Vegan harira may be inspired by tradition, but it’s definitely not traditional—especially with those noodles added. But man, is it good.
I first learned of Harira from my friend Aziz Mtoua, a Casablanca native. It’s the soup you eat to break the fast of Ramadan, and he always makes it with lamb. Which, for me, is not going to work. (I think you either grow up with lamb or you don’t eat it.)
So when I saw this version from my go-to vegan cookbook—Isa Does It, a truly genius volume from Isa Chandra Moskowitz—I had to give it a try.
Of course, it’s wonderful when you can get hold of perfect late summer eggplant and tomatoes. (For a comprehensive guide to how to grow eggplant, check out this post from the good folks at Happy DIY Home).
But because you cook the eggplant in a way that helps it dissolve, you can make it this with less-than-perfect winter eggplant and it will still be awesome.
As Isa says, the noodles are wildly untraditional.
And, as I said, man, are they good.
This is a fine soup to make ahead of time for your Moroccan weekend. It’s pretty darn wonderful any time of year. Serve it with good flatbread, and maybe some simple sliced cucumbers and grated carrots on the side.
Want to see how easy it is? Watch the video:
And if you make this Vegan Harira, please take a pic and tag @headroamer on Instagram or Twitter. And of course, let me know what you think by leaving a comment.
2 Responses
Quick question — it says to only add the 2 cups of broth at first, but does not mention when to add the remaining 2 cups. Also, my husband cannot eat eggplant — is there anything I could sub for it? This recipe sounds wonderful! Thanks.
That’s a great catch (I’ve fixed the extra two broth cups). As for a sub, zucchini will do almost the same thing, but it will cook down quite a bit faster. So use a lower heat, because you really want it to basically dissolve and be super rich. Hope this works, let me know. And thanks much for commenting.