Vegetarian Harira Soup (Morocco)

Aziza greets me with two kisses on the cheeks, the French way, and we immediately start talking in our native language. We met through our common friend Ahlam a few summers ago and reconnected through this project.

Aziza grew up in the suburbs of Paris, the daughter of Moroccan immigrants. Like many first generation children in a new country she’s had to figue out for herself what her identity really means: “When I’m in France, I feel fully French. In Morocco, I feel fully Moroccan. But people make you feel otherwise”.  She feels grateful for her upbringing in France which opened more opportunities than she might have had in Morocco, but she also had to deal with racism when she entered the workforce. “My parents come from a generation that just tried to be discreet and just accepted things as they were. But I have the right to be there, just like any other French person, I don’t have to put up with that stuff'“.

She moved to New York four years ago, for love. Her husband, Amir, who is a musician, was performing in Paris along other artists. Aziza went to the concert and ended up following the band on Facebook. Amir recognized her and they started chatting on messenger. They eventually met again two years later and fell in love. “The rest is history” she says. They’ve made their home in Bed-Stuy and, as previous tenants left the building, their friends moved in on all floors. “We’re like a community, we never have to lock our doors”. I witness that myself, when their downstairs’ neighbor pops in, after Aziza texts her about the warm harira ready to be tasted.

Harira is a Moroccan soup traditionally made with lamb or beef though Aziza likes it as a vegetarian dish. “It’s a staple in Morocco and during Ramadan you will start with that to prep your stomach for more foods. I can’t break my fast without it”. She learned the recipe from her mom though she had to figure out the measurements herself - “your eyes are your scale” is the advice her mom gives, whenever Aziza asks.

“Growing up, it was hard to really maintain the culture inherited from my parents because there were few North Africans where we lived. It was an immigrant community but mostly from the rest of Europe -Portugal, Romania, Spain. It was only when I went to high school in another town that I started meeting other children of North African heritage and I actually started to feel more conscious of my own cultural heritage and taking an interest in it”. Now that she lives abroad, it’s even more important for her to keep her ties to her French and Moroccan culture through food. “It reminds me of home”.

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Harira Soup

Ingredients for 6 people

1 table spoon of olive oil
1/2 table spoon of ghee
2 teaspoons of turmeric
2 teaspoons of ginger
1 tespoon of ground cinnamon
salt & pepper to taste
1 small bunch of parsley, chopped
1 onion
1 can of chickpeas
1/4 cup of lentils (soaked in water overnight)
2 cups of water or stock
2 celery stalks, chopped
6 tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon of tomato paste
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
half a lemon juice

For the Tedouira (thickener):

3 tablespoon of flour 2 cups of hot water

Directions (using an instant pot)

1. Heat the oil using the ‘sauté’ function and cook the onion over medium heat for about five minutes. 

2. Add the parsley, celery, lentils, ghee and spices (turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, salt & pepper)

3. Mix it all for a minute, then add tomatoes and paste.

4. Cover it all up with the water or stock (50mn in a regular pot, and 20mn in an instant pot)

5. Dilute the flour in the hot water for the tedouira

6. Add the canned chickpeas and cook for a few minutes more

7. Add the tedouira and whisk until smooth and fully blended

8. Turn the heat off and add cilantro and lemon juice