Erica’s harira soup recipe

This dish is a real winner, said Leon’s director of food, Erica Molyneaux. My version of a warming, gently spiced Moroccan soup-stew, finished with a swirl of harissa, it’s perfect for a simple weeknight supper or for when you have friends over.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 3 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 2cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped
• 600g boneless leg or boneless shoulder of lamb
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground turmeric
• 1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 heaped tsp ground coriander
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 700ml hot vegetable stock
• 1 × 400g can good-quality chopped tomatoes
• 1 × 400g can chickpeas, plus their liquid
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• plain live yoghurt
• 2 tbsp harissa
• warmed flatbreads

Method:

• Drizzle the olive oil into a large pan over a low-medium heat and sauté the chopped vegetables, ginger and parsley stalks for 10 minutes, until softened.
• Meanwhile, trim the lamb of excess fat and cut the meat into 2-3cm pieces.
• Season the softened vegetables with salt and pepper, then add the lamb. Turn up the heat to brown the lamb, and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring often.
• Add the ground spices, the bay leaves and tomato purée, stir well and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the stock, tomatoes, chickpeas and their liquid, stir well and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for 1 hour.
• Remove the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender.
• You can add a bit of water if it gets a little too thick.)
• Season to taste and portion into wide bowls. Serve with a dollop of the yoghurt, a swirl of harissa, a sprinkling of finely chopped parsley leaves and a warmed flatbread.

Taken from Leon Big Flavours by Rebecca Seal, published by Conran at £22. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £19.99, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.

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