Harirra

Harirra is Morocco's national dish.

A hearty soup, it's eaten at sunset during the fasting lunar month of Ramadan.

It's delicious, exotically spicey but not hot (like most Moroccan dishes). It is filling and packed with protein.

We ate it in the Djma Al Fna, Marakesh's main square in the old quarter, the entrance to the market. It is filled with food stalls and is a delicious way to eat, wandering from each to each.

I cannot help but feel that all families have their own special recipe for it. My own is rarely the same.

I haven't measured the ingredients because unless you use too much cayenne you really can do no wrong.

Ingredients:

Veg base: onion carrot celery garlic ginger

spice mix/rah al hanout ("best in shop"): cumin, tumeric, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, ground cardamom seeds, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, in decreasing quantities. Start with a couple of tablespoons of cumin, and end with a scant hint of cayenne.

Proteins: chicken breast, lamb meat, chick peas/garbanzo beans, lentils

Other: homemade chicken stock, some spinach or other leafy green, lemon juice, olive oil, cilantro.

1. Saute a chopped onion, finely diced carrot and chopped celery in olive oil til lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes, over medium heat. Season with S and P and add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic and about a thumb's worth of chopped ginger, and sautee one additional minute.

2. Stir in your spice mixture. I start with tiny black cardamom seeds (not the pods), and grind them in a morter. Then I add the other spices to the morter, and pour it all into the pot. If you have cardamom pods, use them instead, but put them into the soup whole, then retrieve them before serving the soup. Fry the spices with the onion mixture for an extra minute to release the flavors.

3. Add a couple of pints of good chicken stock, bring to a simmer, and season with more S and P.

4. Add some chopped raw or cooked chicken and some chopped raw or cooked lamb. I use either leftover roast chicken or chopped raw chicken breast. I also buy inexpensive lamb shoulder chops and chop them up, seasoning them with S and P before adding it to the soup.

5. Add a can of drained, rinsed, chick peas.

6. Add some cleaned spinach and allow to wilt. I've also added a small can of tomatoes and their juice, breaking them up as they soften in the heat.

7. Add some cooked lentils and/or rice to dish-- you can use uncooked though these will soak up a lot of stock, resulting in a very thick soup.

8. Serve soup garnished with chopped cilantro, a quick pour of olive oil, and a sptritz of fresh lemon.