Middle Eastern Harira Soup

A flavorful, spicy Middle Eastern treat in a bowl! This soup is the perfect warming meal to eat on those chilly days.

Middle Eastern Harira Soup [Vegan]

Ingredients

• 1 cup green lentils
• 6 cups water
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup chopped parsley, loosely packed
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 3 cloves smashed garlic
• 1 can (1 1/2 cups) cooked chickpeas
• 2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon coriander seed powder
• 1 tablespoon sumac powder
• 1 teaspoon ground black lemon
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• salt to taste

Preparation

1. Place all ingredients in a soup pot EXCEPT the tomatoes, tomato paste, turmeric and parsley (see note).
2. Simmer until all veggies are tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, EXCEPT the fresh parsley and simmer for another 20 minutes. You can let it simmer for hours and the flavors will just get better!
4. Just before you are ready to serve it, add the parsley. This keeps the parsley fresh, green and full of flavor.
5. Garnish with some extra parsley and a sprinkle of sumac if desired.
6. Enjoy!

Notes

TIP!! When cooking soups, especially beans, it's always best to add any tomato ingredients LAST, after the beans and veggies have cooked. This is because the acidity in tomatoes can tighten up the structure of beans and veggies and slow (or in some cases, even prevent) complete softening of of the other ingredients. Turmeric can do the same thing, though I am not sure why.

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/middle-eastern-harira-soup-vegan/