Tajine, couscous, bastela… Your diet in Morocco can be based on the most traditional dishes, which we tell you about in this blog.
And one of those that can not miss is the harira: a soup spread throughout the country and associated with a very important moment in the life of local citizens.
In this post we tell you everything you should know about this dish that you can also try during your trip.
Origin of the harira
The origin of the harira is not to be found in Morocco, nor even in neighboring Algeria, where it is also very widespread: it is most likely that it arose in Al-Andalus. most probably arose in Al-Andalus (the Muslim area of the Iberian Peninsula in medieval times) and from there it made the leap to Morocco.
In fact, in the south of Spain there are really similar dishes, such as the Moorish soup in Almeria.
The appearance of harira can resemble that of a stew.They even share some ingredients, a similar coloring and the same consistency, in which the broth is full of chunks.
However, they have important differences in the recipe, such as the absence of spinach or chard.
As we will see, the green specks of the harira are provided by other ingredients.
Harira ingredients
Being a consistent soup, the base of this dish is the broth. brothwhich takes on a reddish or brownish color due to the ingredients used in its cooking: tomato (crushed and/or natural in pieces), olive oil and a mixture of spices (ginger, black pepper, etc.) or the famous “ras el hanout”. ras el hanout.
Además, las motas de color verde las aportan los trocitos de apio y perejil fresco, principalmente.
En algunos casos, para dar más consistencia al caldo se introduce cebada, que puede ser molida o sin moler.
The chunks present in the harira are those of the onion and, mainly, the legumes used in it.
In Morocco, it usually contains only chickpeasAlthough some versions of the recipe also use lentils.
As far as the meat is concerned, harira usually contains chunks of veal.
Por último, esta sopa puede llevar también una pequeña proporción de noodlesbut not always.
As a finishing touch, you can add a few drops of lemon juice.
When harira is usually eaten
On your trip to Morocco, you will easily find harira on the menus of restaurants, and it is usually preferred as a first course.
As we were saying, it is widespread throughout the country, but it is very present in the regions where cold is common in part of the year.
Cities like Fez and environments such as the Rif or the Middle Atlas incorporate this dish to their daily diet, although you can also taste it in traditional restaurants in Casablanca, Rabat and any other major city.
But there is no doubt that harira is a consistent soup linked to a key moment: iftar. iftari.e. the breaking of the fast during Ramadan..
Tras un día en el que los marroquíes sólo pueden ingerir líquidos durante las horas de sol, a partir del atardecer la harira se presenta como el plato ideal para comenzar una cena abundante, pues resulta muy energética gracias a sus ingredientes.
So if you visit Morocco during Ramadan, you will surely feel the aroma of harira in the air.
And if you visit at any other time, you will be able to taste it whenever you like.
If you want advice on where and when to have it, don’t hesitate to ask our agency staff when you are on your tour.
No one better than a local to recommend a good harira!
