Food for the (Gluten Intolerant) Soul

A traditional, velvety Moroccan tomato-based soup

Ingredients

• 3–4 tbsp olive oil or rapeseed oil
• 1 large onion, cut into half-rings
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 celery sticks, thinly sliced
• 1 leek, sliced into rings
• 5–6 Swiss chard leaves, white stems, chopped
• 1 parsley root, cut into small cubes (optional)
• 1–2 medium courgettes (zucchini), diced
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 tin chickpeas, drained
• 1 tin black lentils, drained and rinsed
• 3–4 litres boiling water, depending on the size of your pot
• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 large sweet potato, diced
• 30 g (3 tbsp) cornflour
• 240 ml (1 cup) lukewarm water
• 75gr parsley, chopped
• 75gr coriander, chopped
• 5–6 chard leaves, green leaves, chopped
• 100gr short gluten free spaghetti or other noodle type pasta
• Juice of 1–2 lemons, to taste

Seasoning

• 2 tsp salt, plus more at the end to taste
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 1 level tsp ground cinnamon

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pot. I use a pressure cooker but a regular pot will do great.
2. Add the onion, garlic, celery, leek, chopped white Swiss chard stems and parsley root. Fry until lightly golden.
3. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper and cinnamon. Stir well and cook for about 3 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and courgettes. Stir and cook for another 2–3 minutes.
5. Add the chickpeas and boiling water. Stir and bring to a boil.
6. Add the potatoes and sweet potato. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to soften.
7. Add the drained and rinsed black lentils.
8. In a small bowl, mix the cornflour with the lukewarm water until completely smooth. Add to the soup and stir well. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Add the pasta, parsley, coriander and green Swiss chard leaves. Stir and cook for a further 5 minutes.
10. Add the lemon juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning at the end, adding more salt, pepper and lemon juice as needed.
11. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

Tips

• Tinned black lentils need no soaking or pre-cooking.
• You can vary the vegetables. Courgettes, pumpkin or butternut squash all work well.
• The essential ingredients are the leek, chard, tomatoes and fresh herbs.
• Harira soup should be rich, thick and slightly sour, so don’t be shy with the lemon juice.
• You can use only parsley or only coriander. Fresh dill can also be added if you like.
• The soup will be richer the following day. If it’s too thick the next day you can add some water.