The delicious journey of Lentils, and a vegetarian Harira soup

The journey a recipe takes as it meanders through culinary traditions and history: it is fascinating. Lentils are 13,000 years old: they are one of our most venerable culinary ancestors. We have ancient recipes for lentil soup-- all of them originate from the wider Mediterranean Circle cultures-- but these recipes diverge piece by piece depending on the lands and eras they have traveled through. To me, each lentil soup recipe has an individual passport stamp collection. Harira soup, which I feature a version of here, is a particularly interesting, and delicious, traveler.

Harira is first and foremost a lentil soup. Lentils correspond to the element Earth and the planet Mercury. Medicinally they are amazing allies in heart health, help regulate menstruation, and they are a balanced, versatile plant-based protein. In Jewish tradition lentils represent the circle of life. Almost globally, beans and legumes are associated with death, rebirth, and the afterlife. They are Mercurial: they carry associations with divine messengers and psychopomps. (But wait until my post on black beans for the fart jokes, please!) In the Middle East and the Mediterranean, lentils are associated with prosperity-- but more than just riches, lentils mean wealth with worth or good value. Lentils are also eaten for good luck, in the same new-yearsian spirit black-eyed peas are.

Vegetarian Harira soup is a great example of how a meal can suddenly change course-- no pun intended-- as it passes through the hands of different cultures. It retains its root flavors, but it is very different in one traditional version from the next, like the Harira made with lamb-bone broth and noodles, which is the Harira some people may be more familiar with.

I've made my own recipe for vegetarian Harira. It is based on my grandmother's basic spinach lentil soup, which has Lebanese roots but landed in Italy-- and cobbling it with Joan Nathan's wonderful Moroccan Jewish recipe for Harira (Epicurious). Joan Nathan says that the egg-lemon thickener is Turkish; I also associate it with Greek Avgolemono soup. I promise I will feature each of these soups on this blog at some point, as few things delight me more than a well-crafted soup with a rich history-- we are called CAULDRON here, after all.  

Today, Harira is a Muslim soup traditional to breaking fast during Ramadan, and in Jewish tradition it is served at Passover. The historical journey this soup has taken ends, in this 2019 version, in an absolutely heavenly, velvety, lemony, spicy, fragrant dish which is both comforting and opulent.

I use my own Harissa paste in this recipe (my post on Harissa is coming soon!). I make my Harissa from my favorite goat horn chile peppers we grow in the garden, so the spice level varies, but all Harissa is quite spicy to the Western palate, so I advise adjusting the amount of Harissa for sensitive tastebuds. If you don't make your own, you can purchase pre-made Harissa paste in stores or online. If you can't find it at all, substitute a little cayenne pepper-- to taste-- for the soup.

For a simple but elegant Spring feast, serve this vegetarian Harira soup with some condiment sides: extra Harissa paste, and a bright bowl of finely chopped mixed herbs: parsley, cilantro, and mint. A side of fresh pickles (remember the pickled onions from my first post?) would be traditional. Offer some oven-warm flatbread brushed with good olive oil and sprinkled with fragrant, savory za'atar. Pair with colorful, lightly-sweetened sour tea (see my post on hibiscus here).

Happy Vernal Equinox, and enjoy!

Vegetarian Harira Soup, with egg and lemon

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced fine
• 4 medium stalks chard or kale, with tough stems, chopped fine
• 3 medium carrots quartered lengthwise then diced
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp aleppo pepper 
• 1 tbsp Harissa paste
• 1 clove/1 tsp fresh garlic, minced  
• 2 packed cups of mixed fresh herbs: cilantro and flat leaf parsley, chopped fine and divided into separate bowls.
• 3 small roma tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• 6-8 cups unsalted vegetable stock 
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1 cup dry green lentils
• salt and fresh ground black pepper-- to taste

for the thickener:

• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 large egg
• 1/3-1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cups water

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven, or heavy soup pot, saute onion, carrot, and greens in the olive oil until the onion is a little golden brown, but not crisp. Add to this all the dry spices, and saute a minute or two until they become fragrant. Then add the Harissa paste, garlic, 1 cup of the herbs, fresh tomato, and tomato paste. Saute a bit longer until sticky and just combined.

2. Slowly add the vegetable stock, stir gently until combined, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a medium simmer, add lentils and garbanzo beans, season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered. Stir occasionally.

3. In a separate 3-cup capacity bowl, whisk flour and egg together until very smooth. Slowly add water to this, then the lemon juice, whisking until the liquid is completely blended with no lumps. 

4. When the 30 minutes is up, shut the heat off momentarily, and pour the egg-lemon mixture into the simmering soup in a slow stream, using the whisk to keep the soup moving: you do not want the egg to scramble. The soup will gradually lighten and thicken. When all of the egg-lemon mixture is incorporated, put the soup on low heat and warm to steaming or a gentle simmer for 5 minutes: do not bring to a boil. 

5. Garnish the whole pot and individual bowls with the remaining cup of fresh herbs. Serve with extra Harissa paste, chopped fresh herbs, flatbread, tea.