A Taste of Harira..

By Guest Blogger: Renata Toth Ramadan night dishes are usually heavier than an everyday lunch, given that the whole day’s calorie consumption has to be covered with one meal. Yet, this one meal includes several dishes from the dense soup to the nuts, sweets and fruits coming for dessert. Probably the Moroccan harira and couscous are the most widely known dishes preferred during Ramadan, given their richness that fills the stomach easily. Harira itself is most often associated with Ramadan. To make this soup, you will need the following ingredients: 100 gr chickpeas 100 gr lentils 200 gr soft meat cut in small pieces 100 gr onion cut in small pieces 4 sp oil 100 gr chopped celery 500 gr chopped tomatoes salt black pepper 1 tsp powdered ginger a little bit of saffron 1 cinnamon stick or a small amount of ground cinnamon 2 litres of water 1,5 sp tomato puree around 100 gr ground coriander and parsley First you’ll have to soften the lentils and the chickpeas in water for a whole night -so begin the night before. In a pot, put together the chickpeas, lentil, the oil,the onion and the celery, and cook on medium fire until the meat gets a nice golden color. Then, add the chopped tomatoes and the salt, pepper, ginger, saffron and the cinnamon. Pour water over the mix and boil until the meat and the chickpeas are well cooked. Using a pressure-cooker would significantly diminish the cooking time of this dish. Then when the meat is ready, take out he cinnamon stick if you used one. Add the tomato puree, coriander and parsley, and cook on medium fire for another 15 minutes. Serve hot.. for more recipes and foodie info visit http://www.marialiberati.com and get your

copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition