Moroccan Chickpea and Harira-Style Chowder
A thick, creamy-textured vegetarian chowder inspired by Moroccan harira, built on chickpeas, brown lentils, tomatoes, celery and plenty of cilantro, warmed with ras el hanout and finished with a lemony thickening of blended soup and a flour-and-water slurry.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 58 min
- Wait
- 5 min
- Total
- 1 hr 23 min
- Makes
- About 9 cups (2.1 L), serves 6
Steps
Before you start
- Rinse the lentils in a fine sieve and pick out any stones; no soaking is needed for brown or green lentils.
- Canned chickpeas and canned tomatoes are used, so everything cooks in one pot in about 80 minutes.
- Ras el hanout varies in saltiness and heat; this recipe assumes a salt-free blend. Taste before adding extra salt.
- If using an immersion blender, have it ready; otherwise you will need a regular blender and a ladle.
Prep the vegetables
- Dice the onion, slice the celery, dice the carrot, mince the garlic, grate the ginger and cube the potato.
- Chop the cilantro and parsley together and set aside.
- Rinse the lentils and drain the chickpeas.
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Ready when: Vegetables are uniformly cut so they cook evenly.
Tip: Keep the potato in a bowl of cold water until needed so it doesn't brown.
Soften the aromatics
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion, celery and carrot with a pinch of salt.
- Cook, stirring every minute or so, for 8 minutes.
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Ready when: Onion is soft and translucent with no browning; celery is tender at the edges.
Tip: Lower the heat if the vegetables start to brown; browning changes the soup's clean flavor.
Bloom the spices
- Stir in the garlic, ginger, ras el hanout, turmeric and cinnamon.
- Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the tomato paste and cook 2 minutes more, stirring and scraping, until it darkens slightly.
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Ready when: Spices smell fragrant and the paste turns from bright red to brick red.
Tip: Add a splash of broth if the spices start sticking to the bottom.
Add tomatoes and lentils
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes, broth and rinsed lentils.
- Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Raise the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer.
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Ready when: Liquid reaches a steady boil before you turn it down.
Simmer lentils
- Partially cover the pot and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the lentils begin to soften but still have a firm center.
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Ready when: Lentils are partly tender with a slight bite in the center.
Tip: Keep the simmer gentle; hard boiling splits the lentils and can make the soup scorch.
Add chickpeas and potato
- Stir in the chickpeas and potato cubes.
- Return to a simmer, partially cover, and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Ready when: Potato pieces slide off a knife tip easily and lentils are fully tender.
Make it creamy
- Turn off the heat.
- Using an immersion blender, pulse the soup 5 to 6 times, about 5 seconds each, so roughly one third is puréed and the rest stays chunky.
- Or ladle 2 cups into a blender, purée until smooth (vent the lid and cover with a towel), and stir it back in.
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Ready when: Soup looks creamy and thick with visible chickpeas, lentils and potato pieces.
Tip: Hot soup expands in a sealed blender; never fill it more than halfway.
Thicken with slurry
- Whisk the flour and cold water in a small bowl until completely smooth with no lumps.
- Return the pot to medium heat and bring the soup to a simmer.
- Slowly pour in the slurry while stirring constantly.
- Simmer 5 minutes, stirring often.
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Ready when: Soup coats the back of a spoon and no longer tastes of raw flour.
Tip: Pour the slurry in a thin stream while stirring so it doesn't clump. Thin with a splash of water or broth if it gets too thick.
Finish with herbs and lemon
- Turn off the heat.
- Stir in the cilantro, parsley and the juice of half the lemon (about 2 tablespoons).
- Season with salt and pepper, starting with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, and tasting after each addition.
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Ready when: Flavor tastes bright and balanced, not flat; add more lemon or salt as needed.
Tip: Add herbs off the heat to keep their color and fresh flavor.
Rest and serve
- Cover and let the chowder rest 5 minutes so flavors meld and it thickens slightly.
- Cut the remaining lemon half into wedges.
- Ladle into warmed bowls and serve with the wedges.
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Ready when: Soup is thick, steaming and spoonable.
Good to know
Tips
- Don't skip blooming the spices; the hot oil releases flavor that gets lost if they go straight into liquid.
- Salt at the end: broth, canned tomatoes and chickpeas all contribute sodium, so seasoning early can overshoot.
- For extra richness, finish each bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of paprika.
- Serve with crusty bread and dates, as is traditional during Ramadan, for a complete meal.
Make ahead
Cook through step 7 up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate. Reheat gently, then do the slurry, herbs and lemon steps just before serving for the freshest flavor.
Storage & reheating
Room temperature: up to 2 hours. Fridge: airtight container up to 4 days. Freezer: up to 3 months (potatoes soften slightly). Reheat over medium-low heat, stirring often, adding a splash of broth or water since it thickens as it sits, until steaming hot throughout.
Substitutions
- ras el hanout → 1 tbsp ground cumin + 1 tsp ground coriander + ½ tsp paprika + ¼ tsp cayenne. Approximates the warm, earthy spice blend.
- brown or green lentils → red lentils. Cook faster and break down; add with the chickpeas and potato instead of in step 4.
- low-sodium vegetable broth → chicken broth. Gives a richer flavor but makes the chowder non-vegetarian.
- all-purpose flour → 1½ tbsp cornstarch. Gluten-free thickener; whisk into the cold water and simmer 2 minutes.
