Like A Soft Blanket / Comme Une Douce Couverture

Hi there!

I hope you are having some sunshine where you are, because we’ve had quite a cold winter around here. Our driveway has been wearing a thick icy coat for a few days now, and when the sun shows up, it’s only for a few minutes a day.

I am not a winter person. The days are short, it’s cloudy most of the time, the air is dry, my skin is dry, and the temperature is rarely higher than 25F (-4C).
Yes, I do enjoy the first days of snowflakes gently falling down my kitchen window. I love sliding down the hills with my daughter tucked between my thighs, screaming and laughing out loud. I look forward to some cold breeze to make lentil stews, roasted root vegetables and apple pie. But after a month or so, I am done. Done as in wake-me-up-when-it’s-spring-done!

But I love winter for one thing. Actually two: Comforting food and Sunday naps.
Every Sunday, as I tip toe to the kitchen to set the breakfast table, I take a look outside to see how is the day shaping up. Lately, Sunday meant to be gray, snowy and cold. If we were to be in the same room at this exact moment, you would actually see me smile with content at this view.
Now before you start asking yourself what is going on with this girl who seconds earlier shamelessly pretended to hate winter, let me explain myself.

You see, for years now I have nurtured this vision about wintry Sundays: basically they are meant to be spent at home, around a warm, consoling meal and a nap on the couch, cuddled by my husband and a soft blanket.

Sunday naps are a good way to deal with winter. And so are soups.

I could eat this soup every day of the week. It is the soup of my childhood, the soup I make all winter long. The one we make on weddings, for guests, on Ramadan, or just when we crave something spicy and warming on a cold day.
This soup is called “Harira”. It is a spiced chickpea and lamb soup that is widely popular in Algeria, especially the west part of the country, and Morocco. The traditional way would be to cook it using lamb meat, but you can use beef meat though the taste would be different. There is something about this soup that amazes me every time I make it. It never tastes the same.

 Harira can be thickened using flour (about 2tbsp diluted in a little bit of cold water) or, in the case of today’s recipe, bulgur. Not only the soup gets its distinctive flavor from the spices, but also from the Dersa. Dersa is a sort of Algerian Condiment. It’s mainly chopped herbs with spices and garlic that we add to the dish to finish it up. In this Harira, Dersa is made with chopped fresh cilantro, garlic, ground caraway and paprika.

When serving the soup, I like to drizzle a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice and sprinkle some Dersa on top; because there is nothing like Harira to make me fall in love with winter again.

Harira: Fragrant Chickpeas and Lamb soup with Bulgur

Recipe: Serves 6 to 8
- ½ lb lamb chunks
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 big onion, peeled and roughly diced
- 1 potato, peeled and roughly diced
- 1 tomato, roughly diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and roughly diced
- 1 ½ cup chickpeas, soaked overnight, wrapped in a cheesecloth for easy "fishing" before passing the soup through the food mill (if using canned chickpeas, add them at the end)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 small bunch of fresh cilantro, tied with a string
- 1 generous tsp of allspice
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground caraway
- ¼ cinnamon stick
- 8 cups of water
- 1 sprig of mint (5 big leaves)
- ¾ cup wheat bulgur
- Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
- For the Dersa: (The herb and spices condiment)
- 3 tbsp cilantro leaves
- ½ tsp paprika
- 2 fat garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ground caraway

In a big pot, heat the oil on medium heat. Season the lamb chunks and sauté them on each sides until browned. Add the onions, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and chickpeas. Sauté until lightly colored, about 5 minutes. Add the spices, the bunch of cilantro, the tomato paste and stir to combine. Cover with the water. Season the soup with generous amount of salt and pepper and cover with a lid. Once the soup comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the chickpeas cooked and the meat fork tender.
Discard the cilantro bunch and the stick of cinnamon. Put the meat and chickpeas in a plate, and, using a vegetable mill, puree all the rest of vegetables. You can also use a blender. But you will have to do it in batches, as the liquid is very hot.
Put the soup back on the stove. Add the chickpeas and the scattered meat. Bring to a boil and add the mint sprig and the bulgur. Stir to distribute the bulgur. Let it cook uncovered for about 15 minutes, or until the bulgur is cooked. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Before serving the soup, make the Dersa: Using a sharp knife, or even a mortar would be great, chop finely the cilantro leaves with garlic, paprika and ground caraway.
Serve the Harira in individual bowls, squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on top and sprinkle a little of Dersa.

Harira: Soupe Epicée aux Pois-chiches, agneau et Bulgur

In Francais Please: Pour 6 a 8 personnes
- 200g de morceaux d’agneau
- 1 gros oignon, grossierement hachée
- 1 pomme de terre, épluchée et coupe en gros dés
- 1 tomate, coupe en gros dés
- 3 carottes, épluchées et coupées en gros dés
- 375 ml de pois-chiches, trempés la veille
- 1 petit bouquet de coriandre, attaché avec une ficelle
- 1 c.s de tomate en conserve
- 1 c.c de carvi en poudre
- 1 genereuse c.c de piment de la jamaique (aussi connu sous le nom de kebeba)
- 1 c.c de curcuma (safran des indes)
- 1 c.c de gingembre en poudre
- ¼ de baton de canelle
- 2 ½ l d’eau
- 1 branche de menthe (environ 5 grosses feuilles)
- Un peu moins d’une tasse a café de bulgur
- Sel et poivre noir fraichement moulu
- Pour La Dersa (le mélange d’herbe et d’épices)
- 3 c.s de feuilles de coriandre
- 2 grosses gousses d’ail
- ½ c.c de paprika
- 1 c.c de carvi en poudre

Faites chauffer l’huile dans une grande cocotte sous un feu moyen. Assaisonner la viande et faites dorer de tous les cotés. Ajouter l’oignon, la tomate, pomme de terre, carottes et pois-chiches. Faites sauter jusqu’à ce que les légumes deviennent légerement colorés, environ 5 minutes. Ajouter les épices, la tomate en conserve et le coriandre. Mélanger bien le tout. Couvrir d’eau et assaisonner génereusement de sel et poivre noir. Couvrir du couvercle et laisser cuire. Dés que la soupe commence à bouillir, baisser le feu un peu et laisser mijoter jusqu’à ce que les pois-chiches soient cuits et la viande bien tendre, environ 20-30 minutes.
Jeter le bouquet de coriandre et le batonnet de cannelle. Retirer la viande et les pois chiches et les mettre dans une assiette. Passer le reste de legumes et bouillon à la moulinette. Remettre la soupe sur le feu et porter à ébullition. Ajouter la menthe et le bulgur et remuer pour bien répartir le bulgur. Laisser cuire encore 15 minutes, ou jusqu’à ce que le bulgur soit cuit.
Avant de servir, préparer la dersa: A l’aide d’un couteau eguisé, ou un mortier, hacher les feuilles de coriandre, ail, carvi et paprika jusqu’à ce que le mélange soit homogène.
Servir la Harira dans des bols individuels, avec quelques gouttes de citron et saupoudrée de Dersa