Chock this up to another recipe I have never heard of. I am giddy when there is a recipe that is brand new to me. When you look around the world for cuisine, what may be common to them is new to those of us who don’t live in the culture. Harira is a recipe I first heard about from America’s Test Kitchen. It is a soup that breaks the daily fast period during Ramadan in Morocco. While I am not Muslim myself, the recipe is something that looks interesting and tasty with lots of bold spices. Since America’s Test Kitchen has their recipe behind a paywall, I looked around for other versions. The one I am adapting for this post is from Usman at Allrecipes. Looking at the stats on this one the calories are a little high and there needs to be a boost in vitamin A and C. That’s it. Of course there will be a couple of ingredient swaps. However, not to many of those either.

Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I swapped out the lamb with pork tenderloin because of the high cost of lamb.
• I replaced the diced tomatoes with chopped red bell pepper.
• I replaced the pasta with a gluten-free variety.
• I added in pumpkin puree for vitamin A.
• I increased the servings from 6 to 8 to lower the calories.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Harira

Serves 8

• 1 pound cubed pork tenderloin
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 15 oz chopped red bell pepper
• 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
• 7 cups water
• 3/4 cup green lentils
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 4 ounces gluten free vermicelli pasta
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 lemon, juiced

1. Place the pork, turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, butter, celery, onion, red bell pepper and cilantro into a large soup pot over a low heat. Stir frequently for 5 minutes. Pour pumpkin into the mixture and let simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Pour 7 cups water, and the lentils into the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer. Let soup simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
3. About 10 minutes before serving turn the heat to medium-high, place chickpeas and noodles into the soup, let cook about 10 minutes (until noodles are al dente). Stir in lemon and eggs, let eggs cook 1 minute.