentils can become green lentils, which hold their shape and take about the same time. Check them a few minutes early.

Cilantro can become parsley, or a mix of both. The lemon is not optional in spirit: if you only have lime, use it, but do not skip the acid.

Canned diced tomatoes can become a can of crushed tomatoes if that is what is in the cupboard. The soup will be a little smoother.

The swap that costs you the dish is red lentils standing in for brown. They dissolve, and you end up with a thick puree instead of a soup with something to chew.

If it goes wrong

The lentils are still hard. They were old or they have not had enough time. Keep the lid on and simmer another 10 minutes, adding a splash of water if the pot looks dry. Check again before you add more time.

It is too thick. The lentils drank more broth than expected. Stir in hot water or broth, a half cup at a time, until it looks like soup rather than stew.

It is flat. Usually salt, and then acid. Season with the salt and black pepper to taste, squeeze in the lemon, and taste again before you reach for anything else.

The chicken is tough. The pieces were cut too large or the heat was too high. Keep the simmer gentle with the lid on, and cut thigh pieces to the 1-inch size as the method says.

What to serve with it

The default for harira soup is a bowl, a spoon and a piece of bread. Anything that can scoop up the last of the broth will do.

The better version of the default is warm flatbread or pita, torn, and dragged through the soup. A drizzle of olive oil on top does a lot.

The thing in the fridge that lifts it is a spoonful of plain yogurt on top, if you have it, and a few extra cilantro leaves. The cool tang plays well against the spice.

It works as lunch the next day, and it is a good lunch, because the flavours have had a night to get to know each other.

Why this one earns its place

Harira soup is one pot, six servings, and almost no skill. You can make it on a night when you do not have the energy to cook, and it will taste like you did. A pot like this is how you look after yourself and the person you are feeding without making a fuss about it.

Swipe it into your week and the agent puts the lentils, chickpeas and chicken in the cart in one pass. If you like the spice mix, chickpea tagine is a close cousin. For another soup that handles a rough evening, try chicken tortilla soup, and chickpea curry is another bowl built on chickpeas.

More like this: all Middle Eastern recipes in Crave Corner.